{"id":27302,"date":"2016-01-11T10:04:31","date_gmt":"2016-01-11T16:04:31","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/?p=27302"},"modified":"2023-05-10T16:06:25","modified_gmt":"2023-05-10T21:06:25","slug":"alumna-struts-her-scary-stuff-on-reality-tv","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/uwm.edu\/news\/alumna-struts-her-scary-stuff-on-reality-tv\/","title":{"rendered":"Alumna struts her (scary) stuff on reality TV"},"content":{"rendered":"

University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee alumna Melissa Ebbe (\u201907 MFA Art & Design) is one of 13 contestants on the Syfy reality show, \u201cFace Off,\u201d which airs at 8 p.m. on Wednesdays. The 2016 season, the show\u2019s 10th, was taped last summer in California.<\/p>\n

On \u201cFace Off,\u201d artists compete in elaborate challenges, creating special effects and fantasy creatures. Ebbe runs a small business, Feral Works<\/a>, making and selling costumes, masks and other role-playing accessories.<\/p>\n

She and husband Steven Shapiro live in Milwaukee with their 4-year-old son, Quinn.<\/p>\n

Q. How did you get into this field?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Back in 2007, when I was finishing my master\u2019s thesis at UWM, I got interested in making costumes, and it soon moved beyond that and got more elaborate \u2013 I moved from sewing to sculpting and that segued into doing masks and makeup.<\/p>\n

Q. What led to you being selected for the show?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Well, I\u2019ve been a fan ever since it started. I applied for the ninth season and wasn\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

Q. When did you find out you\u2019d be on the show?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I found out in late spring or early summer of last year, I was really excited, but I couldn\u2019t tell anybody. It was top secret.<\/p>\n

\"Two
Two nosy creations from alumna Melissa Ebbe, who took her artistry to TV as tenth-season cast member of the Syfy series “Face Off.” (UWM Photo\/Derek Rickert)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Q. What was it like being on the show?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I can\u2019t say how I did, but I can say that it was an amazing experience. It was really cool because we went there and \u2013 I love Milwaukee, I love it a lot \u2013 but there\u2019s not a really huge special effects community here. So I really don\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

Q. So, the contestants weren\u2019t nasty to each other like on some of the reality shows?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I think \u201cFace Off\u201d 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\u2019d talk it out afterwards. It was like a family environment.<\/p>\n

Q. Do you think you\u2019ll collaborate with any of them afterwards?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oh yeah, we already have plans. We all have similar interests. We\u2019re all artists. There are a few (contestants) from Chicago so I\u2019ve driven down to see them.<\/p>\n

Q. How did your arts background at UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee help you with what you\u2019re doing now?<\/strong><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Q. All that helped when you were making creatures for the competition?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Yes, it did, but you also have to understand how the creature is going to move. It\u2019s a kinetic piece. If the model\u2019s 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\u2019s something I find endlessly fascinating about it.<\/p>\n

Q. And the performers bring something to it also?<\/strong><\/p>\n

I can\u2019t 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.<\/p>\n

Q. Who buys the costumes, masks and other materials you create for your business?<\/strong><\/p>\n

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\u2019ve been watching a documentary about H.R. Giger, [part of the special effects team for \u201cAlien\u201d] and those creatures are inspiring me.
\n
\nQ. Does your son have the coolest Halloween costumes ever?<\/strong><\/p>\n

Actually, Halloween is my busiest season so I don\u2019t 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\u2019t make it for that.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Arts alumna Melissa Ebbe can\u2019t tell you how she fared on season 10 of the Syfy special-effects series \u201cFace Off,\u201d but you can watch her at 8 p.m. on Wednesdays.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":835,"featured_media":27304,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":"","uwm_wg_additional_authors":[]},"categories":[174],"tags":[250],"section":[127,129],"display_categories":[114,116],"related-coverage":[],"uwmnews-feed":[344,164],"class_list":["post-27302","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-student-success","section-arts-humanities","section-film-fine-arts","display_categories-top-story-primary","display_categories-top-story-section","uwmnews-feed-arts-architecture","uwmnews-feed-arts"],"yoast_head":"\nAlumna struts her (scary) stuff on reality TV<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Arts alumna 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