This is the version of the SLUT review more tailored for the Runacc list.
You will find different info on this one, so you might want to read the
ICG-D version also. I preface this review by saying that I’m the
mouthpiece — the review reflects an group opinion. No malice is meant, but
if it was a totally glowing report, everyone would suspect something.
So.
Let’s start at the beginning with the CC22 website. There was some
disappointments here. As of this year, a larger percentage of people were
finding out about the con or seeking info via the Internet. Yet, the
convention website was not being regularly updated. Also, all the
masquerade entry forms were formatted in PDF. Since you couldn’t register
online with them, there didn’t seem to be much point to them.
A few glaring errors in regards to the Folio: The list of Folio members was
not kept up to date online — thereby defeating its purpose. Apparently
the contact address for Nora, the Folio Show Director, was not correct, nor
were the sponsors of the prizes for the show. I believe corrections were
sent via e-mail in January, but they were not posted on the website until
the beginning of this month.
Once we got to the con:
We understand there were serious problems with the site location. We were
willing to cut a lot of slack on this factor. As a convention facility, it
was pretty good. Having the meeting rooms all in one area was a plus. I
made a mental note that perhaps having the various registration and bid
tables etc., closer together might be better from a creative energy level
standpoint. Something for CC25 to consider. It would have been nice to
have more lounge furniture in that area. The hotel’s location was good,
with plenty of places to eat within easy walking distance. As others have
mentioned, towels and toilet paper were a somewhat rare commodity at times.
We also understand that some guests had the locks on their doors
re-configured in the middle of the weekend, so they couldn’t get into their
rooms. What was up with that?
“Housekeeping has gone home” (after 6:00 pm?) was apparently the excuse du
jour for the shortage of towels and toilet paper. Great cost cutting
measure, there, guys. Oh, and the little $1.80 charge we had on our bill
(mentioned on the D list)? We had to go to the gift shop to get the person
to take it off. Sadly, either she was clueless or was not real good on
English. There were hand-written notes of charges (??) and quite plainly the
$1.80 we couldn’t account for was right there, credited to room 555, not
533, but this was apparently not a concept she could quite grasp. She even
turned the pages back to February at one point (say what?). Nonetheless,
once we went back to the front desk and said it was wrong, the charge was
taken off. Not a big deal, just the principle of the thing.
We were pleased to see the Con Suite open on Thursday evening. It allowed
us to unwind and pick up most of our membership packets.
Friday:
Holding the ICG meeting on Friday morning was perceived by many to be a good
thing, rather than waiting to hold it on Monday. The only down side to this
was we were there way too long. Combined with the Board meeting beforehand
for an hour, that meant a total of 3 hours of discussions. My ears only
stopped bleeding a day or so ago.
Registration for the con seemed well organized and adequately staffed. The
computer database they were using for membership appeared to work well.
The Dealers Room, while small, was open on time. Exhibits were not.
The Friday Night Social:
Of all the socials we’ve attended, this appeared to be one of the most
successful on record. It allowed everyone to participate, even if one came
as a Muggle. The refreshments were plentiful – always a plus. There were
very few negatives:
While most liked the band, it interfered with the “social” aspect of the
event, forcing people either to yell at each other or leave the room. Also,
the lights were so low that it was hard to see people’s costumes.
Saturday:
Tech rehearsals for the SF & F masq were well organized and ran smoothly.
The SF & F masquerade ran relatively smoothly, also. The crew pretty much
knew what they were doing. It was good to see Sue Kulinyi and Eric Cannon
again, after having last worked with them at CC16.
I saw only minor problems – the speakers were a bit loud at times. I
understand that people were fairly pleased with my turn as MC. There could
have been more ninjas, but this was just indicative of the lightly attended
convention. Some said that perhaps the ninjas were inexperienced and not
very helpful at times with getting people off-stage.
In both the SF & F and Historical masqs, it was observed that the Stage
Manager was behind on some cues, causing a few late sound and/or light cues
along the way. It seems that during the planning, no one had given thought
to wrangling the individual costumers onto the stage for their fan photog
moments. I was pleased to be asked to do it. Also, the handing out of the
awards hadn’t quite been worked out, so I suggested that Fiona and I
tag-team handing them to the winners.
