by Randall Whitlock
To the science fiction (SF) convention culture, the masquerade is a costume competition usually held on Saturday evening of a convention on a stage in the hotel ballroom. The stage is surrounded on one or more sides by the audience. Competitors enter the stage, show their costume, and exit. The presentations are introduced by a master of ceremonies and accompanied by as much technical support as the convention can provide, which may include music and lighting effects. The costume presentations are rated by a panel of judges, with the best in different categories awarded ribbons or other prizes. At smaller cons, the masquerade may be combined with a dance or other evening events.
A stage costume will be seen by a seated audience at some distance. Few, if any, of them will be close enough to see the fine details of your costume. To make a good impression, your costume should have bolder, broader lines and features than most hall costumes. This is called the "20-foot rule." Anything that can't be seen clearly from 20 feet will not register with the audience. The bigger the masquerade, the more this rule of thumb applies. For a huge masquerade, like WorldCon, your whole body may not be big enough. Many presentations at giant masquerades compensate by making the costume outlines broader and taller with wings or other features. Other presentations include many persons performing together. Lots of motion in your presentation can help to fill a large stage.
Just because your first audience will not see the details is not a reason to skimp on them. Most masquerades give awards for workmanship. You'll have your chance to show fine features of your costume to the judges in a close-up interview. A retired stage costume often becomes a hall costume, where your friends will see it one-on-one.
Once you have put all that time and effort into building a first-rate stage costume, it would be a pity to show it only once. Hence, masquerade competitors follow a tradition called "competing up." A successful costume that has been presented at a local convention (like CopperCon) might be shown again at a regional convention (like WesterCon) and then at a national or worldwide convention (like WorldCon), much as plays can be tried out in regional theaters before going to Broadway.
Costumes that have won awards at larger conventions are not generally entered in competition at smaller conventions. This is more a matter of sportsmanship than an actual, written rule. Costumes from large masquerades, however, are often shown out of competition (also called "For Display Only") at smaller masquerades.
The most successful masquerade presentations are those where the contestant plays a character, rather than simply acts as a walking coat rack. This can be very, very subtle. You don't need a lavish sketch or dance to show your costume on the stage - fashion show walk-across across is plenty - but the audience and judges will pick up your body language. Practice moving in your costume until it feels natural. Let the costume help you project the air of being an entirely different person!
See Also
Hall Costume FAQ
Hall Costume Article