The Masquerade
A.K.A. The Costume / Cosplay Contest
The Masquerade is a presentation costume contest. Contestants are judged on construction, workmanship and presentation.
It’s part costume contest and part fashion show / exhibit / presentation / skits / dance routines / and more! There is often an intermission featuring a performance (musical, or comedy, or …?). There are many reasons why our members spend all year planning and preparing for The Masquerade!
Audience members are welcome to wear costumes if they like; however, there is no requirement. Sit back and enjoy seeing the work and performances of our contestants.
Masquerade Events
Masquerade Rules
All contestants may choose to be judged on Craftsmanship and/or Skit. If they choose not be judged, they will be presented as an Exhibition piece.
All entrants for Craftsmanship will need to choose a competition category from the following:
Master:
Any competitor may enter in the Master division.
Journeyman:
- Professional costumers may not enter in the Journeyman division.
- A contestant who has competed and won in the Master division at a competition may not enter in the Journeyman division.
- A contestant who has won more than three major awards in the Journeyman division in competition may not enter in the Journeyman division.
- Awards won at regional competitions may be counted towards placement at the discretion of the Masquerade Director.
- Minor awards may be counted towards placement at the discretion of the Masquerade Director.
Novice:
- Professional costumers may not enter in the Novice division.
- A contestant who has competed and won in any division other than Novice at a competition may not enter in the Novice division.
- A contestant who has won “Best in Show” or “Best Novice” at a competition may not enter in the Novice division.
- A contestant who has won numerous major awards in the Novice division at competitions is encouraged to enter in the Journeyman division
- Any additional awards won at regional competitions may be counted towards division placement at the discretion of the Masquerade Director.
- Minor awards may be counted towards placement at the discretion of the Masquerade Director.
Junior/Youth:
- A child wearing a costume designed and built entirely by an adult should be entered either in the adult’s appropriate skill division or entered as an exhibition (out of competition) piece.
Prejudging
Craftsmanship of masquerade entries will be prejudged at a designated time and place to be communicated via the program book and the website.
While it is not necessary to document your work, if you choose too you can present such documentation during prejudging. Similarly, if you are representing a specific theme and /or character, it would be advisable to bring references for the judges who may not be familiar with the theme and/or character.
Presentations
Presentation will be broken down into two categories: Walk-on and Skit.
Walk-on
All participants in this category are required to walk on to center stage, show off all the different angles of the costume (front, side, back), to the judges and audience. We encourage everyone to stay in character and make the audiences and judges believe that you are that character.
Walk-on is about showing off your workmanship and for presentation of your costume.
We ask that people use their maximum stage time of 45 seconds on stage for full effect of their costume. This is not mandatory, but HIGHLY recommended to maximize your exposure.
Skits
Skits are prepared ahead of time to tell a story and give a theatrical, musical or any type of visual performance to the audience such as dances. Some skits may have to be pre-approved to reassure safety of the contestants and other participants at the masquerade.
All skits must be no longer than 2 minutes in duration. If the skit exceeds the allotted time, they may have their score penalized and their performance cut off at the end of their time limit. No extra time will be given even if the size of the group is large.
We highly recommend that all skits submit their own audio. No microphones will be provided and we urge you to mix your own audio with dialogues pre-recorded.
All participants are eligible to win the craftsmanship portion of the masquerade.
All stage props must be quick to set up and take down. It is not required to have stage props.
Audio
All audio must be in MP3 format.
You may submit your audio using USB sticks and CD’s. They should be clearly labeled with your name. Please be aware that USB sticks and CD’s may not be returned and should only carry 1 audio file to prevent any confusions or miscommunications. No sound track CD’s requiring specific track being played will be accepted.
No microphones or any other playback means will be provided to any contestants.
General rules and regulations
All contestants must have valid Keycon membership in order to participate. Please present your badge at registration for proper validation.
All contestants 13 years of age and under must have their parents’ permission to enter, and must be accompanied by a legal guardian or adult relative at the show.
All participants must exhibit good sportsmanship and remain professional at all times. Rude behavior and offensive remarks or insults toward staff, judges, or other contestants may be considered grounds for disqualification.
All entries must adhere to the Keycon costume policy and weapons policy.
Certain props maybe permitted for stage and judging process; however, must be pre-approved by the Masquerade Director in advance. An arrangement will be made to insure safety and full participation of the contestant.
No nudity, obscene gore or sexuality will be allowed at this event. This is a family friendly event and follows the movie rating of PG.
No pyro works, open flame, fire, flash powder or flash paper is allowed. No laser pointers allowed. Sealed electronic flashes are permitted. No messy substance is allowed on stage. The stage must be as clean as it was before you walked on, when you walk off stage.
To insure safety, contestants must inform the masquerade director on the application form of anything they will be doing on stage. No secrets. This way the staff can take any precaution, or advise changes to assure all participants, staff and audience safety.
Contestants must be on time for craftsmanship judging appointments and report to the green room on time. Appointments and report times will be provided to you at registration and failing to appear and ready to go on stage may result in disqualification.
Surprise the audience and judges, not the Masquerade Director. If you are planning something, please talk to the Masquerade Director first.
The Masquerade Director reserve the right to remove anyone from competition based on taste, danger to the audience or other contestants, or for any other reason.
All judge’s decisions are final. They reserve the rights to withhold “Best in show” awards and “Best in Division” awards if they deem no entrants deserve them.
Judging Criteria
But how does the judging work? Below is a breakdown of the scoring, within each division:
Craftsmanship 50/50
How good a job you did making the costume. Here we look at
the stitching, the material, and the detail work. The sweat and blood poured
in the creation of your amazing entry.
Originality and/or adherence to source material 30/30
Whether your entry is from your own imagination or a faithful recreation
of your favourite character, how well did you execute your vision?
Did you get creative in the use of materials? Did you do something unexpected?
Presentation 20/20
You made an awesome costume, time to show it off!
But don’t just flop on stage, be in character, show off to the audience,
wow the audience from the stage. If you or your group is performing a skit
then that effects your presentation score.
Skits 20/20
Skits will be judged on their own this year. You are not required to have a skit, but a skit will effect your presentation score. Skits will be judged on originality, timing, and entertainment.
Masquerade
Registration
Download the following form, complete, scan and submit by e-mail before Keycon Opening Ceremonies on the (7 p.m. Friday, May 17, 2019) or in person at Registration before 1 p.m. Saturday, May 18, 2019.
