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mrphlple
I'm gonna be posting my Galley reports over the next couple days. In sections, in no particular order. For the fun of it. Because I'm bored?
Anyway.
After spending most of the day in bed, bar a few trips downstairs--I had to get the buttons, y'know--I made sure I would be in good enough shape to go to the Masquerade. After all, Ryssa was entering as Sailor Gallifrey, and Random and Treacle were going as Dru and Spike. It sounded like fun, and I've been in the Masquerade before. I was expecting... substance.
Boy was I wrong.
11 costumes, 5 awards (Judge's Choice, Best in Show, First, Second, Third), 3 winners.
Possibly the worst masquerade I've ever seen. Yes. Worst. This even tops the horrid Continuum Masquerade from 94. The one where Phenix and Terry Cupples kicked serious boo-tay and walked off as the King and Queen of Costuming. *snicker*
I'm going to try and do these in the order they were in, but I may get them wrong.
1. Spike and Drusilla. Second season versions. Spike was brash, arrogant, bastardy, and toting a bottle of Jack. Dru was quiet and odd, spoke about twice, and sent shivers up my spine. Both were wearing prosthetic headpieces that didn't look that bad from where we sat. Dru's dress had been handmade, but I'm fairly certain Spike's gear wasn't. "Are these nice people?" <---oh, YEAH. Definitely Dru.
2. Elf, Pippin, Human. Cute. Not really any presentation, but the cloaks were probably handmade, not sure about the rest of the costumes. And I was surprised they allowed live steel and bow and arrows onstage.
3. Stanley Tweedle some dead thing from Lexx. Never seen the show. The costumes were pieced together from thrift stores, or made by hand. The presentation *worked* because I was drawn in even though I had no idea what the FUCK was going on. Good stuff. They wore their costumes all weekend, and, iirc, received hall costume awards for them.
4. Beetlejuice. Overdone. I've seen Beetlejuice at probably every single convention I've been to (not the same person of course). This one ran around all weekend in costume. A costume probably bought at a shop, too. The wig wasn't bad, the makeup was decent. And the presentation went on for 30 seconds too long. Hello? Fuckers? You have a 1 minute time limit posted. Enforce that puppy. Plus, he bored me for 40 seconds at the end, and you want to keep them begging for more. Also? He'd won a Hall Costume award already. Now, from my understanding, you can't do that, and then win in the Masquerade.
5. Drusilla. Her dress was lovely, red and gold and such. It was handmade. The problem was, they never gave the script she had to the host, so he couldn't read it. Her entire presentation was ruined because of this. Hello? Tech Rehearsal, anyone?
6. Ace. Words cannot begin to describe the stupidity of this costume, but I shall attempt it. Ace. As a man. No work really done, except maybe to put badges on the jacket. And act like a complete twit. This was completely painful to watch.
7. Sailor Gallifrey. Handmade costume, amusing concept, "...well, you know how the other scouts are just sort of the spirit of the planets? I'm actually Gallifrey itself. The PTB didn't want me gone, so, at the end of Ancestor Cell, they turned me into this... Ooooh. Shiiny." If you're not a Who fan, you're not really going to get it. But, hey. She looked cute and bouncy, and LIKE a Sailor Scout. The costume was made from about three different patterns to get it just right, too. Now, she did wear this costume on Friday, but did not receive a hall costume award for it.
8. V chick. In the words of Peter David, "What the HELL was that?" She is trying to save V. Or bring it back. Or something. It's all muddled, because there's no point to her costume, she looks like shit, and doesn't do anything but wander around stage holding up this tiny sign no one can read. Apparently, she does this EVERY year. Hello? STOP HER!
9. DW meets WWF. This concept could be HIGHLY amusing. When done right. This wasn't that time. Sorry, chum, grinning and striding around in shiny leather (*distracted... shiiiny* Wait. He's ugly. Never mind) pants and a long scarf doesn't do shit. You need presentation and a hook, you twit.
10. Nosferatu. Not too bad. Would have worked much better if they'd done makeup/lighting to make themselves look black and white. Fairly authentic costumes, and his headpiece must have been VERY warm. Dunno if it was handmade, though. Actually, none of their stuff looked handmade. *shrug*
11. Lara Croft and Butler. She came out in an ugly housewifey-type dress. Now. As with the WWF, this could have been a HIGHLY amusing take on things--He came out dressed nattily in tails like a good butler... with an H on his forehead. Oh. Wow. You're making the joke that Rimmer is her butler. Watch me laugh. *yawn* A moment later, she rips off the dress, to reveal the normal Lara Croft getup! Bored now. Let's see. Shirt, shorts, a few straps, a few guns and boots. Oh, YEAH, there's a hard costume to make. Oh! I forgot the tits. Except, wait, she didn't HAVE any.
Now. Having gone through the list of costumes, let me say this. There was no tech rehearsal for this Masquerade. None. Which meant that the first people to go onstage had NO clue where to go afterwards. It doesn't take much time to schedule TR. You grab an hour when the room is going to be down (like, maybe right after the charity/art auction? Y'know, that whole hour where NOTHING WENT ON???). And you make everyone show up at some point to run through their skit, check lighting and sound, and make sure scripts are in hand, and tapes andetc are queued properly. It's how Archon does it, and I praise the gods for Sheila and Scott. They are MARVELOUS. Cathy and Steve aren't far behind them.
