CHS Otaku Fest

Masquerade | Sign-Up | Judging Criteria |Masquerade Guidelines | Cosplay Policies |
Volunteer to be a Judge  

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This is the chance to show off your costume or have some fun doing a skit! Get on stage make us laugh or just have fun show off you cosplay skills. Spots are first come first serve so sign-up now!

We are currently seeking additional cosplay judges. If you are interested see below! Judges attend the con for free!

Categories

~One Person Skit: Pretty much a monologue. You will perform a solo skit as your character and be judged based on both costume and performance.

~Single Person Cosplay - You be judged primarily on costume, but weight is also given to your performance on stage.  This is an opportunity to show off your costume, so make it interesting. Each walk-though gets 30 seconds, so you have plenty of time to entertain.

~Group Skit: In a group that may or may not be from the same series, act out a skit displaying your performing prowess. This category is mostly judged on performance since we know that it can be difficult to to get a large group of good costumes together.

Awards

Best in Show
Best Group Skit
Best Single Skit
Audience Favorite
Best Costume

To enter the masquerade, please e-mail cosplay.otakufest@gmail.com with the subject:Entry and the following information:

Brief Description of your skit/ category to compete in
Estimated length of skit
Number of skit members
Name of each of your group member(s) and e-mails
Have you pre-registered for the convention?

We will have sign-up day of the con, but there are a limited number of spaces it is first come fist serve so email us to save your spot!

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This year we're looking for additional cosplay contest judges! If you're interested please email cosplay.otakufest@gmail.com with the subject:Judge the following info:

Name
Email
Phones #
Prior Judging Experience
Cosplay experience
-Years Cosplaying
-Awards won
-Sewing Background
-Other Relevant Cospaly Information

For costumes

Accuracy  - How accurately have you constructed your costume as compared with the actual
character in the series, game or original artwork? (PLEASE BRING A REFERENCE PIC!)

Display -  How well constructed is the costume? Are the seams straight and finished? Has the costumer chosen materials appropriate to the costume? Are there obvious instances of Duct Tape and pins? Are the seams sewn with proper hand or machine stitches or glued together? Does the costume fit properly? Etc.

Construction - Is the costumer proudly displaying the costume or seemingly uncomfortable in it? Does the outfit fit the model like it would in the series, or does it hang loose, or wrinkle strangely? Etc.

Skill - In the event of a tie or at the judges’ discretion, the skill level of the costumer will be considered.

For performances

1. All costumes must be relavent to aspect of Asian pop culture (anime, j-rock, Lolita, video games, etc.) any exceptions must be cleared with Otaku Fest Cosplay staff.
2. Non-homemade costumes are eligible to perform, and in fact we encourage to do so!  They just will not be eligible for best costume awards. 
3. Skit should be all ages appropriate(PG-13 at the max, no foul language,etc)
4. If you have dialogue or audio that you wish to bring in pre-recorded please present it to us before hand so  make sure it is playable day of the event. 
5. If you have any prop weapons in the skit Otaku Fest must be informed before hand to clear it for use on stage. Weapons are cleared for use on a case by case basis.
6. You have the choice of playing prerecorded audio or using microphones (or both), but please note that the microphones are limited in number.
7. If you are using prerecorded audio please bring it in on CD or USB.
8. Masquerade spots are on a first come, first serve basis, so while we may have day-of sign up, it's best to pre-register online to be ensured a spot

Costume Policies

Please keep in mind that his event is held at a public high school, so costume rules are a little conservative.  Costumes must be kept PG.  More specifically, this means that we do not allow costumes that are bikini-styled (ruling out most FFX costumes).  Please make sure your skirt is long enough that it won't flash anyone if you happen to bend down.  If your costume requires a really short skirt, we may allow it if you wear shorts hidden underneath.  If you have a relatively revealing costume (aka we can see your belly button and/or more you can still get away with wearing this costume if you have a nude colored/fleshtones body suit leotard or body suit. Otherwise we may have to ask you to change clothes.

If you have any specific questions or concerns about your costume, please contact cosplay.otakufest@gmail.com

Weapons Policies

• No real weapons.
• NO GUNS.  Please do not bring any weapons that looks remotely like a gun.  This includes use of real OR toy guns of any kind, air/airsoft guns, flare guns, etc.
• NO LIVE STEEL, including swords, daggers, katana, knives etc. We define "live steel" as : any objects made of metal that are capable of taking an edge, whether or not the object is actually sharp or not, or whether a sword/object is sheathed or not.
• No Nunchaku
• No Explosives or chemicals of any kind including, but not limited to, smoke powder, sparklers, and fireworks
• No prop/weapon that can shoot projectiles (i.e. nerf guns, slingshots, arrows). You may have the prop as long as no projectiles are present or the prop is unable to said fire projectiles. 
• Types of fake weapons that are allowed: Wooden staffs (not swords) are allowed. Anything made of paper mache or other material that is not dangerous to others (e.g. has no sharp edges, or parts sticking out that might trip people as they walk by) are allowed. Please use common sense
• Misuse of your prop such as swinging it or endangering others with it will result in us asking you to remove the prop from the convention center
• All props and weapons brought into the convention must be inspected and approved by Otaku Fest staff at entry or sign in. 
• All questionable weapons or props will be decided on a case-by-case basis.
• All decisions made by Otaku Fest Staff, or CHS Staff are final.
  
  DISCLAIMER: If you bring in any weapons that goes against our policy, we will force you to put it back in your car.  If you do not have a location to store it safely, we will hold it for you until the end of the con.