DisCon III In-Person Masquerade Rules
The DisCon III Masquerade is a costume showcase featuring your fellow convention members. It is not a contest where one costume or presentation is being compared to another, but rather an assessment of one’s own skill within their level or the success of their presentation from the audience point of view.
The DisCon III Masquerade will be on Friday December 17, 2021 at 8pm.
The goal of the Masquerade is entertainment for the audience as well as appreciation for the efforts and creativity of the entrants.
**All participants must be masked in both the Green Room and on stage during their presentation. Please contact masquerade@discon3.org for any questions.**
Registration Form
Online registration is closed. To participate in the masquerade, please register on site at the Masquerade Registration table in the Executive Room. Entrants may change their information up until they leave their rehearsal time slot. All entrants must check in at Masquerade Table at DisCon III.
Masquerade table hours will be:
- Wednesday, December 15, 3 PM – 8 PM
- Thursday, December 16, Noon – 8 PM
- Friday, December 17, 10 AM – Noon
The Form
Fill out the primary contact information completely, especially the At-Con phone number. It is important in case we need to contact you about your rehearsal time slot or have questions about your entry.
Enter the title of your presentation next, followed by the genre, skill division, category, costume source, who designed it and who made it, and all the participant names for who will be on the stage for your entry. This information will be read by the Master of Ceremonies (MC) on stage before and/or after your performance as arranged at your rehearsal.
The Genre is the category the costume falls under. For example if it’s a spacesuit it could be science fiction, or something from an Anime show, or from a fantasy story.
For Skills Division the DisCon III Masquerade uses the guidelines set up by the International Costumers’ Guild. http://costume.org/wp/icg-guidelines-ensuring-fair-competition/
- The Young Fan Division is for persons age 12 and younger at the time of the Masquerade (born after December 17, 2009) in costumes designed and created by themselves and/or their parents. Parents may be part of the presentation on stage as a “prop.”
- The Novice Division is to encourage beginners in Costuming. Anyone who has not won an award for presentation is considered to be a Novice. Young fans may enter as Novices at the discretion of the entrant and the Masquerade Director.
- The Journeyman Division is an interim level to allow further development of costuming skills. If you have won a presentation award at the Novice level you may consider yourself a Journeyman. If you have won 3 awards as a Journeyman you should consider yourself in the Master level.
- The Master/Craftsman Division is an open division for anyone to enter. Those who have won 3 awards at Journeyman level must enter in this division. Professionals are considered Masters. Professional is defined as someone who earns a majority of his or her income from fashion or costume, including university faculty members.
- Group entries should compete at the level of the group’s most experienced member who is an essential element of the entry. If in doubt, consult with the Masquerade Director.
For the Re-Creation category you must provide at least one photograph of the original source work. Documentation (movie stills, photographs) supporting your costume will be accepted at check in or during rehearsals and will be returned to you following the Masquerade, perhaps the next day. For Original designs you can also provide documentation to help the Workmanship Judge(s) in evaluating your work. Documentation must be printed so as to be handed to the Judge(s) and/or their Clerk for the duration of the Rehearsals, Show and Judging periods.
Indicate if you will be In-Competition or Out-of-Competition. If you have presented and received awards for this costume at other regional or international convention masquerades, then you should consider presenting it out of competition.
The MC will introduce all entrants during the Masquerade. Entrants have options for a standard intro, or submit a personalized intro for the MC to read. At the MC’s discretion they may be willing to take part in the presentation as well. This may be worked out before or at your rehearsal.
The only audio being heard during the presentation is the MC and pre-recorded audio tracks played by the Tech crew. Any speech on the stage will not be heard by the audience. All audio (speech and music) must be pre-record. Please bring your audio files FORMAT HERE. If you cannot do that for any reason, contact us at masquerade@discon3.org well in advance of the convention. Bring multiple copies in case Format here becomes unusable prior to the competition. Any speaking from stage during your presentation will disqualify you from Judging.
Limitations
Time on stage is limited to 60 seconds.
The stage dimensions are 48 feet x 32 feet, 36 inches off the ground.
The only person able to speak from the stage is the MC. They will be happy to work with you in reading a short script or may interact with you upon request.
Each person may appear only once as an entrant on stage, except for parent-child costuming. Adults may appear as part of or supporting a Young Fan costume in addition to their own entry.
Restrictions on Costumes and Props
All Masquerade entries must be PG-13.
Absolutely no flame, fires, sparks on stage or projectiles propelled off of the stage will be allowed during your presentation.
If you are carrying a weapon on stage, we need to know ahead of time. Any weapon allowed in the Masquerade must adhere to the DisCon III Weapons Policy and be approved ahead of time by the Masquerade Director.
Do not decorate your costume or props with anything messy, smelly, or slimy. All parts of your costume must come in and leave with you.
Purchased or rented costumes may not be entered in Workmanship competition; you may enter as Presentation only.
Rehearsal
Possible Rehearsal time slots will be emailed with your Masquerade signup confirmation.
All participants must take part in their rehearsal or risk being removed from the Masquerade.
Talking to the Technical crew in advance allows them to help you make the best presentation of your costume.
Tech Crew, the MC, and the Masquerade Director must be completely aware of what you plan to do on stage. No exceptions. There will be a Head Ninja present at rehearsal to discuss what help you need getting on or off the stage, what prop help you want, etc.
You must clear all special effects and weapons with the Masquerade Director and Stage Manager at rehearsal.
If your presentation involves removing or leaving any portion of your costume or props on stage this must be covered at rehearsal.
Photography
There will be a professional Photographer taking pictures in the Masquerade Green Room. Photos will be available for purchase from the photographer. Audience members will be taking non-flash photos during presentations. There will also be an area for fan photography for after your presentation.
Masquerade Green Room
Check in begins at 6:00 PM. Please arrive no later than 6:45 PM or you may be scratched from the run order.
You will be given the presentation order for the show when you arrive. You will be assigned a den and a Den Parent. If you need anything, please let them know.
There will be a Repair Table available to cover last-minute emergencies.
Workmanship Judging
The Workmanship Judging will be done in the Masquerade Green Room. You may opt into or out of being workmanship judged. When in doubt, please do talk with the Workmanship Judge. You can ask that specific parts of your costume be judged.
“The Masquerade”
Young Fans will appear first, then judged and given awards.
There will be Stage Ninjas to assist you getting on/off stage, and to move your props.
After you are finished you will return to the Masquerade Green Room. You can watch the show on TV. Be prepared to be called back onto the stage for awards after the Halftime presentation.
A video of the Masquerade may be available to purchase at a later date.
Presentation Judging
This judging will be to evaluate your performance from the point of view of the audience. The number and types of awards presented are at the sole discretion of the Judges.
Awards for both Workmanship and Presentation will be announced that night after the Judges have deliberated.
After the Masquerade
A list of awardees will be published.
On Saturday, you will have the opportunity to retrieve your documentation at the Masquerade Show and Tell panel where you are encouraged to share your costume story with attendees.
When the photographer’s photos are available an email will be sent to you.
Remember, please send any questions to masquerade@discon3.org
**All participants must be masked in both the Green Room and on stage during their presentation. Please contact masquerade@discon3.org for any questions.**