Divisions

The competition will be run under the skill divisions system of Young Fan, 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. Judges Choice awards or Workmanship awards do not count as best of class awards.

The divisions are defined as follows:

Young Fan: 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 Radcon.

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

Categories for awards: Anime, Fantasy, Science Fiction, Recreation (i.e. book cover), Historical, Original, and Non-Fabric (i.e. Duct Tape, aluminum, plastics)

There are two main competitions in this Masquerade: the Stage Competition and the Workmanship Competition. 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. The Workmanship Competition was established to recognize exceptional skills in crafting. The judging will be done prior to the stage competition (during tech rehearsal).

Masquerade Rules

Every masquerade has to have its rules and here is ours. Be assured that there are valid reasons for each of these rules.

1. All masquerade participants must be registered attendees of the RadCon convention. Please try to register before noon on Saturday! There will be some allowance for late entries, but please have them in no later than 3pm. If you cannot get your form in on time, you will be given the opportunity to display your costume as an “honorable mention” with no judge work done at the end of the main show before halftime.

2. NO flagrant nudity. Illegal weapons of any kind are not allowed.  All costumes must meet RadCon’s weapon and dress code policies. If you decide to carry a real weapon, by signing your registration form, you accept any legal and financial responsibility for damage your weapon may cause to persons or property.

3. 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 WorldCon or CostumeCon. These costumes may be worn on stage for Exhibition but will not be judged for the competition.  Your costume must be finished before you get to the Tech Rehearsal. 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.  All costumers are required to walk the stage before the Masquerade. This will be done at your assigned tech rehearsal.

4. 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 of guardian.

5. 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.  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 hotel facilities, participants or audience will not be allowed.  RadCon encourages all contestants to bring their own makeup, & repair materials such as: make-up, make-up applicators and/or removers, glue, paint, etc.

6. Smoking is not allowed in the hotel meeting rooms. Contestants who leave the building for a smoke break may lose their turn to appear on stage.

7. No Whiners! 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.

8. 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.

9. 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. We have never had to eliminate anyone yet, but this protects you and the convention. There will be no appeal.

 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. If you have the photo on an electronic device, please have it ready for the judges to see at the time of pre-judging. Presentation music or special narration can be pre-recorded on compact disc. The photographs, photocopies, compact discs, and tapes will be returned to you immediately after the Masquerade. If you are in need of advice or help in devising a presentation, please come to the Saturday Masquerade Q&A panel at the convention, all inquires will be kept in the strictest confidence.

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 expect 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.