Regarding Ohayocon 2011
Since this is a topic that has come up lately and is one in which I, myself, was involved, I wished to add in my subjective opinion and my support to other records of incidence.
For full and supplementary details, please visit Chibik3r0's report and Sewing is Half the Battle's report.
I was on the Cosplay Staff at Ohayocon in 2010.
Based off the direction they were heading for 2011, my choice is now to not attend as either staff or general admission, because I do not want to support a convention that does not wish to respect either myself, my friends, or my fellow cosplayers.
Read below for further reasoning.
Staffing Requirements, Expectations, and Replaceability
Alright, so I made up the word 'Replaceability.'
But this was the first sign I had of something being odd.
I was informed that despite my performance at Ohayocon 2010, I would still be in consideration to apply for a Staff position in 2011 and that nothing was being held against me.
Wait, what?
Considering that, in 2010, my job had been to performance judge the masquerade--a task I showed up three hours early for and remained three hours after in order to attend the feedback panel--this message came as somewhat of a shock.
I like Ohayocon. I've been attending since 2004, and 2010 was my first year staffing. I was extremely pleased with how things went in 2010 and was excited to contribute as much as I could to make 2011 an even better experience for all involved. I love helping out, and routinely work two days straight at other masquerades I staff. I do not mind doing this, and I have developed really great relationships with the Cosplay Department Heads of those conventions.
In this respect, learning that I had to work 30 hours to be eligible for a staff badge at Ohayocon was not a complete deal-breaker, even if it did seem a bit extreme.
Being expected to work 30 hours for other departments was where I started having an issue, and being expected to work 30 hours without guarantee of a staff room or meals really felt strange. I don't think I need to explain why this is odd, given that dealers rooms at most shows are only open 22 hours over the whole weekend and that the convention center closes at around 10pm each day (meaning, of course, that if I -did- want to actually get out and see the convention using the one thing I earned out of 30 hours of work--a staff badge--I'd not be able to.) (Full staffing requirements are on the Ohayocon website, here: Staff application.)
This made me extremely leery, which I brought up to the acting 2011 Live Events Department Head, and was informed that this was a strict rule across the entire Ohayocon Staff regardless of department.
Regardless of specialization.
I would not even be allowed to show up at Ohayocon to only judge the masquerade and attend the feedback panel, doing nothing else and receiving no compensation--I apparently would need a staff badge to be backstage.
The only way, in fact, that I'd be judging at Ohayocon (a task that I get frequently asked to do for free at other conventions I attend) would be to work for 30 hours.
Well.
This indicated something very important to me:
If I and every other member of staff had to apply based off the same base guideline--our availability--Ohayocon considered recruiting based off new infrastructure rules as a higher priority then recruiting based off of skill.
Why is this a problem for attendees?
If Ohayocon would rather pull in those capable of offering free labor than those with professional-level skills, events that require a quality standard of service are going to decline. Main Events (Sound Equipment and Lighting). Registration (Computer programming and Organization). Guest Relations (Translators). The Masquerade (Competitive cosplayers). Everything.
In fact, the 2010 cosplaying staff was referred to as 'replaceable,' essentially indicating to us that we have no marketable skills whatsoever, and that if we wanted the honor of working for Ohayocon, we would have to submit a staff application for perusal.
Alright, so lets make this really extreme.
We can have Kate bring in her state of the art sound system for 5 hours a day and comp her, or we can have Fred bring in his Karaoke machine and work 30 hours and comp him.
Or
We can have George with 15 years costuming experience and 45 awards judge our masquerade for 6 hours, or we can have Sandy who bought a costume off ebay judge our masquerade and work 30 hours.
Which dance would you rather go to?
Which masquerade would you want to compete in?
And they seem to be making these cuts across the board.
R.E.S.P.E.C.T.
That was, personally, the reason that I quit the Ohayocon masquerade.
I've been making costumes for over a decade and competing for seven years. I don't expect to be praised for my work, but I do expect that if someone comes up to me and asks an honest opinion about their costume, I can provide it to them with factual reasoning to back my critique. I would also expect that, when I enter a masquerade, I get to speak with a judge who can provide the same.
Ohayocon, based off of my interactions with them, does not seem to be interested in providing this to its masquerade contestants.