Second. Guess how many judges this contest had. Go on, guess. You know you want to.
Guessed yet?
Well?
I'll tell you, then.
Two.
Two people to decide the fate of five awards. Most contest panels demand 3, so there's a tie-breaker. And some even require 5, so favouritism doesn't occur.
And yet, they only had two. I should have known from then that it would be a rigged fuckery event.
So. Judges go away, we get mildly amused by a few old commercials and such, and then judges come back, certificates in hand. We're treated to a painfully boring sideshow between the awards presenters (I was sick not delirious you twits) and Third place is announced.
It's Beetlejuice. I blink, sigh, and can't understand why. A moment passes while they call him three times (*yawn*), and the presenter warned against flash photography, as it might blind him as he came on stage... I believe me shouting, "Yes, blind him so he falls off stage!" did not do much for my image as a sweet innocent nice girl.
He gets third place, I think. Fine. OK. Surely one of the actual costumes with actual, y'know, depth and presentation will get second and first. And then there's the other two, Judges Choice and Best of Show. Gee, four more people can win.
Sadly, this was not to be. In one of the most extreme examples of "These are my friends, so screw you lot for ever trying to do any costuming" the other four awards go to the nepotistic (is that a word?) Lara Croft and Nosferatu. Why? Nossie, I can see, for, maybe, third place. But there was no workmanship there. No style, no verve. Lara Croft? Hello? Nothing even remotely resembling work. And her presentation was the most boring.
Lara Croft and Butler received Second place and Judge's Choice.
Nosferatu received First place and Best of Show.
Terry Cupples of St. Louis, drunk off his ass, wearing only BOXER SHORTS could kick the asses of all the winners in this contest. The man once changed into 30 costumes over the course of ONE WEEKEND.
This was a sham. This wasn't a contest, it was merely a, "We'll let you parade about, but know you suck" show.
As the 'winners' stood on stage, bowing and cooing, I aimed both fists at them and lifted my middle fingers. I'm American. I'm not allowed to do that the British way.
Anyway.
After spending most of the day in bed, bar a few trips downstairs--I had to get the buttons, y'know--I made sure I would be in good enough shape to go to the Masquerade. After all, Ryssa was entering as Sailor Gallifrey, and Random and Treacle were going as Dru and Spike. It sounded like fun, and I've been in the Masquerade before. I was expecting... substance.
Boy was I wrong.
11 costumes, 5 awards (Judge's Choice, Best in Show, First, Second, Third), 3 winners.
Possibly the worst masquerade I've ever seen. Yes. Worst. This even tops the horrid Continuum Masquerade from 94. The one where Phenix and Terry Cupples kicked serious boo-tay and walked off as the King and Queen of Costuming. *snicker*
I'm going to try and do these in the order they were in, but I may get them wrong.
1. Spike and Drusilla. Second season versions. Spike was brash, arrogant, bastardy, and toting a bottle of Jack. Dru was quiet and odd, spoke about twice, and sent shivers up my spine. Both were wearing prosthetic headpieces that didn't look that bad from where we sat. Dru's dress had been handmade, but I'm fairly certain Spike's gear wasn't. "Are these nice people?" <---oh, YEAH. Definitely Dru.
2. Elf, Pippin, Human. Cute. Not really any presentation, but the cloaks were probably handmade, not sure about the rest of the costumes. And I was surprised they allowed live steel and bow and arrows onstage.
3. Stanley Tweedle some dead thing from Lexx. Never seen the show. The costumes were pieced together from thrift stores, or made by hand. The presentation *worked* because I was drawn in even though I had no idea what the FUCK was going on. Good stuff. They wore their costumes all weekend, and, iirc, received hall costume awards for them.
4. Beetlejuice. Overdone. I've seen Beetlejuice at probably every single convention I've been to (not the same person of course). This one ran around all weekend in costume. A costume probably bought at a shop, too. The wig wasn't bad, the makeup was decent. And the presentation went on for 30 seconds too long. Hello? Fuckers? You have a 1 minute time limit posted. Enforce that puppy. Plus, he bored me for 40 seconds at the end, and you want to keep them begging for more. Also? He'd won a Hall Costume award already. Now, from my understanding, you can't do that, and then win in the Masquerade.
5. Drusilla. Her dress was lovely, red and gold and such. It was handmade. The problem was, they never gave the script she had to the host, so he couldn't read it. Her entire presentation was ruined because of this. Hello? Tech Rehearsal, anyone?
6. Ace. Words cannot begin to describe the stupidity of this costume, but I shall attempt it. Ace. As a man. No work really done, except maybe to put badges on the jacket. And act like a complete twit. This was completely painful to watch.
