CC07-SF-04: Madam Draconis
Competition Staff & Rules
Staff:
- Director: Marty Gear*
- Master of Ceremonies: Adrienne Martine-Barnes*
- Presentation Judges: Ricky Dick, Pat Kennedy*, Alys Hay
Rules:
As is traditional, there will be two Masquerades at Costume Con Seven; the Fantasy & Science Fiction Masquerade on Saturday Night, and the Historical Masquerade on Sunday Night. The rules for these Masquerades are as follows:
GENERAL RULES (APPLICABLE TO BOTH MASQUERADES)
1. Originality: These Masquerades are intended for original work only. Purchased or rented costumes are not el(i)gible to compete Such costumes will be detected and will be disqualified.
2. Time Limits: Entries with 1 to 4 individuals will be limited to a maximum of 60 seconds on stage. Entries with 5 or more individuals will be limited to 90 seconds. You must convince the Masquerade Director before the start of the convention that you need and deserve more time.
3. Introductions: We will have the facilities to play standard cassette tapes with music and/or introductions. Our M.C.’s will also be happy to read your introductions provided that they are clearly typed or printed There will be NO LIVE MICROPHONES for the contestants’ use! Contestants attempting to speak directly to the audience will be disqualified.
4. The Junior Division, as a group, will appear first.
5. If necessary, the staff reserves the right to change the order of appearance of any entrant.
6. If you are a part of a group costume, only one member of the group should register for the entire group, and the group will be given a single entrant number. We will, however, require the names and signatures of all members of the group. A group costume will compete at the Division level of the highest ranked member who constructed and/or designed the costume and will be judged as a group in that Division. (Remember that a group costume is only as good as its weakest costume.)
7. The weapons policy of the con will be strictly adhered to. Weapons that are a part of the costume may be displayed only on stage and only m a safe manner. Sharp points and cutting edges must remain safely covered except from the time immediately before going onstage until immediately after leaving the stage. No functional projectile weapon may be placed in firing condition or aimed at any person at any time, on stage or off! Due to local fire and safety regulattons, no open flame, working laser, or flash paper/powder may be used. Sealed flash bulbs and electronic flash units may be used, but only with the prior approval of the Masquerade Director or his delegate. NO EXCEPTIONS WILL BE MADE!
8. Nudity. If you feel that nudity is essential to your costume, please limit it to the Masquerade auditorium, the Green Room, and the Rear Atrium of the hotel, and keep it covered in all other areas.
9. NO FLASH PICTURES WILL BE PERMITTED DURING THE MASQUERADE COMPETITION! We will have a photo area set aside where photographers can take flash pictures to their hearts’ content. Contestants will make the photographers very happy if they arrive early and stay late enough for the photographers to get pictures of them in their costumes.
10. Each contestant may appear only once in each competition.
11. The backstage staff will have full authority to eliminate anyone from the competition on the basis of taste, danger to the audience or other contestants, or for any other reason deemed sufficient You must be able to enter and leave the stage without help in order to appear. We will have people available to steady you, but not to lift or completely support you.
FANTASY & SCIENCE FICTION MASQUERADE RULES
The F&S-F Masquerade will be run according to the entrant ‘experience/skills’ Division System, with the Divisions to be Junior, Novice, Journeyman, and Master. For the purposes of Costume Con Seven, the definitions of the Divisions are:
JUNIOR
A contestant who is less than thirteen years of age at the time of the convention competes as a Junior. For award purposes, Junior Division costumes will be further divided as to those made by the contestant (with minor help from an adult), and those made by adults.
NOVICE
A contestant who has won fewer than three awards for different costumes at the ‘Novice Level’ in Fantasy/Science-Fiction convention Masquerades may compete as a Novice (or, at his/her discretion, may compete as a Journeyman or Master).
JOURNEYMAN
A contestant who has previously won three awards in the Novice Division, or who has competed and won at least once in the Journeyman Division but has not won three major awards for different costumes at F/S-F con Masquerades since leaving Novice-level competition, must compete as a Journeyman (or, at his/her discretion, may compete as a Master).
MASTER
A contestant who has won three or (more) major awards for different costumes above the level of Novice in Fantasy and Science Fiction competitions at World Science Fiction Conventions or at previous Costume Cons, or any contestant who has won an award at the Master level at any of the above mentioned conventions, must compete as a Master at the Costume Con Seven F&S-F Masquerade as well
For award purposes, costumes may be further divided into “Original’ and ‘ReC;reation’. A ReCreation costume is one taken from any source in which one or more views of the costume has previously been shown. Such sources include, book covers, paintings, movies, television, stage plays, comic strips/books, or graphic novels. Costumes which are described in text but not otherwise illustrated would not be entered in ReCreation.
NOTES
A ‘Major Award’ is defined as: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, ‘Best_’, ‘Most.’, etc.
The purpose of the Divisions is not to protect anyone’s status, but to recognize that differences in experience and skill levels do in fact exist, to ensure equity and fairness by structuring competitions to accommodate these differences, and to encourage growth in skill by fostering an orderly (but not rigid) means of progressing from one Division to the next. As noted in the definitions given above, a ‘Novice’ may compete as a ‘Journeyman’ or ‘Master’ at his or her option. A ‘Journeyman’ may compete as a ‘Master’. A ‘Master’ must compete in the ‘Master Division’, as must anyone who earns a significant portion of his/her income designing or making costumes. In short, this is a handicapping system.
The skill level of the designer and/or major constructor of a costume or group of costumes is the deciding factor in determining in which Division the costume(s) must compete.
SPECIAL NOTE TO ReCREATION COSTUMERS:
Just because you are familiar with the source, don’t assume that the judges will be. Bring a copy of the source material (preferably a color photocopy) and turn it in with your entry form.
Note: All award winners received certificates and pewter unicorn medallions.
