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Saturday Masquerade

New York Comic Con’s Masquerade Submission Deadline Has Passed. All Submissions Will Hear From NYCC By September 12.

WinnersCosplay is a unique and beautiful part of fandom, and the New York Comic Con and New York Anime Festival celebrate the world of costuming through two events — Daily Costume Contests and our Saturday Night Masquerade. While our daily contests are for fans looking to have fun, the Masquerade's an event for cosplayers looking to put on a show! NYCC's Masquerade is a Prizescostume showcase that is part fashion show and part talent show with prizes on the line... The Masquerade's winning team takes home prizes from our contest's sponsors and $1,000 in prize money! The NYCC Masquerade is your chance to have your costume and talent recognized in front of thousands of fans and — if your costumes are good enough and your performances daring enough — win an over-sized, novelty check!

Your Time To Be A Star:

Mnet, the only nationwide English language Asian American TV network in the country, will be at NYCC, filming the Masquerade, and they'll be following various competitors in the lead up to the event. Want to get on TV, broadcast Coast to Coast? Check the box in the Masquerade Registration Form indicating that you'd be interested in being part of Mnet's filming prior to the convention. For more on Mnet, visit www.mnet.com.

Gaia Online Live Stream:

This year's Masquerade will be a record-breaker with thousands of online viewers participating through Gaia Online's webcast of the event. Viewers at home can watch and vote online for their favorite contestant. The top pick of online voters will receive a $500 Gaia Cash Card and the special title of "Gaia's Choice" in recognition of their excellence in the field of cosplay. In addition, the top contestants in each category will receive a $100 Gaia Cash Card — a total of over $1,000 in prizes! Can't attend the Masquerade? No problem! Just visit www.gaiaonline.com to watch and help decide the fate of one lucky cosplayer.

Masquerade Registration and Preliminary Selection:

To participate in the NYCC Masquerade, you must fill out the electronic Masquerade Registration Form and submit it by 11:59 PM Eastern Time on August 28, 2011 September 4, 2011.

The New York Comic Con and New York Anime Festival will review all applications and select 30 acts to participate. All applicants — whether they are accepted or not — will be contacted by September 5 September 12.

All selected acts must be available between 6 AM and 10 AM on Saturday, October 15 for a mandatory rehearsal in NYCC's IGN Theater (Hall D). During this time, acts will check-in and participate in a performance rehearsal. Costumes are not necessary during this rehearsal. All selected acts must then check-in again for craftsmanship judging between 3 PM and 6 PM. Selected acts will receive specific times in their confirmation emails with their individual check-in and judging times.

The NYCC Masquerade takes place from 8 PM to 11 PM on Saturday, October 15 in the IGN Theater.

Divisions:

The NYCC Masquerade's judging will be divided into the following divisions:

  • Youth: Groups with at least one entrant under 12 years of age.
  • Novice: Groups with entrants who have won no major cosplay awards.
  • Journeyman: Groups with at least one entrant who has won one to three major cosplay awards.
  • Craftsman: Groups with at least one entrant who has won four or more major cosplay awards.

Prizes:

All Youth entrants will receive a certificate of participation. Novice, Journeyman, and Craftsman entrants will all be judged based on both their costumes and performances. 1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place winners from the Novice, Journeyman, and Craftsman categories will be announced at the close of the NYCC Masquerade as will Best Costume, Best Performance, and Best in Show.

1st, 2nd, and 3rd Place winners as well as Best Costume and Best Performance winners will all receive prize packages from the Masquerade's sponsors. Best in Show will additionally receive $1,000 in prize money.

Please note the winner will receive $1,000 via check after NYCC is over. The winner must submit a 1099 tax form prior to receiving the prize.

General Submission Guidelines:

There are a few basic rules we ask all Masquerade entrants to follow.

  • All participants must have a valid NYCC badge (this includes Exhibitor, Press, and Professional badges).
  • Participants must bring in reference material to familiarize judges with their characters.
  • Participants must wear costumes. Naked isn't a costume.
  • Skits must be PG-13 or less.
  • Only costumes made by the wearer or a member of their group are eligible for Craftsmanship consideration. No store-bought costumes.
  • Participants may not wear the same costume in the Daily Costume Contests and Masquerade.
  • Performances must be limited to 3 minutes in length.
  • Groups must be limited to 6 people or less.
  • All audio for performances must be provided as an MP3 at least one week prior to check-in. There will be no microphone for skits on stage.
  • Costumes and skits can come from any area of popular culture. Anime, comics, manga, video games, toys, television shows, and movies are just some subjects that are fair game.
  • Whatever you bring on stage, you must take off stage. Do not leave a mess.

Judging

All teams participating in the NYCC Masquerade will be given scores by a panel of judges for Performance, Craftsmanship, and Spirit. The teams with the highest total scores in each division will be awarded 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place prizes. The team with the highest overall Performance score will win the Best Performance Award, and the team with the highest overall Craftsmanship score will win Best Craftsmanship. The team with the highest overall combined score will win Best In Show.

Weapon Policy:

Please read our weapon policy before bringing any prop or replica weapons to NYCC.

Coat Check:

Since NYCC takes place in October, you may be curious if there'll be a coat check. Yes. The Javits Center will operate a coat check open to all attendees all show-long. An additional storage space will be available to Masquerade participants only on Saturday.

Questions:

Have a question about the NYCC Masquerade? Not sure about something? Need more information? Is so, please contact Peter Tatara.

Get To Work:

We've given you the ground rules. Now, astonish us. This is your chance to show NYC just how amazing you can be! Fill out the Masquerade Registration Form here.

   

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