[Cuddles116]

I was wondering if I was the only one who noticed a lot more skits weren't really skits they were just straight out singing and or dancing, which are both fine in there own right and this isn't a post to bash anyone who did those things, but they're were a lot of them, atleast more than I remember from last year which had more than the year before and etc. I noticed a good section of the audience just would talk or do something else while it was happening too so the participants weren't getting full attention for the performance they put together.

So my suggestion to go along with this gripe is put together something thats more talent related (Acen's got talent? I dunno work the name creative people) rather then what I expect the skits section of the masquerade to be, funny, or if not funny atleast some words that aren't just lyrics or a background to dancing.

[Youkulm]

Just like Cuddles i'm not not bashing anyone, but I thought skits were supposed to be skits? Its the one of the main reasons why my friends and myself attend the masquerade... We are slightly disappointed more every year to see the increase of talent acts rather than skits.

I think a talent show is an amazing idea. It would also be a good place for those kind of acts to be showcased properly... Just my opinion.

[vika838]

Cuddles116, on 22 May 2011 - 12:41 PM, said:

I was wondering if I was the only one who noticed a lot more skits weren't really skits they were just straight out singing and or dancing, which are both fine in there own right and this isn't a post to bash anyone who did those things, but they're were a lot of them, atleast more than I remember from last year which had more than the year before and etc. I noticed a good section of the audience just would talk or do something else while it was happening too so the participants weren't getting full attention for the performance they put together.

So my suggestion to go along with this gripe is put together something thats more talent related (Acen's got talent? I dunno work the name creative people) rather then what I expect the skits section of the masquerade to be, funny, or if not funny atleast some words that aren't just lyrics or a background to dancing.

Interesting suggestions, guys. Speaking as one of the people who did what could be viewed as a more talent oriented skit I can see and respect your point of view. However, I'd like to add a few things to consider...

My skit focused on the final scene of Cowboy Bebop, something that I was trying to convey visually/abstractly rather than acting it out. It was definitely different than a traditional skit, but from my point of view it still had a place in the Masquerade, and perhaps the other acts did too if you look a little deeper (or maybe not). Something that might have been helpful, would have been to give a verbal description of the point of my act during my introduction, since it was primarily visual. However, I also understand that there are time constraints, and the show must go on. Since I couldn't do it then, for what it's worth, I'll give a brief description now.


*spoiler*


In the final scene of Cowboy Bebop Spike dies, and the scene pans slowly back from his body to focus on the sky, as suddenly doves are released into the air. These doves fly into an ever deepening blue sky, transitioning into a view of the galaxy, as the song "Blue" sings about freedom, dreams, and life. I interpreted this scene as Spike's soul finally finding peace and moving on.


*end of spoiler*

In my performance, I was that dove/Spike's soul stretching my wings and moving into the blue of the sky (my veil), and finding the freedom of the spinning galaxy (my flag). I realize not everyone may have gotten this admittedly more abstract concept, but as the scene is abstract in nature I found it appropriate. It is one of the most beautiful scenes in anime, and something that I've wanted to share my original interpretation of at the Masquerade for many years now.

I have a difficult time thinking of a way this could have been acted out verbally in a skit, and imo every show needs a balance of humor and seriousness. If this wasn't your cup of tea, I apologize. I also realize that it may have been hard to get all this from my performance especially if your are not familiar with the anime.

I'm hoping that someone out there did get an idea of what I was trying to convey, which wasn't just to showcase my talent, but to depict a favorite anime scene in a new and (hopefully) exciting way. I still believe that while more drama than comedy, my skit still had a place in the Masquerade, and maybe some of the others you're thinking of did too, if you look at them again.

I'm very grateful for having the opportunity to perform in the Masquerade, and a special thanks to Jon and Hannah for making this happen.

Respectfully yours,

Vika

[Majin_Puar]

I wasn't at the masquerade, in fact I've never been to the masquerade (not willing to wait in line). But is it possible the increase of singing and dancing is do in part to the popularity of Glee?

[Cuddles116]

Majin_Puar, on 23 May 2011 - 08:45 AM, said:

I wasn't at the masquerade, in fact I've never been to the masquerade (not willing to wait in line). But is it possible the increase of singing and dancing is do in part to the popularity of Glee?

My main point really is that if its going to be in the skit section of the masquerade it should actually be a skit, regardless of what is popular at the time or not if it really isn't a skit it should be in a different section, even if that section gets added on in the masquearde after actual skits.

[Beserkiera]

I sang, I was awesome. Ya'll suck.

haha jk. But I totally understand these suggestions. People who attend the masquerade are normally looking for a comedy show. I don't know how that got started, but it seems to be the way things have played out.

