Location:

Due to the overwhelming popularity of our Cosplay Contest, we've outgrown the space we've used in the past to facilitate the contest. This year, Cosplay will be much bigger and better than ever! We are giving you guys a full-size auditorium for Cosplay.

Angelle Hall

This year's Cosplay Contest will be held at Angelle Hall on the University of Louisiana at Lafayette campus. The auditorium is located just a few blocks from the Hilton.

Buses will be running back and forth between the Hilton and Angelle Hall before the 3pm Cosplay Pre-Meeting and throughout the Cosplay Contest. Buses will continue to run throughout the Ilaria Graziano concert following cosplay (which will also take place at Angelle Hall). The bus ride is free for MechaCon attendees, as long as you are wearing your MechaCon badge.

Angelle Hall seats about 800 people. So, hopefully crowding will no longer be such an issue. There will also be separate dressing rooms backstage for males and females participating in the contest.

The stage at Angelle Hall is also quite large, and will give more room for skits, etc. The front of the stage rounds out toward the audience, providing the perfect setting for the contest!

     

The Contest:

The MechaCon Cosplay/Masquerade is the convention's definitive costume competition where groups or individuals show off their costumes and acting abilities, plus compete for prizes. Cosplay/Masquerade is open to both amateur and professional costumers. The MechaCon Cosplay/Masquerade will be divided into two events: The Skit/Presentations portion and then the Model Runway Judging for Craftsmanship.


Crossplay:

No revealing/skimpy crossdressing will be allowed.

What does this mean? It means that if you're gonna cross-dress... dress UP, not DOWN. No cross-dressing costumes that accent "assets" will be allowed.

Translated, if you are a girl and you want to dress as Inuyasha, Vash the Stampede, etc. that's okay. Crossdressing as Wolfwood with your bra showing is a no-no. While it looks really cool, undergarments are NOT considered as cosplay apparel. Any revealing crossdressers will be asked to leave. This includes Man-Fayes. Sailor uniforms are a gray area. If a guy wants to wear a Sailor Testosterone costume... well, we won't stop him... so long as he hasn't altered it to be "more showy". Please, no male Lum crossplayers prancing about the lobby in their itsy-bitsy tiger striped bikinis.

Keep in mind, Lafayette's obscenity laws are much stricter than the greater New Orleans area. This crossdressing restriction is in place so that the cops don't shut us down in the middle of the con. We're not being sexist, just careful. If you plan to crossplay, please adhere to this crossplay policy closely.

This "dress UP, not DOWN" rule only applies to crossdressing. Clothes intended for females being worn by females is perfectly acceptable. I mean, what would an anime convention be without a female Faye Valentine, right?

Does this mean cosplayers can be skimpily-clad if dressed as the appropriate gender?

To an extent... While an actual woman playing Faye would be most acceptible, a naked "sexy no jutsu" girl with only a few tufts of cotton to emulate clouds and cover privates would be over-the-line. Likewise, guys running around in only their skiviies or in diapers is also over-the-line.

Basically, a gender-appropriate cosplayer can be sexy and revealing without being obscene. As a general rule of thumb, if a cosplayer wouldn't wear it in front of his/her grandparents, then he/she probably shouldn't be wearing it to the con.

See the great thing about our crossplay rules is that it's not gender-specific... so no one can claim that we are being sexist. Whether male or female, the crossplay rules apply. It's simple really... the only crossplay allowed will be those who dress *up*, not *down*.

This way, it stays nice and fair... and decent.



The Rules:

1. You must be a Cosplay/Masquerade pre-registrant to enter.

2. Staff members are not allowed to compete in the Cosplay/Masquerade event.

3. Mechacon 2008 Cosplay / Masquerade Contest entry forms are now available for printing.

The entry form must be turned in by Saturday, August 2nd, 2008 at the Cosplay Pre-meeting.

MAILED entry forms must be post-marked by July 14th, 2008 to:

MechaCon Cosplay/Masquerade
MechaCon IV
c/o Sennin Productions, LLC
P. O. Box 60873
Lafayette, LA 70596

CLICK HERE to download and print the Cosplay Entry Form. The form is a PDF document and you will need Adobe Acrobat or Adobe Reader to properly display and print it.




4. Each entrant will be allowed only one presentation. This means that any one given person (group or individual entrants) can have only one skit for the whole of the Cosplay. Multiple costumes are allowed for one person so long as it's appropriate to the presentation (ie. One costume removed to reveal another underneath is acceptable)

5. No commissioned, purchased, rented, or commercially made costumes can be entered as a competing entry.

The only exceptions to this rule are as follows:

                *Costumes made from items found at thrift stores, retail stores, online stores, etc.
                so long as the entrant put the items together in a unique way to make the costume
                (this may or may not include sewing or alterations)

                *One person in the competing group made all the costumes (in this case, only the
                entrant that made the costumes is eligible for craftsmanship awards)

                *If the entrant is a minor, a parent may have made or helped make the costume.
                Credit must be given for any and all makeup (other than normal cosmetics), and
                costume design/construction.

