Direbrook Costume Contest Rules:
Eligibility:
All participants must have a valid ticket to Direbrook 2025.
Participants must agree to read and follow all Direbrook rules and regulations.
By registering for the costume contest, all participants agree to allow Direbrook to use their images for promotional purposes, including all photographs and video.
How to Enter:
The Participant application will be available online until Midnight on Friday of the convention (November 14th 2025).
YOU MUST COMPLETE THE ONLINE APPLICATION TO PARTICIPATE.
You will need to sign up for a costume pre-judging time in person at the Info Booth/Registration
General Information:
Direbrook is an 18+ event, so while costumes/performances may be a bit more adult, please keep your “Nips and Bits” covered at all times on stage. If you are unsure if your costume is appropriate please ask the Coordinator(s) before the event: direbrook.mainevents@gmail.com
No Offensive language will be tolerated. ex: racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, etc…
NO NUDITY
No illegal weapons of any kind. All other weapons must be peace bonded and the participant must agree to adhere to Direbrook’s weapon policy.
2. For Safety reasons the following are not allowed:
No Pyrotechnics or projectiles of any kind.
No live animals except service animals are permitted.
No messy substances- wet, dry, or oily- that may damage another participant’s costume or hotel space including the stage.
No jumping on or off the stage. Use the official stage entrances and exits.
All costumes with electric power need to be self-contained. There will be no access to electrical outlets on stage.
All special effects (ex. strobe lights, fog, etc.) must be approved by the Main Events Coordinator prior to the contest. The contest Director has the right to deny requests due to safety concerns or building regulations.
Surprise the audience, not the staff. If you are planning something completely different, let us know well in advance. All information will be held in the strictest confidence.
Purchased or rented costumes may not be entered into craftsmanship judging, the entrant must have made or modified at least 50% of the costume themselves. You may have someone else model your costume as long as you are in attendance at pre judging.
Costumes that have won “Best in Show” or “Best in Category” awards in a larger contest may not be entered for craftsmanship judging at Direbrook.
All costumes must be finished prior to the tech rehearsal and judging. Final assembly of large costumes and props and/or unexpected, emergency repairs will be allowed.
No costume that has been judged in a prior year for workmanship may be judged again without a significant change. Only the new change to the costume will be judged.
Entrants are presumed to be adults. All judge’s decisions are final.
The Contest Director has the right to eliminate any entry from the competition on the basis of taste, danger to the audience, building or you, violation of any of the above rules, or any other reason deemed sufficient. There will be no appeal.
NEW IN 2025: BEST IN SHOW AWARD:
TO BE ELIGIBLE FOR BEST IN SHOW, YOU MUST HAVE BOTH CRAFTMANSHIP AND PERFORMANCE JUDGED! All other awards remain unchanged.
Craftmanship:
To ensure that Entrants with limited experience do not compete with those Entrants with more experience, skill divisions have been established as such:
Novice: Costumers with limited craftmanship experience, first time competitors, and anyone who has never won two or more major awards (Best in Show, Best in Division) in a craftmanship competition.
Journeyman: Entrants with significant costume and/or stage experience. An entrant who has won 3 or more major awards (Best in Show, Best in Division) in competitions of similar scope is encouraged to enter the Journeyman Division at Direbrook
Master: Entrants with extensive experience, several craftmanship awards, professionals, or persons who make their living making clothing or costumes compete as a master. An entrant who has won more than three major awards (Best in Show, Best in Division) at the journeyman level in a competition of equal or larger scope as Direbrook’s should compete as a Master.
We also have a “Best Original Character” award. This can be awarded to anyone and is based on how well your character is conveyed through your costume, your actions, and your general performance; showing a character’s story as opposed to telling it.
For group entries, the division should be that of the highest-ranking member of the group. For very large groups, please ask the Costume Contest Director for assistance in choosing a division. Winning ‘Best of Show’ at any large regional convention moves a costumer up to the next skill division. Judges Choice awards or Honorable Mentions do not count as best of class awards.
Performances:
In 2025 we are adding performances to our show! With this addition, we will have a “Best Performance” award completely separate from craftmanship, as well as “ Best in Show” which combines craftmanship and performance scores.
Performances may be up to 3 minutes long and MUST BE PRE-RECORDED. We will NOT be providing live microphones to the contestants.
Audio must be submitted at the time of application in .mp3 format. Any changes must be made before online submissions close by contacting direbrook.mainevents@gmail.com
If you are ONLY entering Performance you do NOT need to be craftmanship judged.
All performances will be judged at the same level.
Judging:
Entrants will be judged for their costume craftsmanship before the on stage presentation during pre-judging. Entrants will be judged on their skill in the construction of their costume, techniques used, cleanliness, storytelling, etc.…
Each entry will have 5 minutes with the judges to tell them about your costume(s), large groups may be given more time if scheduling allows. If you are recreating a costume from another source (anime, book covers, movie characters, etc.) please bring a reference image(s).
Walk-Ons (craftmanship only) will have up to 90 seconds on stage to show off their costume while the MC narrates. If you do not submit any audio for your walk-on, we will select generic background music for you to walk to. YOU WILL NOT BE JUDGED ON YOUR PERFORMANCE.
Performance Entries will have up to 3 minutes on stage and will be judged on storytelling, presentation, entertainment value, etc… While your craftmanship will not be judged during the performance, your costuming choices may still play a part in the overall score.
Tech Rehearsal:
Attendance at tech rehearsal is mandatory. Tech rehearsals & run throughs will take place Saturday, in the room that the contest will be held in (please check the convention schedule for exact times.)
Walk-ons (Craftmanship only) will have a chance to walk the stage and get a feel for the space before the show. Any interaction you would like to have with the MC needs to be noted in the script you provide. If you want the MC to read a description of your costume, please write out exactly what you want the MC to say. A written pronunciation should be provided for any hard to pronounce or fantasy words/names.
Performances will have a full run through on the stage, please bring all props and sets to rehearsal as well as a back up of your audio (just in case). Any introduction for the MC should be included in your application.
Please be on time and come prepared to your Tech Rehearsal, depending on the number of entrants, we may have limited time to spend with each entrant and want to give each one our full attention.
If you have any questions or concerns about the Costume Contest, please ask us at direbrook.mainevents@gmail.com