TPS's Gregory Awards 10/20/14

Theatre Puget Sound (TPS) is proud to produce the 6th Annual Gregory Awards at The Moore Theatre on Monday, October 20, 2014 at 7:30pm. With over 1800 seats, The GregoryAwards has grown into a highly-anticipated regional theater awards ceremony and a who's who of the Puget Sound arts scene.

Also new in 2014, the Gregory Awards expands its award categories by adding awards for Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical, Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical and Outstanding Choreography. The total number of awards categories grows to 20 and a full list is included at the end of this document.

Tickets to the awards ceremony go on sale August 1, 2014 through STG ticketing services at STGpresents.org.

With full houses at each of the previous October ceremonies, TPS continues to expand its reach with The Gregory Awards, and grow this annual community celebration. Together with the local theater and arts community they raise public awareness for all the outstanding regional theatre work. The 2014 Gregory Awards is expected to draw the largest number of participating organizations in the most categories, and is sure to attract the largest audience ever at the 1800-seat Moore Theatre. There is a selection process for judges and the public is encouraged to participate in this process. Visit www.gregoryawards.org to learn more.

The 2014 Award Categories open for nomination are:
Outstanding Actor
Outstanding Actress
Outstanding Actor in a Musical
Outstanding Actress in a Musical
Outstanding Supporting Actor
Outstanding Supporting Actress
Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Musical
Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical
Outstanding Director
Outstanding Production
Outstanding Musical Production
Outstanding Costume Designer
Outstanding Lighting Designer
Outstanding Music, Sound Designer
Outstanding Scenic Designer
Outstanding Choreography
Outstanding New Play
Theater of the Year - Sponsored by PNTA
The Melissa Hines Award
The Gregory A. Falls Sustained Achievement Award

In the 2013-2014 season, organizations submitted their shows for Gregory Award consideration. These shows must be produced and rehearsed primarily in the Greater Seattle Metropolitan area; performed a minimum of 3 weekends OR 12 performances; hold an opening night within the season schedule (August 1st - July 31); and not be a staged reading, youth/educational/student performance, or short play festival. A minimum of 8 nominators were assigned to see and review each submitted production, ranking each on a scale of 1-100. (The scoring rubric was created with the help and inspiration of the Barrymore Awards in Philadelphia.)

The Gregory Awards are an opportunity to celebrate theatre in our region, honor the outstanding achievements of local artists, and raise the visibility of the local theatre scene as a whole. These efforts are working to uphold the mission of the Gregory Awards and to give each eligible production an equal voice in the nominating process. For more information on the process visit http://gregoryawards.org/about/eligibility/overall

About The Voting Process
Once the nominees are announced, the public has a chance to add a nominee of the "People's Choice" in certain categories. This ballot will be available on gregoryawards.org.
This first phase of voting will be for the People's Choice selection in these categories: Outstanding Actor, Outstanding Actor in a Musical, Outstanding Actress, Outstanding Actress in a Musical, Outstanding Supporting Actor, Outstanding Supporting Actress, Outstanding Production, Outstanding Musical Production, Outstanding Direction, and Theatre of the Year.
Gregory Award nominees will be announced the week of August 1-8, 2014
People's Choice ballots will be available Friday, August 15, 2014 and will remain open for submission untilTuesday, September 5, 2014.
On Monday, September 8, 2014 the final nominees will be announced and all TPS members will be sent a final unique link to their official 2014 Gregory Awards ballot. All TPS members will have until the end of day on Friday, September 26, 2014 to complete their ballot.

About The Melissa Hines Award
The Gregory Awards will continue to include the Melissa Hines Award for Outstanding Theatre Practitioner! A "behind the scenes" worker will be honored for their involvement with theatre in the region over the last year. Named after Melissa Hines, in memoriam, Melissa Hines was the stalwart managing director of the Empty Space Theatre, participated on arts boards, and directed cultural activities in Seattle. This category is intended to honor those dedicated individuals who make theater possible, enabling artists to do their art, but who often are not recognized by curtain calls, reviews or awards. This category may include production crew and stage management, volunteers, administrators, board members, donors or patrons.

To nominate someone you know for this category, please submit 200 words or less to melissahinesaward@gregoryawards.org by August 1, 2014.

About the Gregory A. Falls Sustained Achievement Award
Grateful to those who built the foundations of our community, the Sustained Achievement Award committee looks to honor those who have given years of service to the region's theatres through the following areas:
Supports, participates and grows our community
"Theatres are like grapes, they grow better in bunches"-quote attributed to Gregory A. Falls
Has a demeanor, style and attitude of inclusion and collaborative expression
Lives in Seattle and/or have significant ties to area
Has spent a great portion of their professional lives making Puget Sound theatre GREAT

For more information about the history of this award and previous recipients, please go to http://nominate.gregoryawards.org/history/gregoryfalls

About The Gregory Awards
The Gregory Awards is a Theatre Puget Sound program that celebrates the achievements of the Washington State theatre community. The program and ceremony are an opportunity to celebrate theatre, honor the outstanding achievements of local artists, and to raise the visibility of the local theatre scene as a whole. Opening up nominations to the TPS membership and the general public ensures that the final list of nominees on the ballot is truly reflective of the outstanding work taking place throughout the region. The Gregory Awards began in 1998 as the Gregory A. Falls Sustained Achievement Award. Over the following 11 years, it honored individuals who spent much of their careers strengthening theatre in our region. In 2009, while continuing this tradition, six, and now ten, annual categories have been incorporated into the awards program.

The Gregory Awards are named in honor of Gregory A. Falls (1922- 1997), a former chair of the UW School of Drama, who is often credited with creating Seattle's vibrant theater scene. Falls left the UW in 1971 to devote more time at ACT Theatre, though he stayed on as a part-time UW faculty member until 1976. He served as president of the National Theater Conference and Washington Association of Theater Artists. In 1994 Falls was inducted into the prestigious College of Fellows of the American Theatre.

About Theatre Puget Sound
Founded in 1997, Theatre Puget Sound (TPS) exists to promote, strengthen, and unify the region's theatre and performing arts community and creatively engage new diverse audiences. TPS brings together thousands of theatre and performing artists across the Puget Sound, leveraging an alliance stronger than each artist or producer acting alone. TPS connects artists with audiences and audiences with artists. With TPS, a broader artist diversity exists that re-imagines ways to invest in the creativity and vitality of local communities.