7. Sailor Gallifrey. Handmade costume, amusing concept, "...well, you know how the other scouts are just sort of the spirit of the planets? I'm actually Gallifrey itself. The PTB didn't want me gone, so, at the end of Ancestor Cell, they turned me into this... Ooooh. Shiiny." If you're not a Who fan, you're not really going to get it. But, hey. She looked cute and bouncy, and LIKE a Sailor Scout. The costume was made from about three different patterns to get it just right, too. Now, she did wear this costume on Friday, but did not receive a hall costume award for it.
8. V chick. In the words of Peter David, "What the HELL was that?" She is trying to save V. Or bring it back. Or something. It's all muddled, because there's no point to her costume, she looks like shit, and doesn't do anything but wander around stage holding up this tiny sign no one can read. Apparently, she does this EVERY year. Hello? STOP HER!
9. DW meets WWF. This concept could be HIGHLY amusing. When done right. This wasn't that time. Sorry, chum, grinning and striding around in shiny leather (*distracted... shiiiny* Wait. He's ugly. Never mind) pants and a long scarf doesn't do shit. You need presentation and a hook, you twit.
10. Nosferatu. Not too bad. Would have worked much better if they'd done makeup/lighting to make themselves look black and white. Fairly authentic costumes, and his headpiece must have been VERY warm. Dunno if it was handmade, though. Actually, none of their stuff looked handmade. *shrug*
11. Lara Croft and Butler. She came out in an ugly housewifey-type dress. Now. As with the WWF, this could have been a HIGHLY amusing take on things--He came out dressed nattily in tails like a good butler... with an H on his forehead. Oh. Wow. You're making the joke that Rimmer is her butler. Watch me laugh. *yawn* A moment later, she rips off the dress, to reveal the normal Lara Croft getup! Bored now. Let's see. Shirt, shorts, a few straps, a few guns and boots. Oh, YEAH, there's a hard costume to make. Oh! I forgot the tits. Except, wait, she didn't HAVE any.
Now. Having gone through the list of costumes, let me say this. There was no tech rehearsal for this Masquerade. None. Which meant that the first people to go onstage had NO clue where to go afterwards. It doesn't take much time to schedule TR. You grab an hour when the room is going to be down (like, maybe right after the charity/art auction? Y'know, that whole hour where NOTHING WENT ON???). And you make everyone show up at some point to run through their skit, check lighting and sound, and make sure scripts are in hand, and tapes andetc are queued properly. It's how Archon does it, and I praise the gods for Sheila and Scott. They are MARVELOUS. Cathy and Steve aren't far behind them.
Second. Guess how many judges this contest had. Go on, guess. You know you want to.
Guessed yet?
Well?
I'll tell you, then.
Two.
Two people to decide the fate of five awards. Most contest panels demand 3, so there's a tie-breaker. And some even require 5, so favouritism doesn't occur.
And yet, they only had two. I should have known from then that it would be a rigged fuckery event.
So. Judges go away, we get mildly amused by a few old commercials and such, and then judges come back, certificates in hand. We're treated to a painfully boring sideshow between the awards presenters (I was sick not delirious you twits) and Third place is announced.
It's Beetlejuice. I blink, sigh, and can't understand why. A moment passes while they call him three times (*yawn*), and the presenter warned against flash photography, as it might blind him as he came on stage... I believe me shouting, "Yes, blind him so he falls off stage!" did not do much for my image as a sweet innocent nice girl.
He gets third place, I think. Fine. OK. Surely one of the actual costumes with actual, y'know, depth and presentation will get second and first. And then there's the other two, Judges Choice and Best of Show. Gee, four more people can win.
Sadly, this was not to be. In one of the most extreme examples of "These are my friends, so screw you lot for ever trying to do any costuming" the other four awards go to the nepotistic (is that a word?) Lara Croft and Nosferatu. Why? Nossie, I can see, for, maybe, third place. But there was no workmanship there. No style, no verve. Lara Croft? Hello? Nothing even remotely resembling work. And her presentation was the most boring.
Lara Croft and Butler received Second place and Judge's Choice.
Nosferatu received First place and Best of Show.
Terry Cupples of St. Louis, drunk off his ass, wearing only BOXER SHORTS could kick the asses of all the winners in this contest. The man once changed into 30 costumes over the course of ONE WEEKEND.
This was a sham. This wasn't a contest, it was merely a, "We'll let you parade about, but know you suck" show.
As the 'winners' stood on stage, bowing and cooing, I aimed both fists at them and lifted my middle fingers. I'm American. I'm not allowed to do that the British way.
Well....
1. Did you get your NAs?
Out of the 21 I needed, I found one. Sigh.
2. How many IRCers were there? How are they?
Um. NathanRoberts, Eva (WhiteQueen), Shel, Alryssa, her hubby Tom, Trinalin, Ash (Raven), Random, Lee (Cit), Mossy, Vani, Thete, IanMc, MacAddict, dse (never saw him, though), Whomiga, Dave Adler (dha), TomFODW, Jeffreys (Pete Wisdom)... I think that's it. Might think of more later.
3. Did you see any new fanvids? If so, thoughts?
Didn't see any. Sorry. While it's a great concept, I never was interested in them. I'm mildly intrigued at the idea of helping do one, though.
Ana