Masquerade / Cosplay

Welcome to the MarsCon Masquerade Contest, and thank you for entering.

Please fill out the form(s)—include any presentation music/voice over, etc.—and return bring to the Bridge before 3 pm on Saturday or bring to the Masquerade Orientation meeting.

Contest signup, and Masquerade Orientation will be held at 3:30 pm Saturday (Labyrinth/Blue Heron Colony). If you are entering, this is mandatory attendance.

Here we will go over “tips and tricks” for stage presentation as well as small repairs and Tech (not a rehearsal). If possible take a look at the stage before orientation.

Rules and Guidelines

1. HAVE FUN!
2. In case of Emergency see rule #1.
3. The MarsCon Masquerade contest follows, for the most part, the guidelines of the ICG (International Costumers Guild), following their categories of competition:
   • Beginner / Novice: Never have entered a costume competition, or have never won in that category.
   • Advanced / Journeyman: Have entered several competitions, or have won in Novice category elsewhere.
   • Expert / Master / Professional: Have won in Advanced/Journeyman categories elsewhere, or have done costuming for a long period of time, or are a professional costumer/prop/make-up artist.
     
     In addition to the category awards presented above there will be at least 2 more awards presented outside the above categories.
     
     You also can opt not to be judged and enter just as an “Exhibit” - this gives you a chance to show off that fabulous costume, without the tension of competition.
   Even if you have never competed before, it is at the discretion of the judges as to what category you will be placed in. If they place you in a higher category, consider that as a compliment to your skills!
4. Every contestant must be registered, BY 3 pm on Saturday of the con.
   
   The registration form included here, will ask for your name, your badge name and number, contact info (phone and e-mail). It will also ask for the name of the entry character’s name/source (i.e comic book, movie, book, anime, etc.)
   
   It really helps to include pictures/documentation, as not all judges are acquainted with ALL characters out there.
5. There will be a Masquerade orientation meeting on Saturday at 3:30 pm. There the Masquerade Director will go over the rules and regs, answer questions, etc. and collect registrations. This won’t take too long, and afterwards there will be a bit of instruction for newbies (those who haven’t entered a costume contest before), tips and tricks about being on stage, etc. (“old pros” need not stay, unless you want to stay and help encourage the “newbies”.)
   
   You don’t have to have a skit, or act, etc. BUT, if you do, Masquerade contest skits will run NO MORE than 30 seconds per single person, 2 minutes per group (up to 4 - see Masquerade Director if you want to add more). Note: a skit or act will add points to your judging score.
   
   If your presentation includes voice and/or music, record it beforehand. Trust us, even if you have an “operatic” voice, most Main Stage areas are horrible for acoustics, and you’re usually not heard past the first row or two.
   
   Record your material on a labeled flash drives (as an .mp3 or .wav) and hand one copy in with your registration BY 3 pm ON Saturday. This will be given to our sound tech who will set it up further. There will be no mikes, and no allowance for dialogue, songs spoken from the stage. (period).
6. No liquids of any kind, no thrown props/objects will be allowed on stage. This is for safetys sake. NO live weapons allowed (even peace bonded – make a prop version please), no pointing anything at the audience.
7. Remember, by participating you are already reaching and improving your skills and bringing life to your creation. Above all, HAVE FUN!

Questions? Send them to masquerade [redacted; use the online forms] @marscon.org.

MarsCon 2022

“The future ain’t what it used to be”
March 11 - 13, 2022
In Person

Hilton Minneapolis/St. Paul Airport Mall of America
3800 American Blvd E
Bloomington, Minnesota
March 11 - 13, 2022

MarsCon has ongoing expenses but zero registration revenue for 2021 - if you were registered for MarsCon 2021 your membership has been rolled over to 2022. If you are able, please consider a Donation to MarsCon.

Send questions about MarsCon to info [redacted; use the online forms] @marscon.org, we’ll do our best to send answers!

More about MarsCon may be found at...
  • Discord: https://discord.gg/CfQQDk4fS7
  • Twitter: https://twitter.com/MarsconMpls
  • FaceBook: www.facebook.com/Marscon
  • Comedy Music: marsconcomedy.wordpress.com

MarsCon is brought to you by the Fans Educational Network for Science Fiction (FenSF, Inc), a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Tax deductible donations always accepted.

If you are searching for the Marscon in Williamsburg, VA click here.

© 2022, FenSF

Image by ParallelVision, thank you!
Visit https://pixabay.com/users/parallelvision-15128111 for more from ParallelVision