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Good Lord. I've created a mess.

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If I've crossed a line or offended anyone with this post, contact me and I will edit/delete this post accordingly.

Actually, I've decided not to post further on this after this message, particularly because your attitude about the whole thing is so good. What has been driving me crazy is the "It's not faaaaair" sort of whining. In an ideal situation, the Masquerade would be full of people who had both astonishing costumes AND amazing skits wrapped up in a single package. It's not an ideal world, of course, and there is a conflict between those who wish to participate, and perhaps win awards, while being able to rely on their strengths instead of their weaknesses. People who feel themselves to be better at costumes don't want to be forced out if they don't have an awesome skit. (This is not as unlikely as one might think; there are complaints of "too many walk-ons" every year, after all, and there are already conventions at which not having a skit for Masquerade is "strongly discouraged.") Meanwhile people who feel themselves to be better at skits don't want to be forced out if they don't make their costumes. This is entirely understandable, and if people would talk about it constructively it wouldn't be a problem, but instead there's been a lot of "It's not fair" and "boycott" and other such nonsense being thrown around, and that kind of thing makes me see red.

I'm not staff, so I certainly have no say in what will happen, but for this year it's a bit too late to start changing the event now. For next year, however, there are a number of approaches that could be made. Starting a skit-only contest is one potential option. I suspect that it might not be as popular at first, but to be entirely fair, every event requires some time to build up momentum (the same was true of Masquerades when they got started). So there's really no way to tell for sure what the real potential of such an event might be without actually trying it. Though I do know AWA tried it, as I referenced before, to my knowledge they also abandoned the experiment after a single year, which did not allow for any possible growth. Broadening the focus of the Masquerade to include bought costumes is another potential option, but one I personally find to be unlikely. If a single contest tries to cover too much, it becomes increasingly difficult to judge fairly.

At any rate, you have certainly inspired me to stop arguing. Thanks for the voice of reason. I needed that - it's been an insanely long week for me...

Meh. I understand the disctinction, but I still dont agree with it. The masquerade is *THE* showcase event at Fanime. Sure you could take your skit elsewhere, but it's not going to get the recognition it deserves. People care about the masquerade, not some other thing somewhere else. I feel that the majority of the attendees probably dont understand the distinction you are presenting here, or even that there IS one.

Amazing how as soon as there's more than one person feeling a certain way, that person feels justified in saying they're a "majority." Can you prove that? I'd be really interested, given that every other convention I know of runs its cosplay contest under the same guidelines - or even quite a bit stricter than Fanime's on the construction front (mandatory judging and documentation, etc). And amazingly, the attendees of these other cons don't gripe about this costume focus much, if at all. (I certainly haven't heard any such griping.) And yet I keep hearing all this fuss and bother about Fanime's event...

Basically, I dont think its fair to tell people "Your hard work is no good here," just because they worked hard on their skit instead of their costume. If that goes against tradition, then let tradition be changed. Or you could change the name of the event.

What do you suggest it be called then? Maybe a... "Cosplay Contest"? Well, that still wouldn't work for letting people who only want to do skits in, because cosplay = COSTUME. PLAY. Period. You can't have cosplay contests without the costume. It really is that simple. If you want a skit-only event, that is no longer a Masquerade nor a cosplay contest of any sort whatsoever. Then it's a talent show.

Seriously. Thats like saying that anything that isnt a traditional music video isnt allowed in the AMV contest, and that would be beyond stupid. Some of the most popular Best in Class and Best of Show  winners have been things like commercials and movie trailers. Its the same thing.

No actually, it's not the same thing at all. An AMV contest that allows things like commercials and movie trailers is allowing things that require the same skillset - that of video editing. A cosplay contest, by its very nature, requires the skillset of costuming. Whining about how it's not fair will not change this basic fact. A Cosplay Contest is not the correct forum for a presentation in which the entrant did not devote effort to the construction of their costume. The correct forum would be a talent show or some form of American Idol imitation. The fact that such an event does not currently exist at this convention is not the fault of the cosplay contest staff. It is outside their scope.

It really, truly is that simple. If you don't like it, I'm sorry, but that won't change things. If there really are a "majority" of attendees who want a skit contest that's independent of costumes... start one. Staff it. It'll be your very own event and you can run it in the way you think best. If people really think it's all abut the skits, they'll flock to your show in droves.

(I don't really expect that to happen though. Anime Weekend Atlanta tried separating the costume contest and the skits a few years back... and nobody stuck around for the skits.)