PHILCON 2008: Masquerade-Cosplay

Philcon 72 Masquerade – You're Invited!

Calling all fen to enter the Philcon Masquerade!  The Masquerade will take place on Saturday evening, November 22nd.  Come and show the audience your costumes.  No experience is necessary; we’ll show you the ropes and help you on and off stage.  There’ll be experienced judges to review your performance and, if you wish, the workmanship on your costume.  You might win an award!  The Wombat (jan howard finder) will be our Masquerade MC.

Our contestant info and masquerade registration form are online here (PDF); however, you don’t need to register before you arrive at the con.  Come to the masquerade table to sign up to enter the masquerade.

We look forward to seeing you in the Philcon 2008 Masquerade!

Cosplayers and Anime Fans Welcome!

Philcon welcomes anime fans and cosplayers. Our programming includes both anime and costuming tracks. We love hall costumes and encourage cosplayers to wear costumes around the con. We also welcome cosplay costumes in the Masquerade and encourage cosplayers to enter it.

Contestant Information

Masquerade Rules

• Surprise the audience.  Never surprise the crew!
• No fire or flame is allowed on stage – no exceptions!
• Smoking is prohibited in all designated masquerade areas.
• No messy substances – wet, dry, or oily – that might ruin the costume of another contestant will be permitted in the green room or on stage.
• The masquerade is PG-13.  No flagrant nudity, please.  “No costume is no costume.”
• Each entry will be limited to 60 seconds on stage.
• There are no live mikes on stage.  We encourage recorded music and dialog or text to be read by the MC.
• Each contestant may appear only once on stage.  You may enter more than one costume so long as it appears on a different body.
• Entrants competing Re-Creation costumes must provide documentation for the judges.  Please provide copies only of your source materials.  Do not bring books or videotapes.
• Weapons – nothing may be brought on stage that might endanger the entrants, audience, judges, or crew.  Display of weapons on stage requires the Masquerade Director’s prior clearance.  Entrants displaying weapons without clearance will be disqualified.
• Special effects – nothing may be brought on stage that might endanger the entrants, audience, judges, or crew.  Special effects must be clearly outlined in advance to the masquerade staff in order to determine that they are (1) legal and (2) safe.  Safety is our paramount concern.
• No flash photography is permitted while contestants are on stage. Safety is our paramount concern.
• Any exceptions to these rules must be cleared in advance by the Masquerade Director.  Only the Masquerade Director may approve exceptions.
• When in doubt, ask the masquerade staff.

Masquerade Registration

Masquerade registration will take place at the Con, on Friday afternoon and evening and on Saturday morning and early afternoon.  All entries must be received no later than Saturday afternoon.

Please print your forms carefully, since others will have to read them.  In a group entry, every member must sign the release form.  Turn in any instructions or text for the MC, Re-Creation costume documentation for the judges, audiotapes, and instructions for the tech crew with the masquerade registration form.

You don’t need to provide prerecorded sound.  You may give us a script for the MC to read.  If you do provide sound, either a CD or MP3 is acceptable.  Please do not give us a commercially recorded CD; use an otherwise blank CD.  Mark the CD with your costume title and your name.  Mark the other side of a cassette “WRONG SIDE.”  Please be sure your material is the only recording on the CD.

Competition Skill Divisions

The Philcon masquerade uses the following skill divisions.  The skill divisions’ purpose is to assure that less advanced entrants do not compete against more advanced entrants.  However, any entrant may elect to enter in a higher skill division.

• Young Fan (youth) – any contestant 13 years of age or younger who is not part of an adult group.
• Novice (beginner) – anyone who has not won an award for a costume in the masquerade at a major regional convention (like Philcon).
• Journeyman (Intermediate) – anyone who has won 3 or fewer awards for different costumes in the masquerades at major regional conventions.
• Craftsman/Master (Advanced) – anyone who has won more than 3 awards for different costumes in the masquerades at major regional conventions, world science fiction conventions, or Costume-Cons, or who has won Best in Show at a WorldCon or Costume-Con masquerade.  Professional costumers also must enter in this division.

Competition Categories

The Philcon masquerade has two categories of costumes: Original and Re-Creation.

Original Costume: 

A costume whose design is the creation of the contestant, even though it may be inspired by an SF, fantasy, mythological, or other source.  

 

Re-Creation Costume: 

A costume whose design is copied from a film, television show, theatrical presentation, book illustration, comic, work of art, or other medium showing at least one good view of the costume.  Re-Creation costumes are duplicates or design adaptations of the published design work of someone other than the contestant.  They require documentation of the source.  A picture or written description must accompany your registration form.

Workmanship Judging

Workmanship judging is optional. It takes place in the masquerade green room before the show begins. It allows the workmanship judge to consider exceptional accomplishment in crafting the costume. This is the place where exquisite (obsessive?) attention to detail may be recognized. Let the Den Mom assigned to you in the Green Room know if you want your costume or a part of the costume judged for workmanship.

Suggestions for a Successful Competition

Please be kind to yourself before the masquerade: 

• Get some sleep. 
• Register early for the masquerade and turn in all appropriate materials at that time, properly labeled. 
• Come to the tech rehearsal and let the masquerade staff know what you will need for your presentation to run smoothly. 
• Get a lot of practice ahead of time. 
• Please eat.  You will be in the green room or on stage for about 4 1/2 hours.  Eat and drink something a few hours before show time.

Check in at the Green Room and let the Den Mom assigned to you take care of you:

• If your costume needs a repair, the repair table will try to take care of you. Don’t panic, the repair kit is quite complete and the repair person is very good. 
• If you have a problem, let your Den Mom or the Green Room manager know. 
• Stay in your assigned den so your Den Mom can find you when it is time to go on stage. 
• Let the stage crew help you on and off stage so you don’t trip or fall. 
• Let your den mom take care of your excess belongings – like glasses! – and let the stage crew retrieve any props you leave on stage. 
• Stick around for the awards – it might be your name they call. 
• Let us know what we can do to help you to make your presentation everything you want it to be.

Rehearse, rehearse, rehearse!  Remember, this is a costume competition, not a talent show.  Never bore the audience!  Don’t forget to enjoy yourself!

Thank you for being a part of the Philcon 2008 Masquerade!

Byron P. Connell (masquerade2008@philcon.org)
Masquerade Director