Variety Show Guidelines

Welcome one and all to the glorious wonders and entertainment of Direbrook! Your favorite bardic Unicorn, Ivanna Prance, welcomes all humans, creatures, and entities alike to join them for the Direbrook Variety Show! What is a variety show you ask? Why my darlings, it is an open stage for all to showcase their various talents, tricks and more!

The 2026 Variety Show will be held Friday, October 30th at 7pm PST.

Check-in and Tech will be at 6pm PST

Eligibility:

  • All participants must have a Direbrook 2026 Membership

  • All participants must read and agree to all rules for the Variety Show.

  • Participants must complete the Variety Show application.

  • All convention policies must be followed during the entirety of the Variety Show. Anyone breaking Direbrook rules will be unable to continue performing.

  • Direbrook staff may enter the Variety Show as long as staff-related responsibilities are fulfilled. This also includes Direbrook Board Members.

How to Enter:

  • Sign-ups for the Direbrook 2026 Variety Show begin after the rules have been posted to the Direbrook website and an announcement has been made. To sign up, fill out the Variety Show 2026 entry form once it has been made available at the bottom of this page.

  • The deadline for online entry forms to be received will be Wednesday, October 28th 2026.

  • The maximum number of performances that can be accommodated this year is 15.

  • All entries are taken on a first come, first serve basis. If all entry slots are full, there will be a wait list for additional entrants who may be called in if any participants drop out.

  • Check-in and rehearsal is required, as well as showing up at show time. Entrants who miss any of these times will not be able to perform. The event will be held Friday evening with check-in and rehearsal beforehand. Please use the official Direbrook schedule for the exact time and locations required for meetings and activities.

General Information:

  • Direbrook’s Variety Show is an 18+ event like the rest of Direbrook. That being said, we do not allow Full Nudity; “Nips and Bits” must be covered at all times on the Direbrook Variety Show stage.

  • No fire, flames, smoke, fog, dry ice, wind machines, lasers, pressurized gases or liquids.

  • No messy substances-wet, dry, or oily-in the green room or on stage. If it can’t leave the stage with you, it doesn’t belong on stage.

  • No jumping on or off the stage-please use the officially designated stage entrances and exits.

  • Entrants must abide by the convention weapons policies. Pointing weapons at anyone not in your cosplay group will not be tolerated. The Event Coordinator must approve any actions involving weapons.

  • Contestants may not use stage time to make political, religious, insulting, or other demonstrations not related to their entry.

  • You must have some kind of foot covering. Shoes or boots are required. Be aware of safety concerns. If your character does not wear shoes, consider flesh-toned ballet flats or clear shoes.

  • If you have any questions about your content, please feel free to ask the Variety Show staff if it is allowable. You may surprise the audience but never surprise the crew.

Performances:

  • Participants must provide their own music. File uploads are required for online entries. For at-con entries, include your name (performer name is fine) in filename. One track on USB preferred; we cannot change tracks or start in the middle of a track.

  • We can accept MP3, M4A, and other common file types (MP3 is best). Must must be clear to hear. Please bring backup copies of your audio on USB thumb drive just in case technical difficulties happen. We will not play or rip music off portable MP3 players, such as iPods or cell phones.

  • Please leave the stage as clean as it was when you first touch it. Arrange to remove all items brought on stage at the end of your performance. If assistance is needed, please list it in your application or recruit your own stage ninjas.

  • Do not plan for complex lighting. If you require anything other than default lighting or music cues, discuss it with the Main Events Coordinator before the convention.

Performance Selection:

  • Entry is limited to one (1) entry per person/group.

  • Performances may be from any category, but are limited to five (5) minutes max.

  • Please enquire what type of performance you will be presenting; burlesque, lip-sync, dance, etc.

  • Remember to have fun! Everyone is here to enjoy you, so be sure to enjoy yourself!

Variety Show Application