Welcome to the Costume Contest!
Costuming and cosplay have been an inherent part of SF/F fandom since almost the very beginning. The first WorldCon, in 1939, had fans in costume. For some of us, it’s the primary reason why we attend SF/F conventions. And the great thing is, costumers can be of all ages and skill levels. It is with that in mind that we invite you to participate in OryCon’s costume contest!
Continuing what we started in 2017, the costume contest team (aka masquerade zoo crew) invites the costumers and cosplayers of OryCon to strut their stuff on our stage, Saturday night.
When And Where
Saturday November 10th, 2018
5pm to 7pm in the Mt. St. Helen’s ballroom.
Mandatory Friday Night “Meet The Crew/Q&A”
Friday November 9th, 2018
8pm to 9pm in RM 266
Saturday “Meet The Crew/Q&A”
Friday November 10th, 2018
10am to 11am in RM 266
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(You may attend either meet and greet)
Rehearsal / Event Check-In
Saturday November 10th, 2018
4pm to 5pm in the Mt. St. Helen’s ballroom.
About Pre-Recorded Sound
There will be NO live-mikes on the stage. Any dialogue/music must be pre-recorded and brought to the rehearsal so that the DJ may test the file and copy it over. You can bring your files on CD-ROM or a USB drive, although USB drive is strongly preferred. If possible, please bring the file in both MP3 and WAV format. Gremlins happen and sometimes, computers get finicky.
Photo Studio
We hope to have a photo area for entrants, occurring simultaneous to the rehearsal / check-in, but the final details are still being sorted out.
How To Enter
Eligibility:
• All participants must be registered members of OryCon and be in good standing.
• Participants must agree to read and follow all OryCon Masquerade rules and regulations.
• By registering for the masquerade contest, all participants agree to allow OryCon to use
their images for promotional purposes, including all photographs and video. A parental
signature is required for participants under the age of 18.
How to Enter:
1. Participants may download an entry form from the OryCon website or pick them up at the
convention during sign-ups, from the masquerade director, or from the Masquerade desk.
2. Entries may be turned back in via email to masquerade director before the convention, or at
the convention via sign-ups, directly to the masquerade director, or left at the masquerade
desk. All entries must be to the masquerade director no later than 12pm Saturday… NO
EXCEPTIONS!!
3. Please fill out a Photo Consent Form (to be posted soon)
4. Please fill out Masquerade Contest Entry Form ( to be posted soon)
General Information:
1. OryCon is a family friendly event. Content should not go beyond PG-13.
* No Offensive language of any kind will be tolerated
* NO NUDITY – real or implied. All costumes must meet OryCon’s dress code policy.
* No illegal weapons of any kind. All other weapons must be piece bonded and the
participant must agree to adhere to OryCon’s weapon policy.
2. For Safety reasons the following are not allowed:
* No Pyrotechnics or projectiles of any kind.
* No live animals except service animals are permitted.
* No messy substances- wet, dry, or oily- that may damage another participant’s costume or
hotel space including the stage.
* No jumping on or off the stage. Use the official stage entrances and exits.
3. All costumes with electric power need to be self-contained. There will be no access to
electrical outlets on stage.
4. All special effects (ex. strobe lights, fog, etc.) must be approved by the Masquerade director
prior to the masquerade. The Masquerade director has the right to deny requests due to
safety concerns or building regulations.
5. 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.
6. Attendance at one of the two pre-masquerade meetings during the convention
is mandatory. One is usually Friday night, the other, Saturday morning. Attendance at the
Saturday afternoon rehearsal is also mandatory. Come to your rehearsal prepared. If you
can not make one of the two meetings, you must contact the masquerade director.
7. Purchased or rented costumes, or costumes that have won Best in Show or Best in Class
awards in a world con or a costume con may not be judged for workmanship, but may be
entered for stage presentation.
8. All costumes must be finished prior to the tech rehearsal and judging. Final assembly of
large costumes and props and or unexpected, emergency repairs will be allowed.
9. No costume that has been judged in a prior year for workmanship may be judged again
without a significant change. Only the new change to the costume will be judged.
10. Entrants are presumed to be adults, or under the supervision of one. All judge’s decisions
are final. Small children must be under the control of a responsible adult at all times.
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:
To ensure that Entrants with limited experience do not compete with those Entrants with more
experience, skill divisions have been established as such.
1. Young Fan: Costumers 12 and younger. This is our children’s masquerade. All young
participants must have adult supervision.
2. Novice: Costumers with little to no experience, first time performers and/or have only been
on stage a few times, and anyone who has never won an award in a costume contest.
3. Apprentice: Costumers with some costume making and/or stage experience, have entered
costume contests before and may or may not have received an award, but have not
progressed to the next skill division.
4. Journeyman: Costumers with significant costume and/or stage experience. A winner of two
“Best of Novice” awards competes as a Journeyman. Anyone winning “Best of Show” at a
smaller convention should compete as a Journeyman at Radcon.
5. Master/ Pro: Skilled costumers with extensive experience, several awards, professional
actors or persons who make their living making clothing or costumes compete as a Master/
Pro. If you have won “Best of Journeyman” twice, you should compete as a Master/ Pro.
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.
Judges Choice awards or Workmanship awards do not count as best of class awards.
Judging:
There are two main areas of the Masquerade, Costume judging (or workmanship) and Stage
Competition. All entrants will have a stage presentation, either walk-on or skit. Presentations are
limited to one minute. Presentation music or special narration can be pre-recorded on compact
disc. For the Stage Competition, costumers will be judged on the effect of their costume as well as
their stage presentation. For the Workmanship Competition, costumers will be judged on their skill
in the construction of their costume. If you are recreating another costume from another source
(anime, book covers, movie chars, etc.) please bring a copy picture of the source
image. Workmanship judging is optional, and will be done
before the stage competition (during tech rehearsals.)
Tech Rehearsal:
Tech rehearsals & run-throughs will take place Saturday in the room that the masquerade will be held in. We want everyone to have the best possible presentation. Please expectn that your time on-stage will be limited to no more than 1 minute so that everyone has an opportunity. Any interaction with the MC needs to be noted in the script you provide. If you want the MC to read a description 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.
Contact:
If you have any questions or concerns you want answered before the convention, please email the director at neku6456@gmail.com (yes this is my personal email.)