If you, humble reader, have attended any UK anime conventions in the past four years, then it is very likely you would have attended an omake performance at one of them.  Omake, meaning extra or bonus in Japanese, is also used to describe skits at cosplay masquerades, which involve creating a short act based on the characters the performers are dressed as.  The performances can be of any genre, be it musical, comedy, drama or simply re-enacting a scene from an anime.  These skits vary in quality, but one name is known throughout the anime community for quality - Team Giblets.

Team Giblets are an independent art & design studio which attend conventions not only as performers, but can also be found in the dealers room selling their t-shirts and artist commissions.  Comprising of Keith Copping & Claire Weir, they have truly become a staple of UK conventions.  Their skits expertly lampoon anime & gaming culture, as well as being increasingly inventive. 

Here we talk to Keith (a.k.a. That Man) about how Team Giblets come up with their ideas, how they started performing omake and more. 
 

Animetion: How long have you been performing omake skits?

Keith: "The first skit we ever did was during the Masquerade at Ayacon 05, so almost four years now. "
 
A: What came first for you guys, cosplay or omake?

K: "In Claire's case cosplay came first as she has been cosplaying since Minamicon 10.  In my case it's more of a tie.  I thought I would try cosplaying at Ayacon 05 as That Man (from Excel Saga - ed.) and then on a drunken whim I entered the masquerade with a friend who was cosplaying Nabeshin. 

Originally we were just going to do a walk on like most of the other entrants but while waiting in the dressed rehearsal we hashed out a quick 30 second skit (boredom and beer are not a good combination) and it seemed to work out quite well."
 

A: Your omake skits are quite different from others, where do you get your ideas from?

K: "Well it's a highly convoluted and technical process involving long periods of quiet meditation, interspersed with short periods of extreme violence, as I sacrifice innocents to the dark gods of comedy."

A: On average, how much time does it take to plan a skit?

K: "It varies, but it seems to be getting longer and longer with each skit. "

A: Have you ever had to abandon an idea for a skit?

K: "We've had to drop a few gags from some of the skits, either because we did not think they were funny enough or due to gross inappropriateness (you should have seen the original concept for Ethniclen in the Animé Night Live skit).  But we have never had to totally abandon an idea." 

A: What kind of feedback have you received on your performances?

K: "To our continuing surprise and delight we have always had good feedback every time we have put on a skit.  However this has got to the point where people are expecting us to put on a good show, so we now live in constant fear of people's expectations."
 

A: What has been your proudest moment?

K: "Our proudest moment as far as skits go would have to be the Animé Night Live sketch, it's still our favourite of all the skits we have done so far.  We just love the Evangelion emo free edition."

A: What is the secret of a good skit?

K: "Practice and organisation, make sure you have rehearsed and that the people you are performing with can be relied on.  Skits planned at the last minute with people you don't know rarely turn out well."

A: Have you appeared on stage outside of the animé community?

K: "Only in a succession of school drama productions and variety shows." 

A: If money was no object, what and where would you like to perform?

K: "Well if money was no object we would quite like to have a bash at going over to the states and performing at one of the big American conventions.  But I don't think we could really get away with some of the stuff that we are able to do in the UK." 

A: Do you have anything planned for this year's Ayacon?

K: "Only time will tell."
 

A: Do you have an archive of your performances online?

K: "Yes we do, our earlier skits can be found here--> http://www.youtube.com/user/keithcopping but all our more recent performances can be found on the Team Giblets you tube page--> http://www.youtube.com/user/TeamGiblets"



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Many thanks to Nert of ManyLemons for allowing the use of his images
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