Guests
Gillian Lange
Welcome Gillian Lange to UI-Con 2025!
Gillian Lange is a voice actress from Sullivan, IL. She first got her start in voice acting while she was a student at UIUC in April 2020, and since then has gone on to voice characters such as Mei Nakatsugawa in Laid-Back Camp and Naka Hikage in You Are Ms. Servant. Gillian can also be heard in anime titles such as Kaiju No. 8, My Hero Academia, Shangri-La Frontier, and many more!
In May 2023, she came in as first runner-up at Bang Zoom’s open auditions at Anime Central. As a student at UIUC, Gillian graduated with the class of 2022 with a bachelor’s in history and minor in anthropology. She was also active in the Belegarth Medieval Combat Society and theatre troupe, New Revels Players.
Krystal Laporte
Welcome back, Krystal, for another year of fun!
Krystal LaPorte is a voice actress and criminal defense attorney located in Dallas, Texas. She enjoys horror movies, reading, cooking, cats, and King of the Hill. She does not enjoy speaking in third person.
Hi! It is such a pleasure to be invited to your convention. I know first-hand what an amazing experience a convention can be. The friends made, memories created, and celebration of a shared love guarantee that every convention is truly someone's home away from home. It is an incredible honor to be able to be a small part of that, and I am going to do my best to contribute to your best weekend ever.
If you know my name at all, it's probably for my role as Mirai Kuriyama in Beyond the Boundary, Cherri Bomb in the animated pilot of The Hazbin Hotel, Rylibeu in Dragon Ball Super or Misa Takayama in Log Horizon. Other roles that come to mind are Nikka Katajainen in Brave Witches, Tina in Overlord, Kohina Hiruko in Black Bullet, Yui Takamura in Muv-Luv Alternative: Total Eclipse, Lion in Kemono Friends, Shiori Asagiri in Tamako Market, and Marie in Suppose a Kid from the Last Dungeon Boonies Moved to a Starter Town?!
Some other shows I've lent my voice to are Gunbuster, The Junji Ito Collection, The World God Only Knows, Goblin Slayer, Kemono Friends, Akame Ga Kill, Parasyte, Shangri-La Frontier, and many more!
MaryMaryCosplay
Welcome back MaryMaryCosplay as one of this year's cosplay contest judges!
Mary has been competing for 10 years and is a multi-award winning cosplayer, accumulating category wins, Master level wins, best in Shows, to placements in national and international invitational competitions such as Dragoncon and the prestigious Crown Championship of Cosplay. She appears as a cosplay guest and helps coordinate and judge costume competitions, working alongside convention owners and some of the best cosplayers in the world in the process.
Mary’s work has been shown many times in multiple cosplay publications, and has also been displayed in costume exhibitions both nationally and internationally. She is skilled in multiple maker mediums including multiple types of needlework, leatherwork, foam, thermoplastics, and 3 D print. She enjoys the challenge of making her cosplays, learning new skills, sharing what she knows, and looks forward to each next cosplay adventure!
McKenzie Shane
McKenzie Shane, artist, graphic designer, and cosplayer, is a proud U of I alumni and excited to be a part of this year's UI-CON. She has been a competitive traditional artist since 2016, specializing in painting and sculpting, and earned her Bachelor's in Graphic Design at the University of Illinois in 2020. She brings everything she has learned to create unique designs in cosplay. McKenzie started competitive cosplay in 2021, accumulating several category placements, a Best in Show at last year's UI-CON Cosplay Contest, and her most recent achievement, Best Paint at Winter Cosplay Championship at Holiday Matsuri. She is skilled in needlework, wig styling, fx makeup, build book making, painting and detailing. Her most recent favorite is armor and prop making with cardboard and paper mache. She loves experimenting with different techniques and materials, along with sharing everything she has learned in the making of all her projects.
More Announcements Coming Soon!
Make sure to follow our social media accounts to get notified about new guest announcements.