COSPLAY THEATER RULES

1. You must have a valid ACross registration to enter the Masquerade. The ACross attendee guidelines of course apply to Masquerade participants as well (please see your program guide).
2. One person, one costume, one entry. You must have a costume to enter the Masquerade. You may enter in Presentation AND Craftsmanship, but you may enter each category only once.
3. All costumes must be related to some facet of Asian culture, (anime, manga, J-Rock/J-Pop, Asian video games, etc). Cosplay from another source will not be a valid entry for ACross's Cosplay and Masquerade. (Exception -– Hall Costume Contest entries may be from any source.) If you are unsure if your costume is eligible, ask the Cosplay Coordinator.
4. To participate in the Masquerade, you must submit a completed registration form and receive an entry number in pre-registration or at-con registration. Entries are limited so if you really want to be in the show, please enter early. Pre-registered entries are required to check in at con to pick up your Green Room badge and to get final details.
5. Please note that all Masquerade participants must report to the Green Room for line-up and final instruction. You will be informed of this time at check-in. DO NOT BE LATE. If you are late, we may assume you have dropped and you may be removed from the lineup.

PERFORMANCE RULES

1. Group entries are limited to 6 people maximum.
2. Skits are limited to a maximum time of 2 minutes and 30 seconds.
3. NO LIVE STEEL. Anything that could be mistaken as a realistic weapon must be cleared by Security as per con guidelines. You must bring all props to pre-judging for approval.
4. Your skit content, including language and thematic content, must be limited to PG or better. Please keep in mind that ACross is a family-friendly event, and the Masquerade will be attended by young children and parents. The Cosplay Coordinator and Cosplay Judges reserve the right to disqualify, modify, or remove a skit they feel is inappropriate.
5. Please do not leave anything on stage when you exit. If you can’t take it ALL off with you –- glitter, confetti, smoke, Silly String – then don’t use it. We will not return anything left behind, nor are we responsible for anything lost while participating in ACross's Masquerade.
7. Presentation entries must attend a mandatory skit approval on Saturday morning (time TBA). If your on-stage presentation deviates from what you showed the cosplay staff at rehearsal, bad things will happen.
7.5. We hate to reiterate, but WE DO NOT LIKE SURPRISES! If you want to surprise the audience, go for it. Not us. Staff must have full disclosure as to what will happen onstage.
8. Stage combat and gymnastics must be approved by the Cosplay Coordinator. Please ask if you have questions; we want your skit to be great! but we also want the temporary stage to stay stable during your skit.
9. If you wish to use prerecorded audio, bring your track to pre-approval on CD or a flash drive, in a non-proprietary audio format (audio CD, MP3 or WAV file). Please have your skit audio ready-to-play as one single track. CDs will not be returned.
10. The event coordinator has final say in all circumstances and disputes and may modify rules at any time if necessary.

DIVISION RULES

Novice - contestants who have won no more than 1 award in the category in which they are participating AND have participated in no more than 3 Masquerade events at any convention
Advanced - contestants who have received 2 or more awards in the category in which they are participating, OR have participated in 4 or more Masquerade events at any convention

1. Your experience determines your tier within the category of entry. For example:
- If you are entered in Craftsmanship and have won two prior Craftsmanship awards, you are considered Advanced.
- If you are entered in Craftsmanship ONLY and have won two prior Presentation awards but no Craftsmanship awards, you are considered Novice in Craftsmanship.
- If you have never won an award but have participated in four or more Masquerades, in any category, you are considered Advanced.
- Group entries enter the highest eligible division. If any member of your group has won two or more awards or has participated in 4+ Masquerades, you are considered Advanced. If multiple people in your group have won awards, but no more than one award each, you are considered Novice.
- If you are not sure what skill division you should be in, or if you have extenuating circumstances, please contact the Cosplay Coordinator.
2. You may enter both Craftsmanship and Presentation, in the tier appropriate to your highest skill level. You may not enter as Novice in Craftsmanship and Advanced in Presentation, or vice-versa.
3. For our purposes, Honorable Mention and Judge's Choice Awards count as awards. If you have received two prior Honorable Mentions in the same category, you must enter that category at the Advanced level.
5. Cosplayers 12 years old and under are eligible to enter the Junior category. If a Junior entry has previously received two or more awards, he/she may be placed in a higher division at the discretion of the Cosplay Coordinator and/or Cosplay Judges.
7. The Cosplay Coordinator and the Cosplay Judges have the right at any time during the Cosplay event to move an entry to a different skill division, as they see fit, with or without informing the participant(s).

Just remember to enjoy yourselves on stage and to entertain the audience. This event is not only for you but for them as well. Have fun and be positive!

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