Masquerade - Open call
Hi everyone!
I hope that you are all getting excited about Anthrocon 2009! I know I am! It's time for folks to be seriously thinking about participating in Anthrocon's Masquerade!
For those new to Anthrocon, the Masquerade is our variety show. It's an opportunity for you to showcase your talents (and costume) on stage for the entire convention to see!
Preparations for Masquerade 2009 are underway, but something seems to be missing.....why it's YOU! Yes, I said YOU! Do you want to help entertain the convention Saturday evening? Are you just dying to try out performing on stage? Well my friends, this is your chance! There are some acts in development that need performers. Some may require dance skills, some are comedic, and some...well, just have to be seen to be believed!
Now if you have an act that you would like to do, please contact us as soon as possible so that we can discuss your performance. We do ask that people understand some acts may need to be revised, changed, or edited to fit technical limitations, space requirements, or thematic elements. If you want to participate, but don't have an act yet....we can suggest parts in other acts that are in development that can give you an opportunity to work with other fursuiters and performers!
If you're interested, please drop a note to: masquerade-2009 (at) anthrocon (dot) org if you are interested. 
KP
Do you have to perform with a fursuit or would ears and tail sufice? And you do me Saturday 4th of July?
That sound great! I kind of wanted to do the masquerade but my mate doesn't want to perform with such a large crowd. I don't have an act but it would be great to get in on one if I could (wouldn't be dancing because I can't dance all that well). How would the reheasals work? Would it just be at the masquerade rehearsal at the con?
Tell your mate that from the stage you cannot see the audience.
You really can't. I've been in the masquerade from 2005 to 2007, and I've never seen much of the audience.
Just to clarify...the spotlights are REALLY bright. So you can't see the size of the crowd. And if anything, you and anyone performing with you will have friendly faces off to the side of the stage cheering you on and lending support.
For rehearsals...it depnds on the act that you're part of. There is a mandatory dress rehearsal on Saturday morning. However, if you need additional practice for a skit, we can probably arrange that for Friday in a smaller room. If there is a complex series of movements or timing with an audio track, you'd need advance knowledge of the track and what needs to be done on your cues.
i would love to be in the maquerade this year. it looked like sooo much fun last year! i don't have a skit of my own but if anyone needs extras or anything, i'm willing to lend a paw! 
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Catch me, if you can! ^.^
hum...Im not sure If im going or not, but, to bellydance I think one would need to be out of costume. Could that be ok? Or would it be better to try it in a suit?
The problem with bellydancing for the Masquerade deals with motion and time. The act needs to be 3 minutes or under. Most bellydancing routines far exceed this time allottment and have caused some issues at other venues.
The other thing that needs to be taken into account is what we sometimes call, the "attention span" issue. Belly dancing is typically a very repetetive motion which cannot be easily seen from the back of the auditorium. Any motion which is repeated for more than 30 seconds has a tendency to lose general audience interest at a geometrically accelerating rate. So unless the overall actions on stage change about every 30 seconds or so, most in the audience won't find the act appealing. In fact, a 3 minute act can feel like it's going on for a very long time, when it really isn't if the actions are slow, monotonous or repetetive. This aspect has generated some VERY negative reactions in the past, and we try to avoid these situations where possible.
You may be referring to a certain masquerade performance where it appeared that a local dance school hijacked the show for their recital running well over half an hour. As to preparing a performance and a costume: You'll need to choose your music carefully and/or edit it down to the proper legnth. Spandex works wonders.
Well, with all due respect, their attention span to bellydancing would probably be directly tied to the attractiveness of the individuals and how much clothing they're wearing 
-The two saddest words in the English language are "Good bye"
Hmmm I'd love to get up on stage and sing a song, but i got no sort of costume at all...
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