Direbrook Costume Contest Rules:
Eligibility:
All participants must have a valid ticket to Direbrook 2023.
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:
Participants can apply online until 12pm on Saturday, November 5th.
If you are unable to apply online an in person sign up sheet will be available at the Info Booth/Registration until 12pm on Saturday November 5th until all time slots is filled.
You will need to sign up for a pre-judging time in-person at the Info Booth/Registration
General Information:
Direbrook is a 16+ event so while costumes/performances may be a bit more adult, please keep fully 18+ content out of the contest. If you are unsure if your costume is appropriate please ask the Coordinator(s) before the event.
No Offensive language will be tolerated. ex: racism, sexism, homopobia, transphobia, ect…
NO NUDITY – real or implied.
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.
3. All costumes with electric power need to be self-contained. There will be no access to electrical outlets on stage.
4. 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.
5. 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.
6. Attendance at the Saturday afternoon rehearsal is mandatory. Come to your rehearsal prepared.
7. Purchased or rented costumes, or costumes that have won Best in Show or Best in Class awards in a another contest may not be entered for craftsmanship
8. 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.
9. 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.
10. Entrants are presumed to be adults, or under the supervision of one. 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.
Divisions:
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 Masquerade experience, first time performers, and anyone who has never won a Competitive Award (Best in Show, Best in Division) or two or more Major Awards in a Costume Contest.
Journeyman: Costumers with significant costume and/or stage experience. A winner of a Competitive Award (Best in Show, Best in Division) or two or more Major Awards in a Costume Contest competes as a Journeyman. An entrant who has won numerous major awards in the Novice Division in competitions of similar scope (Comic Cons, Anime Conventions) is encouraged to enter in the Journeyman Division at Direbrook.
Master: Skilled costumers with extensive experience, several 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 in the Journeyman Division in a competition of equal or larger scope should compete as a Master.
For group entries, the division should be that of the highest-ranking member of the group. For very large groups, please ask the Masquerade 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.
Judging:
Entrants will be judged for their costume craftsmanship before the on stage presentation, costumers will be judged on their skill in the construction of their costume, techniques used, cleanliness, ect…. 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 chars, etc.) please bring a copy picture of the source image. All entrants will have up to 60 seconds on stage to show off your costume in whatever way you’d like, we will have Dark Fantasy themed instrumental music for everyone to walk to as for our first year we do not have a separate performance category, there there will be “wow factor” points to earn.
Tech Rehearsal:
Tech rehearsals & run-throughs will take place Saturday in the room that the contect will be held in. Please expect that your time on-stage will be limited to no more than 1 minute so that everyone has an opportunity. Any interaction 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 read. A written pronunciation should be provided for any made-up or fantasy words. 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 costumer, and want to give each one our full attention.