Instead, several members in influential roles on staff seem to believe cosplayers are 'greedy, demanding, and spoiled,' and should put up with and be grateful for whatever Ohayocon offers them for gracing their stage.
Really, I'd have rather the 'stuck-up' comment been directed at me. At least I can say that I've put the hours in to be deserving of it, since I do expect a certain level of respect for my skills. Having insults directed at competitors who are providing the convention a free show?
That was a very fast indication of Ohayocon's opinion of cosplayers; one which I have not yet been given any reason to believe is not true.
I do not, however, have any idea what the current LE-DH is planning for the Ohayocon masquerade. I do not know what to expect to happen in it, for it, or during it, and I do not know who will be working it or what their level of expertise will be. It is entirely possible they will be capable of putting together an amazing show, and providing the basic amenities that performing artists deserve--a space, a chair, and some water. The current DH even seems to be very polite, with a small amount of cosplaying experience, but that is also something I do not know.
What I do know is that the Masquerade venue is changing in 2011, and that the hall it is in is going to be smaller. What I do know is that most of the 2010 cosplay staff resigned due to management issues, unreasonable expectations, or a deep lack of respect.
What I do know is that I, personally, no longer feel comfortable with being associated with that con, and am apprehensive about the treatment competitors in 2011 will undergo.
I want the conventions and masquerades that I attend to be able to showcase the hundreds of hours of work that costumers put in to their costumes. I want them to allow for spectacular performances. I want the audience to cheer and holler and cry and adulate and really enjoy themselves, and I want the people back stage to do the same.
I want everyone to go home with happy memories, even if they didn't win.
So, with that said...
If you are a costumer, and you attend Ohayocon this year to enter the masquerade--be careful. Consider options for keeping fed and hydrated, and consider costumes which can navigate extremely crowded hallways and that you can stand in for hours at a time.
If you are a regular attendee thinking about Ohayocon--consider something else. The quality in all departments seems to be undergoing a steady decline, the venue is over-crowded, and the time of year is dangerous to travel during.
If you are thinking about staffing Ohayocon--good luck.
I'd love to know if any of this changes, because I'm going to miss this convention and the friends I made here.
Thank you for reading.
For full and supplementary details, please visit Chibik3r0's report and Sewing is Half the Battle's report.
I was on the Cosplay Staff at Ohayocon in 2010.
Based off the direction they were heading for 2011, my choice is now to not attend as either staff or general admission, because I do not want to support a convention that does not wish to respect either myself, my friends, or my fellow cosplayers.
Read below for further reasoning.
Staffing Requirements, Expectations, and Replaceability
Alright, so I made up the word 'Replaceability.'
But this was the first sign I had of something being odd.
I was informed that despite my performance at Ohayocon 2010, I would still be in consideration to apply for a Staff position in 2011 and that nothing was being held against me.
Wait, what?
Considering that, in 2010, my job had been to performance judge the masquerade--a task I showed up three hours early for and remained three hours after in order to attend the feedback panel--this message came as somewhat of a shock.
I like Ohayocon. I've been attending since 2004, and 2010 was my first year staffing. I was extremely pleased with how things went in 2010 and was excited to contribute as much as I could to make 2011 an even better experience for all involved. I love helping out, and routinely work two days straight at other masquerades I staff. I do not mind doing this, and I have developed really great relationships with the Cosplay Department Heads of those conventions.
In this respect, learning that I had to work 30 hours to be eligible for a staff badge at Ohayocon was not a complete deal-breaker, even if it did seem a bit extreme.
Being expected to work 30 hours for other departments was where I started having an issue, and being expected to work 30 hours without guarantee of a staff room or meals really felt strange. I don't think I need to explain why this is odd, given that dealers rooms at most shows are only open 22 hours over the whole weekend and that the convention center closes at around 10pm each day (meaning, of course, that if I -did- want to actually get out and see the convention using the one thing I earned out of 30 hours of work--a staff badge--I'd not be able to.) (Full staffing requirements are on the Ohayocon website, here: Staff application.)
This made me extremely leery, which I brought up to the acting 2011 Live Events Department Head, and was informed that this was a strict rule across the entire Ohayocon Staff regardless of department.
Regardless of specialization.