6. All costumes must be from Asian anime, manga, Asian-origin video games, Transformers cartoons, the Transformers Comics, fan created Transformers, or from Asian culture and history.

7. Costumes must be entirely self-contained. This means that it cannot have connections to electrical, audio or any other kind of external plug or power source.

8. No pyrotechnics (fire or open flame), fog machines, wind machines, dry ice, liquid nitrogen (or other gases including butane and propane), oxygen tanks, flash paper or flash powder, Jacob's Ladders, Van de Graaff Generators, lasers, etc. on or around the stage backstage, or in the Green Room. Any special effects or electronic flashes must be approved by the Cosplay Coordinator before rehearsal. If electronic flashes are approved, they must be included in the paperwork for the Emcee so appropriate warnings can be made to protect audience members who are sensitive to flashing lights.

9. No projectile weapons of any kind (unless approved by MechaCon Security) and NO LIVE STEEL. Realistic looking weapons must be handled as though they were real, and any weapons play MUST be approved by the Cosplay Coordinator at or prior to the Saturday pre-meeting. All weapons must be peace-bonded and the MechaCon weapons policy will remain in effect prior to, during, and after the Cosplay event. Do not remove peace-bonding at any time during the cosplay or rehearsal.

10. No pointing weapons of any kind at the Emcee, Cosplay Coordinator, stage staff, Security staff, or judges for any reason whatsoever. Doing so will result in IMMEDIATE disqualification and will be reported to both MechaCon Security and the hotel. No exceptions.

11. No jumping on or off the stage. Jumping on/off the stage will result in immediate disqualification. Use the designated entrances/exits on stage.

12. No messy substances of any kind will be allowed on stage. This includes anything which will make the ruin another's costume or equipment and otherwise make the stage floor sticky, gooey, slippery, slimy, or otherwise disgusting. Leave the stage as clean as you found it. If you will be leaving anything (props, pieces of costume, etc.) Arrange to have it picked up by the stage crew before the rehearsal or bring your own stagehand. You are not allowed to spread large amounts of glitter on stage as it is difficult to get out.

13. No nudity, excessive violence, or sexual content will be allowed on stage. You will be disqualified from the contest. There are no exceptions to this rule.

14. All entrants must sign a waiver before the rehearsal (check the MechaCon schedule in the program guide for meeting times). Minors must have parent's permission and a parent's signature on the waiver. Parents of minors MUST accompany their children at rehearsal and backstage. Rest assured parents, we place everyone's safety and well being above all else.

15. Single person Presentations will be limited to thirty seconds in length. Group presentations can be a maximum of two minutes.

16. No live animals unless they are ADA certified (This is for disabled persons).

17. CDs or pre-recorded music or audio presentations are allowed now. You will have to have your recording on CD audio. No mp3s will be allowed. MechaCon is not responsible for lost or stolen CDs.

18. Anyone who does not show up for Cosplay Pre-Meeting on time will be disqualified. No exceptions. The Cosplay Staff needs everyone to be on time and orderly so that the main Cosplay will run as smoothly and as organized as possible.

19. You can surprise the audience, and the judges, but do not surprise to Cosplay Coordinator or the Cosplay staff. The CC and staff need to know what is going to happen on stage for the safety of all participants, staff and audience members.

20. While you and your group are up on the stage, please stay within the marked boundaries of the stage. We do not wish anyone to accidentally fall off from the stage and cause injury to themselves or the audience members.

21. No gymnastics or choreographed fight sequences up on stage or otherwise during the convention. This is to ensure the safety of the cosplay participants and that of those in the audience.

22. This event is PG rated. This means no foul language in your skits.

23. Due to time constraints, there will be a limit of fifty (50) slots for this year's cosplay. Please register early to avoid losing your chance. Once all of the slots are filled up, you will be placed on the waiting list. If any slots open up, the CC will fill them from the waiting list first. All entry forms are accepted on a first-come-first-served basis.

24. Please try to pre-register for this event. We are capping the number of Cosplays entrants at fifty.

25. The Saturday afternoon pre-meeting is mandatory. All of the members of your group must be present. This is your last chance to clear up any questions that you or your group has about your cosplay or your presentation.

26. Any entrants caught by the CC, or any of the MechaCon staff, insulting other entrants, convention members, staff members, judges, guests of their costume(s), or otherwise deliberately destroying or damaging another's costume may be expelled from the Cosplay as well as the convention. A warning may be given for the first offense, but entrants WILL be expelled for the second offense. The CC reserve the right to remove from competition ANYONE who violates this rule at anytime before of during the Cosplay.

DECISIONS MADE BY THE COSPLAY COORDINATOR ARE FINAL AND NON-NEGOTIABLE.

All rules for the MechaCon Cosplay/Masquerade are subject to change without notice. While we will attempt to keep you abreast of any changes via the MechaCon website, these changes may occur at anytime.

More Cosplay Contest info will be posted soon. Please check back for updates!