MarsCon 2008 Masquerade Newsletter for Jan 2008

Greetings to all you fans of Costume,

Things are really gearing up for the next MarsCon, coming to you in less than 2 months - Feb 29th to be precise! (Get your pre-registrations in now, before the price goes up at the end of January!). We want YOU for the MarsCon Masquerade.

We’ve always had some great costumes entered in the MarsCon Masquerade in the past, so I’m looking forward to more spectacular outfits next month. Most of you are hard core costumers, and know the rules and regs of entering costume contests. But for you ‘newbies’; First – welcome, and don’t be afraid to enter the contest (We don’t bite. OK, maybe we nibble a little, but that’s just because we like you!) Just a few points of info everyone should know.

Because of the growing number of people interested, costume contests at all conventions are getting more and more structured (with of course, more and more rules – darn). Gone are the days when you just walked on stage, stood there for a few seconds while the audience applauded and walked off.

Usually, the Main Stage at any convention is being used by many events, so there is a limited amount of time for the Masquerade, and that means a limited amount of time for your on stage presentations. That’s why rehearsals are so important. Some conventions will pretty much take up your whole day on Saturday, with rehearsals, sound checks, walk-throughs, etc. At MarsCon, we don’t want to take your whole day. So, we try to make it very short. But, please show up for your rehearsal time. If you’re not at walk-through, you can’t be in the show. It works out so much better for the audience, the stage crew and YOU to find out during rehearsal, and not performance, that your music doesn’t work, or you towering headdress can’t get through the door.

Also, presentations on stage need to be limited, too. Try to plan your presentations to 30 seconds or so. (60 seconds for groups). It doesn’t seem like a lot of time, but it’s longer than you think when you’re on stage in front of an audience. If you’d like some help with your presentation, please attend the How to Enter a Masquerade panel given on Friday evening. The staff of the Masquerade Dungeon will do all we can to make your presentation even better.

Another time saver, and show saver, is having any sound/music prerecorded to a blank CD before you get to the con. We occasionally have spare blank CDs in the Masquerade Lounge, which we’ll gladly let you have one. but, we don’t have access to equipment and/or personnel to help you burn your stuff. You could try relying on the kindness of friends or strangers, but you can’t count on a good clear perfect edited recording (like you could doing it at home with plenty of time). So, PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE record your sound/music at home on a labeled blank CD and bring it with you to the con. (And label, label, label it with your name, character name, and presentation title).

Also, bring with you a filled out copy of the Masquerade registration form. While you will still need to sit down with a Masquerade registrar (fancy word, huh!) while they put your info into the computer, at least you will know what info we need. AND, I HOPE, you will have the signatures of all the participants in your group entry. Due to those pesky insurance details, we need a signed liability release from everyone who is involved in any costume contest entry (even those people, like your mom, who don’t go on stage, but are with you in the ‘green room’.)

Why can’t you just fill out the costume contest form, and e-mail it in? You know it will get misplaced somewhere between now and the con. And, you know there will be changes to your entry between now and then. And. you know we NEED THOSE SIGNATURES. So, please, print out the contest registration form, look it over, and fill it out. GET THOSE SIGNATURES, and bring it with you to register for the masquerade contest.

So, what do YOU get out of entering the Masquerade, besides the adulation on stage from screaming adoring fans? (What, isn’t that enough?). We at the con are so glad that you’ve decided to spend some of your time helping us entertain the masses, that we want to reward you. Just for entering the Masquerade contest, you will receive a free 5” x 7” color photo of yourself / your group (one for each of you). Once you’ve registered for the Masquerade, you will receive a token. Just bring this token to our official photographers, anytime during the convention and have your picture taken in costume. If you can’t pick up your free photo on Sunday, we will mail it to you. (Another reason we need the registration info).

For all you rabid costume fans, we have more than just the masquerade to keep you entertained, we have a whole Masquerade Lounge for your convention pleasure. The Lounge, to be referred to as the Masquerade Dungeon this year (in deference to the Gaming theme of the convention), will be open from 6pm Friday afternoon, to the end of the convention Sunday afternoon (with a little time off for sleeping). The Dungeon is a place you can come to attend costume related programming, view costumes displays, and have a picture taken of yourself in costume. The pro photographer can take your order for prints at a real reasonable cost.

There will be several costume related panels presented in the Masquerade Dungeon. Besides panels on constructing costumes from film to fabric, and how to enter a masquerade (tips and tricks for ‘newbies’), we will again have a 2 hour presentation on Creating the Geisha. This is our follow-up to our very successful Creating Queen Elizabeth of last year. We will supplement that with a panel on the history and traditions of the kimono.

MarsCon is fortunate to have Lisa Kiepp coming from Colorado to give her presentation on hat making. I attended her terrific panel at last year’s CostumeCon. There is a lot of good information on every type of hat. She will be asking for a $15 materials fee for her workshop, but will be providing hard to find hat making materials for you to take home. (We will announce additional panels as they are confirmed).

Of course, conventions can’t run without volunteers. And Masquerade Lounge (Dungeon) volunteers are so very special! There’s lots to do as a Masquerade volunteer. We need people to help register Masquerade contestants, be workmanship or performance judges, set up and monitor panels, help set up and run displays, and even be a secret hall costume judge! Even help behind the scenes during the masquerade program, as a den ‘mommy or daddy’, helping the contestants with last minute panics.

Besides a special place all your own to hang out, you will also be treated to chocolates and Coke courtesy of the Masquerade Diva (that’s me!). Most costumers, including myself, can’t make it through a convention without the basics food groups; sugar, salt, fat and caffeine = Coke & chocolate!

So please join your fellow costume fanatics for a great time in the MarsCon Masquerade Dungeon!

Rae Lundquist (a.k.a. The DreamStitcher)

---

MarsCon 2008 / Feb 29th—Mar 2nd / Holiday Inn Select / Bloomington,MN
If you're looking for the Marscon in Hampton Roads, Virginia click here.

Questions about MarsCon: info09c@marscon.org
© 2007—2008, Fans Educational Network for Science Fiction.
This page was last revised January 13, 2008 at 23:03