If I had known how many singing/dancing acts there were going to be I probably would have rethought my act.

FYI, I was the blond singing with Ranka. Was supposed to be Sheryl but I'm not going to disrespect cosplayers by saying I was cosplaying as her, because it was just a blond wig and a dress xD.

[Pashy-chan]

I have to agree with the OP.. @__@ Not that anything was wrong with the singing or dancing perfomances, but it was more so a talent show than rather, well.. skit. I mean.. a skit by definition is an acted performance, usually of a comedic nature.. and while they didn't all have to be comedic, I did feel that there weren't many "skits" this year..

[Kaay-chan]

I wouldn't have a problem with skits that involve singing and dancing if they were relevant to the characters in question. Unfortunately, they rarely are. Even the vocaloid skit only had a few songs that were actually associated with vocaloids (I know that technically Vocaloids can sing anything, but I'm regerring to songs like Po Pi Po and the vocaloid version of Levan Polka).

[Youkulm]

Kaay-chan, on 23 May 2011 - 09:15 PM, said:

I wouldn't have a problem with skits that involve singing and dancing if they were relevant to the characters in question. Unfortunately, they rarely are. Even the vocaloid skit only had a few songs that were actually associated with vocaloids (I know that technically Vocaloids can sing anything, but I'm regerring to songs like Po Pi Po and the vocaloid version of Levan Polka).

I agree. If the singing and dancing it relevant I have no problem with it. And exactly as you said.. that is rarely the case.

[CrimsonAnime]

I know that everyone here has agreed so...me saying that I agree is not a huge shock.

I don't mind singing/dancing acts (the belly dancer that won [i believe the cowboy bepop abstract mentioned above] was very beautiful and fun to watch but I love belly dancing and most dancing in general so I'm a different case) however when I described the masquerade to my bf who went to the masquerade for the first time this year, I described it as a place where the biggest and best cosplayers come out and that skits are about humor with often mismatched characters.

I agree with the idea of a talent show (and if I'm not mistaken I believe at one point there was an Acen Idol?) but I don't think all performance skits should be cut. I just think those that apply should have some purpose for the singing. IE Haruhi cosplayers doing the dance in character OR Lucky star cosplayers doing the Haruhi dance OR Vocaloid....characters singing etc etc.

[Kokoro]

I've heard of some cons that have a masquerade, which is generally just to show off costumes (walk ons), and then a talent show that involves singing, dancing, comedy, etc. I really like that idea.

[KirbyFanOne]

Here's my suggestion.

We need a quality control panel that judges acts on their content. It needs to be a variety hour of sorts, with singing, dancing, comedy, and what have you. A mixed bag of talents, with which we can sit back and enjoy. And this panel will personally approve each skit/act as it is performed in front of them prior to the performance. Using this criteria, I'm sure only the best of the best would get into the masquerade.




Oh and one last thing. If your skit mentions Rick Rolling, The Game, or any other painfully unfunny meme you are hereby ordered to defend yourself in front of a judge in the Judicial district that Rosemont is located in for the cold-blooded double homicide of comedy and originality. I STILL find it hard to believe that 4 Rick Rolls and 3 mentions of the Game slipped into the masquerade skits. You aren't funny, you aren't creative, and most likely, you will not be welcome in my presence ever again.

This post has been edited by KirbyFanOne: 31 May 2011 - 12:00 AM

[Kokoro]

KirbyFanOne, on 30 May 2011 - 11:59 PM, said:

Oh and one last thing. If your skit mentions Rick Rolling, The Game, or any other painfully unfunny meme you are hereby ordered to defend yourself in front of a judge in the Judicial district that Rosemont is located in for the cold-blooded double homicide of comedy and originality.

I LOL'd so hard during an autograph session when a guy posing with Stephenie Sheh pulled out a sign that said "You lost The Game," and Spike Spencer didn't know what The Game was, so Stephenie was trying to explain it and halfway through he said, "Aaand I just lost interest."

The Game was funny for a few weeks. Not anymore. Please stop relying on it for skits/screaming it in the middle of the room/etc etc.

[Pashy-chan]

KirbyFanOne, on 30 May 2011 - 11:59 PM, said:

Here's my suggestion.

We need a quality control panel that judges acts on their content. It needs to be a variety hour of sorts, with singing, dancing, comedy, and what have you. A mixed bag of talents, with which we can sit back and enjoy. And this panel will personally approve each skit/act as it is performed in front of them prior to the performance. Using this criteria, I'm sure only the best of the best would get into the masquerade.

This.. I agree with this so so so much.. Not only will it limit performances to some of the best from the midwest, but it should also help with.. audio problems..