I would not even be allowed to show up at Ohayocon to only judge the masquerade and attend the feedback panel, doing nothing else and receiving no compensation--I apparently would need a staff badge to be backstage.
The only way, in fact, that I'd be judging at Ohayocon (a task that I get frequently asked to do for free at other conventions I attend) would be to work for 30 hours.
Well.
This indicated something very important to me:
If I and every other member of staff had to apply based off the same base guideline--our availability--Ohayocon considered recruiting based off new infrastructure rules as a higher priority then recruiting based off of skill.
Why is this a problem for attendees?
If Ohayocon would rather pull in those capable of offering free labor than those with professional-level skills, events that require a quality standard of service are going to decline. Main Events (Sound Equipment and Lighting). Registration (Computer programming and Organization). Guest Relations (Translators). The Masquerade (Competitive cosplayers). Everything.
In fact, the 2010 cosplaying staff was referred to as 'replaceable,' essentially indicating to us that we have no marketable skills whatsoever, and that if we wanted the honor of working for Ohayocon, we would have to submit a staff application for perusal.
Alright, so lets make this really extreme.
We can have Kate bring in her state of the art sound system for 5 hours a day and comp her, or we can have Fred bring in his Karaoke machine and work 30 hours and comp him.
Or
We can have George with 15 years costuming experience and 45 awards judge our masquerade for 6 hours, or we can have Sandy who bought a costume off ebay judge our masquerade and work 30 hours.
Which dance would you rather go to?
Which masquerade would you want to compete in?
And they seem to be making these cuts across the board.
R.E.S.P.E.C.T.
That was, personally, the reason that I quit the Ohayocon masquerade.
I've been making costumes for over a decade and competing for seven years. I don't expect to be praised for my work, but I do expect that if someone comes up to me and asks an honest opinion about their costume, I can provide it to them with factual reasoning to back my critique. I would also expect that, when I enter a masquerade, I get to speak with a judge who can provide the same.
Ohayocon, based off of my interactions with them, does not seem to be interested in providing this to its masquerade contestants.
Instead, several members in influential roles on staff seem to believe cosplayers are 'greedy, demanding, and spoiled,' and should put up with and be grateful for whatever Ohayocon offers them for gracing their stage.
Really, I'd have rather the 'stuck-up' comment been directed at me. At least I can say that I've put the hours in to be deserving of it, since I do expect a certain level of respect for my skills. Having insults directed at competitors who are providing the convention a free show?
That was a very fast indication of Ohayocon's opinion of cosplayers; one which I have not yet been given any reason to believe is not true.
I do not, however, have any idea what the current LE-DH is planning for the Ohayocon masquerade. I do not know what to expect to happen in it, for it, or during it, and I do not know who will be working it or what their level of expertise will be. It is entirely possible they will be capable of putting together an amazing show, and providing the basic amenities that performing artists deserve--a space, a chair, and some water. The current DH even seems to be very polite, with a small amount of cosplaying experience, but that is also something I do not know.
What I do know is that the Masquerade venue is changing in 2011, and that the hall it is in is going to be smaller. What I do know is that most of the 2010 cosplay staff resigned due to management issues, unreasonable expectations, or a deep lack of respect.
What I do know is that I, personally, no longer feel comfortable with being associated with that con, and am apprehensive about the treatment competitors in 2011 will undergo.
I want the conventions and masquerades that I attend to be able to showcase the hundreds of hours of work that costumers put in to their costumes. I want them to allow for spectacular performances. I want the audience to cheer and holler and cry and adulate and really enjoy themselves, and I want the people back stage to do the same.
I want everyone to go home with happy memories, even if they didn't win.
So, with that said...
If you are a costumer, and you attend Ohayocon this year to enter the masquerade--be careful. Consider options for keeping fed and hydrated, and consider costumes which can navigate extremely crowded hallways and that you can stand in for hours at a time.
If you are a regular attendee thinking about Ohayocon--consider something else. The quality in all departments seems to be undergoing a steady decline, the venue is over-crowded, and the time of year is dangerous to travel during.
If you are thinking about staffing Ohayocon--good luck.
I'd love to know if any of this changes, because I'm going to miss this convention and the friends I made here.
Thank you for reading.