Masquerade
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Welcome to the Norwescon Masquerade
We would like to invite you
to participate in the Norwescon masquerade. The Norwescon
masquerade is open to all convention members of all
costuming skill levels and is held on Saturday night of the
con. It will be following the International Costumer’s Guild
guidelines for rules and skill levels.
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Masquerade
Videos
The Norwescon 32 Masquerade DVD is now Available and
preorders are being taken for Norwescon 33.
It can be had for $20 at:
Alan Halfhill
Photovision
PO Box 11402
Bainbridge Island WA 98110-5402 |
Norwescon Masquerade Rules
Please review these
rules carefully. Violation of any rule will disqualify an entry.
Please help us make the masquerade safe and enjoyable.
- Never surprise the Masquerade Director. No
jumping off or throwing things off the stage.
- Backstage space is limited, so the overall
size of costumes and number of helpers is limited. Costumes can
be no longer than twelve feet, no taller than ten feet, and no
wider than six feet.
- 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 mandatory. Come to your rehearsal prepared. There
will only be time during your rehearsal to set lighting and
sound cues. Do not expect stage time for development of
choreography or blocking.
- No live microphones are provided for
contestants
- *See Sound Notes Below.
- No live firearms, no live explosions or fire
and all weapons must be peace bonded except as needed for stage
presentation.
- The masquerade is PG-13. Lack of costume is
not a costume.
- No messy substances – wet, dry, or oily –
that might ruin another’s contestant or make the stage dangerous
are permitted.
- Each entry will be limited to a maximum of
60 seconds of presentation time. The Masquerade Director may
grant an exception for groups of five or more people on a
case-by-case basis. Time-limit exceptions must be requested
prior to rehearsal.
- Purchased or rented costumes may not be
entered in competition. Credit must be given for all makeup and
costume construction.
- No flash photography is permitted while
contestants are on stage, or in the backstage area. A designated
photo area will be provided for contestant photos after the
masquerade.
- Last but not least, the Masquerade Director
has the final say.
*Sound Notes
6. Sound CD’s or tapes must be completed and submitted prior to the
morning of the Masquerade. Bring two copies of your sound
accompaniment to the meeting of your choice (see Rule #3). Contact
Keith Johnson (tourdemondo@yahoo.com) if you have any sound
questions.
Keith Johnson, our resident sound techie, makes the following
suggestions for your presentation tapes. Note that some items
contradict the "conventional wisdom."
- We highly recommend music for every presentation! We can take CD,
CD-R, and cassette, subject to the conditions below. We also
encourage the use of stereo music. We plan to have a stereo sound
feed to the video.
- If you are recording from a CD, please bring that original CD to
the con as well (in addition to your CD-R or tape); we may want to
use it. Please write the track number legibly on the original CD.
- We will have limited capability to make custom tapes on-site. We
can only cue a CD to the beginning of a particular track (there is
not enough time during the Masquerade to cue within a track). If
this is the case for your music, please record it on a separate CD-R
or tape ahead of time.
- We don’t have the ability to play MP3’s or other compressed music
formats. If time allows, however, we can in most cases copy your
music from your MP3 player. (Better to have the music available on
CD.)
- For presentations on CD-R’s:
- If you record your material on a CD please make sure it is a
standard audio CD. Please burn only one track and make two copies of
your material.
- For presentations on cassettes:
- Please use as high quality tape as possible (Chrome or Metal tape
are encouraged). Use a fresh clean tape, and make two copies in case
one is unusable for whatever reason.
- Please use noise reduction. We are Dolby B and C compatible, be
sure to write on the cassette label which it is. (If you only have a
"Dolby" or "NR" switch on your cassette deck, you have Dolby B.)
- Please do not record at the very beginning of the tape. A 30-45
second gap is enough to get past front-of-tape dropouts. We will cue
the tape in your presence to make sure it starts where you want.
Keith is also offering a FREE MUSIC PRESENTATION SERVICE for anyone
who would like help creating a high-quality presentation tape for
that high-quality costume. Give him a call at (253) 839-7033 (till
9pm Pacific time).
Norwescon Masquerade Skill Divisions
Anyone may choose to
compete in a higher skill division. Group presentations will be
judged based on the highest skill division of the individual
members.
Rising Star is for any contestant 13 years of age or
younger who is not part of an adult group. Rising Star costumes must
be made by the entrant with no more than a minimum amount of
supervisory help. An adult-made costume may not be entered in this
category and should instead be entered in the appropriate skill
division of the adult.
Novice is for any contestant who has not previously
won an award for a costume in any masquerade, or who has won a
maximum of two awards in the Novice division for different costumes
at a world-class convention masquerade such as World Con or Costume
Con, or at a regional convention masquerade such as Norwescon or
Westercon.
Journeyman is for any contestant who has won a
maximum of three awards for different costumes in the Journeyman
division at a world-class or regional convention masquerade.
Master is for any contestant who has won four or
more awards for different costumes in the Journeyman or Master
division, or who has won one or more Best in Show awards, at a
regional or world-class convention masquerade. Professional
costumers must enter the Master division.
Children's Masquerade
Have a padawan learner in
the family? Or a Crusader knight? A fairy princess who wants to show
off her wings? Bring them to the Norwescon Children's Masquerade!
The children's masquerade allows children who are too young to
compete as Rising Stars (self made costumes by
children 13 years and under) to show off their costumes. To
accommodate early bedtimes and short
attention spans, the children's masquerade is the first part of the
Masquerade. But should you wish to see the rest of the amazing
costumes, seats will be saved for you and your child.
Since entrants will go on stage shortly after 8:00 p.m., all
children wishing to enter must meet with the Children's Masquerade
head at 7:30 p.m. in Cascade 5. She will have forms and all
necessary info available for you then. So bring your Star Trek
ensigns, aspiring Quidditch players and Narnian queens to
Norwescon's masquerade in April!
Children’s Group Registration Forms
Masquerade Judging
Presentation judging is
mandatory. It consists of your presentation on stage. It judges
everything from your costume’s appearance from stage, to how you act
and move, to your music and voiceovers, etc. The Judges will give
awards divided by skill levels and excellence of performance within
those different skill levels.
Workmanship judging is optional. It takes place in
the masquerade backstage area before the show begins. It allows the
workmanship judges to consider exceptional accomplishment in
crafting costumes, props, and accessories. This is the place where
exquisite attention to detail may be recognized. Re-Creation
costumes (a costume whose design is copied from a film, television
show, theatrical presentation, book illustration, comic, work of
art, or other medium) must provide a color picture of the original
for the workmanship judges. Let your Den Mom know if you want your
costume and/or props and accessories judged for workmanship.
Masquerade Entry Form
Stage
Dimensions
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