Miss Maryland Pride of America 2015

State(s) Contestants that are qualified to compete for this are: South Carolina, North Carolina, Virginia, West Virginia, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware and Wahington D.C. Pageant Day for Vying Contestants 7/20/15 - Registration / Make up time for contestants 5:30p - 6:30p - Panel Discussion 6:35p - Pageant Show: 7- 7:15p Introduction of Contestants Pride Wear Talent Please let us know if you may have any questions. The Application Fee is $115. If you are interested applications are out. Please e-mail: closfromnynmd@aol.com (Attention: Miss Maryland POA) Category Descriptions (Below): *Panel Discussion – The purpose of Panel Discussion (also known as Group Interview) is to give the judges a chance to interview a group of contestants at the same time in a round-table format. Each panel discussion will be a maximum of fifteen (15) minutes. The number of contestants per each panel discussion will be finalized once the total number of contestants in the pageant is determined and will never exceed five (5) contestants per panel discussion. During panel discussion, a moderator will ask the questions while the judges listen to and analyze the discussion, gaining insight into the basic qualities of your personal character such as awareness, attitude and your ability to communicate effectively. The judges will also get to see how well you interact socially and intellectually with the other contestants in your group while discussing and debating current events. The judges will evaluate your self-confidence and your ability to present your thoughts and opinions both concisely and directly. If a fellow contestant presents an answer to which you agree and/or disagree, you have the opportunity to speak up politely at any time and present your personal opinion on the topic. Your abilities to manage the discussion and to present yourself as an effective speaker are key components of the judges’ evaluation. Panel Discussion is intended to be professional in nature so suggested attire is business professional. You must attend panel discussion in the attire of your illusion/persona -l Miss Contestants in female make-up and attire and Mr. Contestants in male make-up and attire. The judges will analyze your appearance for neatness and cleanliness. Hair, makeup and accessories are all components of your overall appearance. Judges will score the category based upon: Content of Answers (50), Ability to Communicate (50), Personality/Self Confidence (50) and Appearance (50). Total Point Score is 200 points per judge. *Pride Wear – The purpose of Pride Wear is to be a clothing category designed to show the contestant’s pride and creativity, as well as modeling ability. Outfits can range from high fashion couture, to show-stopping costumes, to well-tailored themed outfits. The sky is the limit in this category as long as you can present it well through your creativity and modeling. The REQUIREMENT for this category is that your outfit must be in a combination of AT LEAST three (3) of the pride flag colors up to all six (6) of the pride flag colors. These colors are red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and purple. They do NOT include pastels, variations, nude, black or white. They must be the traditional pride flag colors. The only exception is that you are allowed to use crystal or aurora borealis rhinestones. Colored rhinestones must be in the pride flag colors. Contestants are able to add to and/or change Pride Wear from preliminary night to final night. However, the music selection CANNOT change. You will be given one (1) minute to present your Pride Wear. Judges will score this category based on: Fit and Tailoring (50), Pride and Creativity (50), Modeling Ability (50) and Makeup/Hair/Accessories (50). Total Point Score is 200 points per judge. *Talent – The purpose of Talent is to showcase the contestant’s entertaining abilities. Talents can be a variety, ranging from singing, dancing, illusion, and beyond. The key is to be comfortable in what you present and for the audience and judges to be entertained. The talent presentation is limited to SIX MINUTES per contestant. The talent presentation may be solo or production. Each contestant is allowed to use backup dancers and personnel. The use of props is allowed, though setup and take down times are limited to a total of TWO MINUTES per contestant. Your talent presentation and setup/take down times may not exceed their allowable time limits. If limits are exceeded, an administrative deduction of five (5) points PER judge will be taken for each infraction. Contestants can add to and/or change talent presentation (ie. change costumes, change choreography, add dancers, add props, etc) from preliminary to final night. But the music selection CANNOT change. Judges will score category based on: Costuming (50), Choreography/Stage Presence (50), Live Vocal/Lip Sync (50) & Ability to Entertain (50). Total Point Score is 200 points per judge.