Masquerade

Masquerade Rules:

All masquerade participants must be registered attendees of the SpoCon convention. Entries must be turned in to the sign-up table (location TBA) no later than 2PM on Saturday. No late entries will be accepted. No exceptions.
NO flagrant nudity. This masquerade is rated PG-13. Please use some discretion, as there are usually children in the audience.
The following costumes may not be worn for competition: purchased costumes, rented costumes, or costumes that have won a Best in Class or Best in Show award at a World Con or Costume Con. These costumes may be worn on stage for Exhibition but will not be judged for the competition.
Small children must be under the control of a responsible adult at all times.
Your costume must be finished before you get to the competition for judging. No sewing, gluing, spray painting, welding, or other construction work is allowed back stage. However, final assembly of large costumes and/or props and unexpected repairs will be allowed.
Costumers will be required to sign a release for use of a video and photos. By appearing in the Masquerade, a costumer allows the convention to make a video tape and/or photos of the event and offer them for sale. For Participants under 18 years of age, the release will have to be signed by a parent or guardian.
All costumers are required to walk the stage area before the Masquerade. This will be done at your assigned tech rehearsal.
For safety reasons, the following is not allowed: live animals, substances which might damage or soil other costumes, aerosol sprays, or projectiles. Additionally, no pyrotechnics will be allowed including but not limited to: fire, flash powder, explosives, smoke bombs or fireworks.
Illegal weapons of any kind are not allowed. Fake weapons or Replicas used as part of the costume must follow the SpoCon Weapons Policy. Any weapons MUST be announced & cleared by the Masquerade director prior to the Masquerade.
Costumes with electric power requirements need to be self-contained. There will be no access to electrical outlets on stage.
Costumers who want to use special effects in their presentations (i.e. strobe lights, fog, etc.) must notify the Masquerade Director prior to the convention. The Masquerade Director has the right to deny requests for special effects due to safety concerns and building regulations. Don't plan your presentation around unapproved special effects!
Costumes that could potentially damage the event facilities, participants or audience will not be allowed.
SpoCon encourages all contestants to bring their own makeup, & repair materials such as: make-up, make-up applicators and/or removers, glue, paint, etc. Please come to the Masquerade with everything you need to complete your costume. All participants are encouraged to bring their own "emergency kit".
Smoking is not allowed in the event buildings. Contestants who leave the building for a smoke break may lose their turn to appear on stage.
No Whiners! Entrants are presumed to be adults, or under the supervision of one. All judge's decisions are final.
Surprise the audience, not the Masquerade staff. If you are planning something completely different, let us know well in advance. All information will be held in the strictest confidence.
The Masquerade Director has the right to eliminate any entry from the competition on the basis of taste, danger to the audience, building or you, violation of any of the above rules, or any other reason deemed sufficient. There will be no appeal.

Divisions:

The competition will be run under the skill divisions of Junior, Novice, Journeyman, and Master. This prevents costumers with less experience from having to compete directly against those with more. For group entries, the division should be that of the highest-ranking member of the group. For very large groups, please ask the Masquerade Director for assistance in choosing a division.

Winning 'Best of Show' at any large regional convention moves a costumer up to the next skill division.

The Divisions are defined as follows:

Junior: Costumers 12 and younger. This is our children's masquerade. All young participants must have adult supervision.
Novice: Anyone who has never won an award at a costume contest is a Novice. you must win "Best of Novice" twice in order to move up to the Journeyman level.
Journeyman: A winner of two "Best of Novice" awards competes as a Journeyman. If you have won a "Best of Show" award at a smaller convention, you should compete as a Journeyman at SpoCon.
Master: If you have won two "Best of Journeyman" awards at a smaller convention, you should compete as a Master. If you make your living in the costume business, please compete as a Master.

Awards:

There are two main competitions in this Masquerade: the Stage Presentation and Workmanship. For the Stage Presentation, costumers will be judged on the effect of their costume as well as their stage performance. For the Workmanship Competition, costumers will be judged on their skill in the construction of their costume. The Workmanship Competition was established to recognize exceptional skills in crafting. The judging will be done back stage prior to the stage competition (during tech rehearsal) and is strictly voluntary.

Presentations:

Presentations are limited to one minute. If you are entering a re-creation costume, we would like a photograph or photocopy of the original. Please do not bring us books or videos. Presentation music or special narration can be pre-recorded on compact disc or cassette tape. The photographs, photocopies, compact discs, and tapes will be returned to you immediately after the Masquerade.

Tech Rehearsal:

Tech rehearsals & run-throughs will take place Saturday in the designated Masquerade area. We want everyone to have the best possible presentation. Please expect that your time on-stage will be limited to no more than 2 minutes so that everyone has an opportunity. You have a chance to hopefully do two run-throughs of your presentation. Please bring part of your costume to Tech Rehearsal. This will aid us in choosing the proper lighting and identifying any special technical needs you require. If your costume is physically limiting (i.e. limited sight, trouble moving, very large or cumbersome), bring the pieces of your costume that cause the limitation.

Any interaction with the MC needs to be noted in the script you provide. If you want the MC to read a descriptions of your costume, please write out exactly what you want the MC to read. A written pronunciation should be provided for any made-up or fantasy words.

Please BE ON TIME and come prepared to your Tech Rehearsal. (This means you need to have figured out your general presentation BEFORE you come to the Tech Rehearsal.) Depending on the number of entrants, we may have limited time to spend with each costumer, and want to give each one our full attention.

Backstage Facilities:

Backstage facilities do NOT include bathrooms or private dressing areas. There will be limited space available to store large costumes and props before the masquerade. Please make arrangements with the Masquerade Director before the convention if you would like to use the space.