Masquerade

Date: Saturday, August 6, 2022
Time: (to be determined)
Location: Main Events Room - Room 210

Think you have a great costume and want to show it off? The Masquerade gives you a chance to do it on stage in a really big way! Come show off your costumes to the rest of the world and to our panel of experienced cosplayer judges who will decide the winners and present awards based on the quality of their costumes and presentations.

Don’t have a costume? Come anyway and cheer on the labor of dozens of cosplayers as they show off their hard work.

Masquerade Rules

• Masquerade Rules
• Standard Division System

What is a Masquerade?

The Otakuthon Masquerade is an amateur costuming competition for anime, manga and gaming-related costumes as well as costumes inspired by such works. It is an opportunity to see cosplayers show off their superb costumes, craftsmanship and creativity.

Two types of entries are presented: skits and walk-ons.

• Skits are short theatrical performances of up to 45 seconds (alone or for groups of up to 3 participants) or one minute (groups of 4 or more) in length in which participants wear costumes and perform a skit based on their favorite anime or manga. These presentations may be funny or serious, parody or action and may use characters from one or many shows, but they are always creative and entertaining.
• Walk-ons do not perform skits but come out on stage to show their superb costumes like in a fashion show. These presentations allow fans to see the work of cosplayers who are great craftsmen but are less interested in writing and acting.

To recognize the work of these cosplayers, awards will be given out to the best performances and costumes.

How Do I Participate?

To participate in the Masquerade:

1. Please read the Masquerade rules
2. This year’s edition prioritizes advance registration but may use on-site registration if deemed necessary. Online registration will open at 10:00 AM on June 10, 2022, and will close at 8:00 PM on July 29, 2022.
   
   • Fill our registration form!
3. Entries done through online registration WILL GUARANTEE you a spot in the masquerade and you will not need to line-up for registration on Friday or Saturday.
4. IMPORTANT: A valid Otakuthon badge is required for online registration. Please be mindful when registering online and commit to attending. If you use the online registration to reserve a spot and don’t show up, you’re taking away from other participants who would have loved to compete but couldn’t because the show was fully booked.
5. If more online applications are received than there are available spots, you will be placed on a waiting list and notified if a spot frees up.

How Does the Masquerade Work?

The Greenroom will be done by appointment only. Book your timeslot in our calendar during online preregistration and show up at the scheduled time to have your costume judged, speak to the MC, sound technician, ninjas and have your picture taken. You’re then free to enjoy your day until final call time!

Please note that you will be asked to choose a greenroom appointment after filling up the registration form.

Entries who fail to show-up to their appointment will be disqualified.

On-site registration at the Masquerade Registration Desk may be open if we feel it necessary. Dates and times will be announced at a later date. 

There will only be a total of 50 entry slots, including advance registrations, so be sure to register early!

Only MP3 files on USB keys will be accepted. No files on cellphones, CDs, YouTube, Dropbox or other file sharing sites will be accepted. There will also be no WiFi available for downloads. The Masquerade team does NOT have a music library to choose your music from. If you do not submit a soundtrack, your entry will be silent. Be prepared to submit your file during your Greenroom appointment.

Final call-time will be 1h before the show. You must report to the Masquerade Greenroom by that time or be disqualified. Please note that you will not be able to leave the Greenroom after that time. It is therefore strongly recommended that you wrap up anything you needed done prior.

You must be ready to go on stage when you arrive at the Greenroom, as there will be little time to prepare before curtain call.

Note: For security reasons, very large costumes must be able to pass through a standard door frame while being worn otherwise, unfortunately, they cannot be entered in the show as they will not be able to reach the backstage and main stage area.

Awards Ceremony

The Masquerade Awards Ceremony will take place on Sunday, August 7, 2022. The exact time is still to be determined.