Competition Staff & Rules
Staff:
- Director: Alys Hay
- Master of Ceremonies: Carl “Conrad” Cipra
- Workmanship Judges: Julie Neff
- Presentation Judges: Marty Gear*, Dana MacDermott*, Richard Payette
Rules:
The Science Fiction and Fantasy masquerade for Costume Con 6 will be held Saturday, February 13, 1988, beginning at 8:00 p.m. The green room will open at 5:30 p.m. Contestants should arrive no later than 6:30 p.m.
Contestants may register by picking up and completing registration forms which will be available at the masquerade desk in the con registration area. There will be a $1.00 fee for each entry to cover the cost of a Polaroid photo for the judges’ use during their deliberations. If you bring your own photo, we will waive the entry fee. All photos will be given/returned to the contestants after the masquerade is over. Masquerade registration will close at 2:00 p.m. on Saturday. The Masquerade Director, or her assistant, will be available at the masquerade desk to answer questions between 4:00 p.m. and 5:00 p.m. on Friday and between 10:00 a.m. and noon on Saturday.
The stage will be set up and available for practice on Friday evening after the Fashion Show Retrospective (approximately 10:30 p.m.). The room will remain open until 1:00 a.m. Saturday morning. There will also be a technical rehearsal on Saturday morning from 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. If you have any special lighting, sound, or other technical concerns, this will be the time to work out the bugs: the Technical Director, the lighting people, sound people and MC will be available. Also, the Masquerade Director will be available to answer your questions. This is not mandatory, but is strongly encouraged.
There will be NO live microphone for the use of the contestants. Special introductions and/or voice overs may be clearly printed on the masquerade registration form for the MC to read. Alternatively, it may be recorded on standard cassette tape for playing during your presentation. If you wish, the tape may be used solely for background music (strongly encouraged). If you are going to use a tape, bring it with you and turn it in with your registration forms. Make sure the tape is pre-cued, so that all our overworked sound technician has to do is pop it into a player and push a button. Clearly label the correct side with your name (leaving room for your contestant number), and label the wrong side as such. Don’t forget to also label the tape box.
Presentations will be limited to 60 seconds for the first three persons in an entry; 90 seconds for up to six persons; and 10 seconds more for each additional person. You are not required to use the full time limit for your presentation. The time limits will be strictly enforced.
Stage judging: We are going to try something a little different this year in regard to the judges… Instead of all being seated together near the front, the judges will be spread throughout the ballroom. The theory is that by doing this the judging will be based on how the costumes look to the entire audience, rather than just the first three rows.
Workmanship judging: There will be a workmanship judge. She will be available in the green room both before and during the masquerade, Workmanship judging is optional. If you would like your costume to be judged, just approach the Workmanship judge — she will be in a clearly marked area in the green room.
Division System:
Costume Con 6 will be utilizing the division system. The divisions are defined as follows:
Novice: Anyone who has not won an award at a major regional convention, a Worldcon or a Costume Con.
Journeyman: Anyone who has won less than three awards at a major regional convention, a Worldcon or a Costume Con.
Master: Anyone who has won three or more awards at a major regional convention, a Worldcon or a Costume Con.
Any contestant may enter in any division higher than the one for which they qualify. For group entries, the division will usually be determined by the group’s most skilled member. If you are unsure of which division to enter under, please contact the Masquerade Director.
There will be no separate division for Re-creation costumes. Re-creation costumes will compete in the same manner as originals, within the same skill divisions.
Masquerade Rules:
1. No messy substances, wet, dry, or oily, that will make life difficult for other contestants in the green room, or the entry following you onstage.
2. No flagrant nudity. Costume ratings should be PG-13. No costume is no costume.
3. Observe the specified time limit.
4. No dangerous or potentially dangerous props will be allowed. This includes anything which represents a real possibility of damage to the health, well-being, or costumes of the other contestants, or the audience. This includes any bladed weapon not bound into its scabbard.
5. No swordfighting, weapons that fire any kind of projectile, real firearms, guns that fire blanks, or pyrotechnics of any type.
6. Surprise the audience, but do not surprise the Masquerade co-ordinator and technical crew. If you are planning something that could look potentially dangerous, clear it with the Masquerade Director in advance.
7. The Masquerade Director reserves the right to disqualify any costume she feels is inappropriate. (This is to protect
Costume Con, and probably will not be an issue.)
8. Have a good time — remember, this is supposed to be fun!