This has been an ongoing gripe of mine since my first ACen.. sitting through skit after skit without understanding a word from the audio clip played. You can have an hilarious skit that's downplayed by this factor alone, and often it happens. It just frustrating when you're focusing more on trying to hear what's being said...than the content actually being said.. Aigoo..

[Pashy-chan]

Kokoro, on 31 May 2011 - 09:08 AM, said:

I LOL'd so hard during an autograph session when a guy posing with Stephenie Sheh pulled out a sign that said "You lost The Game," and Spike Spencer didn't know what The Game was, so Stephenie was trying to explain it and halfway through he said, "Aaand I just lost interest."

The Game was funny for a few weeks. Not anymore. Please stop relying on it for skits/screaming it in the middle of the room/etc etc.

=.= And.. seriously.. I could've sworn the Game ended.. *Sigh* It's seriously a joke that's overplayed.. Same thing with the whole "Pasta" chant. We get it, Italy likes pasta. Okay. I swear, that was overplayed almost as soon as it started... And half the time we couldn't even hear the MC's because of it.. Really? xD But meh... I guarantee we'll be hearing it again next ACen.. @_@

[XenoBlade]

KirbyFanOne, on 30 May 2011 - 11:59 PM, said:

Oh and one last thing. If your skit mentions Rick Rolling, The Game, or any other painfully unfunny meme you are hereby ordered to defend yourself in front of a judge in the Judicial district that Rosemont is located in for the cold-blooded double homicide of comedy and originality. I STILL find it hard to believe that 4 Rick Rolls and 3 mentions of the Game slipped into the masquerade skits. You aren't funny, you aren't creative, and most likely, you will not be welcome in my presence ever again.

THIS. Seriously. I'm so sick of the Game. I never really found it funny, but still, it's really REALLY old. Lay it to rest.

[ATICE]

I am glad I don't go to masquerade's and watch them on the internet instead, especially with this ACEN's masquerade... wow... Like 2 out of all those skits made sense, and those were the Mario Bros. and Hellsing skits.

[vika838]

For those of you who may not have participated in the masquerade, masquerade skits are pretty thoroughly vetted prior to the event. In most cases you do have to perform your skit before masquerade staff during check-in prior to the event, as well as submit a script/detailed summary of your skit well in advance. The audio is also submitted in advance, and checked during this review. Even with all these quality control checks, things can still happen during performance just like at any show the size of the masquerade. The detail that goes into the event is extraordinary.

[GITS SAC Motoko]

XenoBlade, on 31 May 2011 - 05:03 PM, said:

THIS. Seriously. I'm so sick of the Game. I never really found it funny, but still, it's really REALLY old. Lay it to rest.

Same with the Rick Rolling. It was funny the first few times, amusing the other billion times and now, I'm kinda just *sigh* at it.

And I agree the Game is overused way to much and it's just not funny anymore.

But I do agree there were more singing and dancing skits this year, which was fine, but I feel like KirbyFanOne said that could be a separate panel, like a "ACEN's got Talent" or something or another main program. Because I always thought masquerades was just walk-ons or both skits and walk ons, but with acting skits. I actually think having a separate program with singing and dancing type skits would be really cool because more people could get involved and you could judge it the same way you do the masquerade. I'd go to that program if they had it, I think that would be really cool to see. Then you'd have the Masquerade be just walk-ons and strict acting skits. So then more acting could be in the masquerade too.

[Kokoro]

vika838, on 31 May 2011 - 08:44 PM, said:

For those of you who may not have participated in the masquerade, masquerade skits are pretty thoroughly vetted prior to the event. In most cases you do have to perform your skit before masquerade staff during check-in prior to the event, as well as submit a script/detailed summary of your skit well in advance. The audio is also submitted in advance, and checked during this review. Even with all these quality control checks, things can still happen during performance just like at any show the size of the masquerade. The detail that goes into the event is extraordinary.

And yet the painfully bad skits still get through...

I'd really love a separate talent show and costume contest (the latter would have NO skits, just walk-ons) as mentioned earlier.

[Gabichox]

There used to be an Acen Idol before. I wonder why they got rid of it :/
I didn't go to the Masquerade this year since I was running a photoshoot but I would've been bored with all of the singing and dancing acts if that's all it was. And I'm a singer/dancer myself so I'm not hating on anyone.

Acen should really open up it's main programming boundaries again and have an "Acen Idol" or "Acen's Got Talent" [< I really like that idea] It'll help bring more interest to the con.

[Dark Spellmaster]

Very much agree with Acens got Talent' but what will the prize be?

[Krystal]

While anything goes for me in the masquerade, I do think there should be seperate awards for musical skits.