Masquerade
Date: Saturday, August 12, 2023
Time: 7:30 PM
Location: Main Events Room - Room 210
Got a costume you put blood, sweat and tears into and that you’re ready to show off? Here’s your chance to take the stage with Otakuthon’s Masquerade! Come showcase your costume to our panel of cosplayer judges for awards based on both your craftsmanship and your presentation.
Don’t have a costume? Come join us as an audience member and celebrate the efforts of our participants!
Masquerade Rules
What is a Masquerade?
The Masquerade is an amateur costume contest involving costumes inspired by characters, be they fictional or not. It allows participants to display their wonderful costumes, excellent craftsmanship and boundless creativity.
Two types of entries are presented: skits and walk-ons.
- A skit is a short theatrical performance that can last up to 60 seconds (for entries involving 3 people and below) or a minute 30 seconds (for groups of 4 participants and above). The premise of a given skit is predetermined by its performers. It may be serious or funny in tone and may rely on action, visual gags, or both. There are also no limits to how many different sources you can take inspiration from: feel free to cross over as many series, movies and franchises as you like.
- A walk-on is closer to a fashion show: participants briefly walk up on stage while striking a couple poses in ways fitting their character. Appreciated for its simplicity, this gives participants the option to enter the competition without worrying about the complexity of their presentation.
To highlight the hard work of the participants, the best presentations and best costumes will be given awards.
How Do I Participate?
- Begin by reading the rules.
- Registration for the 2023 edition will be online. On-site registration may later be made available if need be. Online registration will be open from June 17, 2023 at 11:00 AM to July 29, 2023 at 8:00 PM.
- Fill our registration form!
- Should you receive a confirmation email following your online registration, you will have a guaranteed spot in the Masquerade. You will therefore not be required to line up on Friday or Saturday to register for the contest.
- IMPORTANT: Online registration requires a valid Otakuthon badge. By registering in advance, your spot is secured and you commit yourself to participate. If you fail to show up and don’t have a good reason, you are taking away from other participants.
- If there are more online applicants than there are available spots, you will be placed into a waiting list to be notified in case any spot opens.
How Does the Masquerade Work?
The Greenroom will be by appointment only. Book your time slot using our calendar when you pre-register online and show up at the scheduled time. You may then have your costume judged, speak to the MC, sound technicians and ninjas, as well as have your picture taken. You will then be free to enjoy the rest of your day as you wish!
Please note that you will be asked to choose a Greenroom appointment after you fill in the registration form.
Participants who fail to show up to their appointment will be disqualified.
On-site registration may be available if need be. If that is the case, we will be announcing the exact time and date at a later time.
There will be a total of 50 available slots, including pre-registrations. Make sure you register early!
Only MP3 files on USB keys will be accepted. We will not be accepting any sound files on CDs, cell phones, YouTube, Dropbox or any other digital sharing platform. The Masquerade team does not have a musique library for participants to choose from. If you do not supply your own soundtrack, your presentation will be silent. Be prepared and submit your audio file during your Greenroom appointment.
The final call-time will be an hour before the Masquerade starts. Report to the Greenroom by then or risk being disqualified. Be aware that after gathering, you will only be able to leave the Greenroom after you finish your presentation. It is therefore recommended that you wrap up any activities beforehand.
It is important that you arrive at the Greenroom fully dressed, as there will be little time to prepare before starting.
Please also note: for security reasons, larger costumes should still be able to pass through a standard door frame. They would otherwise not be able to enter the competition as they would be too large to go backstage and access the stage area.
Awards Ceremony
The awards ceremony for the Masquerade will take place on Sunday August 13, 2023. The exact time is yet to be determined.