University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee alumna Melissa Ebbe (’07 MFA Art & Design) is one of 13 contestants on the Syfy reality show, “Face Off,” which airs at 8 p.m. on Wednesdays. The 2016 season, the show’s 10th, was taped last summer in California.
On “Face Off,” artists compete in elaborate challenges, creating special effects and fantasy creatures. Ebbe runs a small business, Feral Works, making and selling costumes, masks and other role-playing accessories.
She and husband Steven Shapiro live in Milwaukee with their 4-year-old son, Quinn.
Q. How did you get into this field?
Back in 2007, when I was finishing my master’s thesis at UWM, I got interested in making costumes, and it soon moved beyond that and got more elaborate – I moved from sewing to sculpting and that segued into doing masks and makeup.
Q. What led to you being selected for the show?
Well, I’ve been a fan ever since it started. I applied for the ninth season and wasn’t accepted so I applied again for this season. You do the application and present a portfolio of your work and do an interview and so on.
Q. When did you find out you’d be on the show?
I found out in late spring or early summer of last year, I was really excited, but I couldn’t tell anybody. It was top secret.
Q. What was it like being on the show?
I can’t say how I did, but I can say that it was an amazing experience. It was really cool because we went there and – I love Milwaukee, I love it a lot – but there’s not a really huge special effects community here. So I really don’t get a chance to talk to people in the same field except when I go to conventions. To be in a house with 13 other people who make this part of their lives every day was such a great experience.
Q. So, the contestants weren’t nasty to each other like on some of the reality shows?
I think “Face Off” is known for not having a lot of drama, compared to other reality TV shows. We wanted to see our fellow competitors succeed. There were times when tempers would run short because of deadlines and people would get stressed. But if anybody ever lost it, we’d talk it out afterwards. It was like a family environment.
Q. Do you think you’ll collaborate with any of them afterwards?
Oh yeah, we already have plans. We all have similar interests. We’re all artists. There are a few (contestants) from Chicago so I’ve driven down to see them.
Q. How did your arts background at UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee help you with what you’re doing now?
I think the art background helped a lot. I took a lot of anatomy classes, life drawing and color theory classes. All the stuff you need to be a good artist you can apply to makeup and mask making.
Q. All that helped when you were making creatures for the competition?
Yes, it did, but you also have to understand how the creature is going to move. It’s a kinetic piece. If the model’s going to talk, you have to know how things are going to look when the creature is talking. For me the cool thing about it is that you are creating a sculpture that is being performed. That’s something I find endlessly fascinating about it.
Q. And the performers bring something to it also?
I can’t talk specifics, but the models we had on the show were so fabulous. The first model we had, Matt Wood, had been on the show since season three. I was so scared during the first episode and he was so sweet. He just kind of pep talked me through it.
Q. Who buys the costumes, masks and other materials you create for your business?
People want costumes from different television series or movies. Or people want to dress up as their favorite character for cosplay [role playing with costumes]. I’ve been watching a documentary about H.R. Giger, [part of the special effects team for “Alien”] and those creatures are inspiring me.
Q. Does your son have the coolest Halloween costumes ever?
Actually, Halloween is my busiest season so I don’t have a lot of time for personal projects. He wanted to be a Star Wars character this year and I found a costume on-line, $45. I couldn’t make it for that.