The Green Room was cramped, but we understand it was the only space
available. Nonetheless, I’ve been told that the dens could have been better
arranged, and there would have been some room to place a den or so behind
the official photography area. Also, while we realize that they are
necessary for parents, baby strollers should be kept out of the aisles where
people are trying to get back and forth in the room. The Green Room for
both nights of the masqs was run with the usual professionalism, but the
repair table was blocked by the narrow aisles full of people and a single
large den. There were not enough mirrors, and they were frequently hogged
by a few people. Good grub, though.
Too bad about the stage problems, including the pipe and drape (see other
review).
A suggestion has been made that the video people be given some sort of
paperwork in the future to allow them to know where and when entries are
made, so things aren’t missed.
Sunday:
A thumbs up to the committee for publishing a reminder about daylight
savings time in the program, as well as making announcements repeatedly the
night before.
One nice thing about having the tech rehearsal and then having the costumers
stay in the Green Room until the Folio show was that it allowed people to
relax a bit before actually going on stage. Folks might want to take note
of this in the future.
Thoughts on the Single Pattern contest: This was not as well organized. The
person in charge did not have good communications, and then we understand
they could not come at the last minute. Apparently we got a notification
via email on the day we left – after we’d already taken our computer to the
repair shop – so we had no clue tthere was a problem until we got to
Atlanta. A little sooner notification would have been nice.
Historical judging suggestions:
1. The Masquerade Director should assign a schedule for the judges, rather
than depend on them to finish in a timely manner. With that in mind.
2. Be realistic about the time required for judging each participant, not
each entry. Sometimes the judges didn’t take very long, but others took
longer.
3. the Masq Director shouldn’t blame the participants for delays. We know
our group, the Rainbow Cavaliers, took a lot of time and it set the judging
back a bit (forcing some judging to be done in a central room), but this
should have been anticipated when we pre-registered. And even though our
group took roughly 90 minutes to get through, with 14 people that only
averaged 7-8 minutes each.
4. The MD needs to enforce the Historical judging format (re: Workmanship,
Documentation and Presentation). Was the idea of a documentation award a
one-time thing? I thought a precedent had been set.
On the plus side, we were really glad to be able to be judged in our rooms,
even if it was a group of us in a room at a time. It was less like a Board
Exam. Also, the judges were quite thorough, asking good questions.
Taking myself completely out of these next comments, I have been told the MC
seemed less confident and made several mispronunciation mistakes. I don’t
know whose fault it was, but one or two names were left off the credits for
our presentation, even though we took pains to make sure that they weren’t.
The biggest gripe for us was intermission between the masquerade and the
awards. While the radio play was apparently of high caliber, it was way too
long for the amount of time involved. People in corsets or other
restrictive clothing shouldn’t kept waiting that long. Sure, you can tell
them to feel free to change, but the audience likes to see the costume that
won. If it were me, while it might have caused problems, the play should
have been truncated at the very least, or completely stricken when it was
obvious how long it would be before awards would be read. And let’s not
forget the accompanying announcements, which added even more time.
The Con Suite: We understand that there was some sort of bait-and-switch
with the hotel so that it wasn’t very big. Not the concom’s fault. The
guys who ran this raised the bar for standards of supply. Real food with
protein (like chicken wings!) was greatly appreciated. We would have liked
to have seen more vegetables, though.
Showing costume movies as entertainment background in the con suite has
certain drawbacks. While it’s a good idea on paper, it tends to suck
attention spans and conversation right out of the room. This is especially
so when the audio is up very loud. So, if you wanted to have a nice
conversation in that room, you (and the person who you are conversing with)
had to talk over the audio and fight getting distracted by what was on TV.
I have a suggestion if future cons continue this idea – how about a video of
BIS or highlights of either past International entries or of the host city’s
regional masquerade?
Finally, we were a bit uncomfortable with the way the presentation of the
ICG Lifetime Achievement Award was handled. Yes, there are people who have
been overlooked for this recognition, but to say so publicly lessened the
honor to both of this year’s recipients. In addition, since these mentions
closely followed the subject of a posthumous award, at least one person
gasped aloud because they thought the implication was that one or the other
of these deserving people had died. We know that was not the intention.
Anyone who wasn’t familiar with the presenter and the intent of the
posthumous award might not have understood the context.
Overall, we had a pretty good time, even if some of us didn’t get to see
many of the panels, due to certain commitments. We welcome those organizers
to the “Never Again” club and look forward to the day when the do it again.