Left: This is the best picture we have of Thomas' Potted Plant costume. He stood on the apron of the stage for two hours while the audience was filing in and getting seated, and the Masquerade was setting up. We heard several people commenting on the ugly potted plant, but as far as we know, no one realized there was a person inside it.

Then, when the Masquerade began and the emcee announced "Contestant Number One, Thomas Atkinson," Thomas stepped out of his pot and walked across the stage.

(The Masquerade Director had given Thomas special permission to pull this stunt -- then the fool apparently forgot he had done so, and held up the Masquerade demanding "Where is Contestant Number One?!" It wasn't until a half hour later that the idiot remembered that Contestant Number One had been standing on stage the whole time, fighting off muscle cramps from standing in the same position 30 minutes longer than he had expected. Sheesh, what a maroon!)

The inspiration for this costume came from the classic comedy "Soap."