All applicants who submit our application form for the Mr Boylesque UK competition must abide by all Rules & Criteria set out below:
Performers should be confident and of a high professional standard in the areas of performance, tease, audience engagement, visual presentation of costume and styling. They must demonstrate an innate understanding of music through demonstrating musicality within their movement and timing. Performer’s routines should be tight, well rehearsed and polished.
2017 Mr Boylesque Australia, Karl Kayoss by David Woolley
Order of competition sections & Scoring
The competition will be comprised of three marked sections – the Red Carpet Parade, followed by the Striptease routine and Unique routines. Each of these sections has their own scoring requirements as set out on this page. Please read these carefully as many additions and changes have been made.
All guidelines for the competition are devised to create an entertaining and engaging show for the audience and simultaneously allow theatrical talent, intelligence and creativity to flourish. The rules and criteria are written to encourage artistic integrity while supporting a structure for judges to select a winner. The judges are looking for a well-rounded performer who can demonstrate different styles across the three sections.
Across these sections, we want to take the audience on a journey that displays your dynamic performance style.
RED CARPET PARADE
Contestant introduction Section
The Red Carpet Parade is the opening section of the show. It’s your time to shine while the MC introduces you to the audience. This section judges on performance, confidence and the presentation of your character through movement, expression, gaze and gesture. The outfit chosen should be over the top and have that intrinsic “wow” factor – whether that be vintage tailored suit, a polished tuxedo or avant-garde wearable art. We would love to see how glamour can be interpreted and presented.
Rules
The contestant must wear an outfit that is separate to their performance costumes.
No props or back-up dancers are permitted during the parade section. Accessories such as hand fans, walking canes, boas, whips are acceptable.
STRIPTEASE
The striptease section has been created to challenge and stimulate creativity within the performers by not relying solely on gimmicks or comedy but focusing on their own sexuality and ability to tease the audience.
Boylesque throughout history has evolved and changed from drag, to comedy to the art form it is viewed as today. Boylesque had never been categorized in the way it’s feminine counterpart of burlesque has been. This section is to challenge the performers to strip back their act to the origins of burlesque, strip tease.
Utilising costume, performance, sexuality and creativity we want the performers to innovate and bring to the stage their best tease.
Rules
Routine must run for a minimum of 3 mins and a maximum of 5 mins.
Judges will be looking at the quality of costuming and overall visual aesthetic.
Small props are permitted as long as approved by producer in lead up to show. Set-up is permitted.
An element of Tease is required in the act.
Stagehand assistance or audience interaction is permitted.
NO MESS – due to time constraints and venue regulations there is to be no mess that requires clean up in the routine. This refers to the use of glitter, confetti, mylar, streamers and liquids.
Back-up dancers/dance partners/walk-ons are not permitted during this section.
The striptease section is not aligned with any specific date or era. Costume choice, overall visual aesthetic and musical stylings can be inspired by any time period of history.
Performer will be judged on Engagement – Use of Stage, Audience Connection, Styling – Costuming, Visual Presentation, Movement, Music & Musicality as well as Tease & Performance.
UNIQUE
In the immortal words of Gypsy Rose Lee, “You gotta get a gimmick!” Well, gimmick or no gimmick this is the performers chance to show the audience their modern interpretation of boylesque. We want performers to consider how striptease can be innovative to burlesque as an art form. We want to see a well-developed character and demonstrate an understanding about their own unique persona.
Overall, we want this to be entertaining. This section can be conceptual, classic, narrative or performance art – we want the performers to only be limited by their own imagination. Overall, we want to see what the performer can do. We want to see their biggest and best routine. Performers should make us think, make us scream; make us feel something through their performance. We want the performers to be adding to the knowledge pool of boylesque, not recreating things that have been done before.
In this section performers can perform any style or genre of boylesque – be that conceptual, performance art, narrative story telling, classic, circus, vaudeville – as long as it involves an element of striptease.
Rules
Routine must run for a minimum of 4 mins and a maximum of 5 mins.
There are no rules in regard to costuming, music and styling.
Major props are permitted but must not take any more than 2 mins to set up or remove. Major props are to be discussed with the producer and they will make the executive decision dependent on venue or extenuating circumstances.
Weighted stages and aerial rigging are permitted for this show if the venue allows. It’s up to the contestant to cover the cost of setting up, rigging and must be prepared prior to the event to allow for quick set up for the stage. Riggers must be industry certified.
Backup dancers are permitted for this section.
Stagehand assistance and audience interaction is permitted.
Performer will be judged on Individuality, Character & Performance, Engagement – Use of Stage, Audience Connection, Styling – Costuming, Visual Presentation as well as Tease, Movement & Musicality.
GENERAL SHOW RULES:
Xpole’s are not permitted in this competition at all.
Please ensure costume and styling are separate looks for each show.
NO MESS – Due to time constraints and venue regulations there is to be no mess that requires clean up in the routines. This refers to the use of glitter, confetti, mylar, streamers and liquids.
Animals are not allowed in any Mr Boylesque UK showcase.
Statement on appropriate behaviour
Miss Burlesque/Mr Boylesque is committed to providing a platform to build a positive and supportive environment for the UK burlesque community. We aim to support a thriving and diverse space in which performers both new and old can develop the artform and foster relationships with one another. All Finalists are expected to conduct themselves in a professional manner at all times.
Miss Burlesque/Mr Boylesque aims to uphold an inclusive and positive theatrical space that encourages body, race, ethnicity and political diversity.
Bullying
Bullying is defined as, “an ongoing and deliberate misuse of power in relationships through repeated verbal, physical and/or social behaviour that intends to cause physical, social and/or psychological harm.”
Bullying can occur in both physical and online spaces. This behaviour does not promote a positive, inclusive or supportive community environment and is deemed unacceptable behaviour within the MBUK competition. Any competitor aiming to negatively influence or intimidate another competitor or member of the MBUK production team will be found to be in violation of the terms and conditions of the entry of the competition and will be asked to leave the MBUK and will be barred from entering in concurrent years.
Cultural Appropriation
Cultural Appropriation is defined as, “the act of taking or using things from a culture that is not your own, especially without showing understanding or respect to this culture.” Cultural appropriation occurs when “members of a dominant culture take elements from a culture of people who have been systematically oppressed by that dominant group.”
Cultural appropriation has occurred with great frequency throughout the history of burlesque, and we believe that the continuation of this causes harm and perpetuates hurt.
Miss Burlesque/Mr Boylesque has a strict policy against accepting acts and performers that depict cultural appropriation on the stage. If a performer is found to be creating an act that seeks to depict acts that marginalise any culture that is not their own, they will be barred from entering the competition in concurrent years.