Atlanta Theater Fan Awards Guidelines

Any non-profit or for-profit professional theater in Atlanta-area and its surrounding counties are eligible for the Atlanta Theater Fan Awards. However, each production must at least play eight shows to be eligible for any nominations. Multiple nominations in a single category are allowed for theaters and individuals. For example, one theater can receive two nominations for Best Play (for two different plays) and one actor can receive two nominations for Best Actor in a Play if he has appeared in multiple plays during the year.

For the Best Touring Show award, any production (play or musical) that comes to Atlanta as part of a national tour is eligible. However, that production must play a minimum of four shows to be eligible for a nomination. The recipient of this award will be the Atlanta organization that sponsors the production while it is in Atlanta (e.g. Broadway Across America, Theater of the Stars, Gas South Broadway Series, etc.)

The eligibility period is July 1 to June 30 each year. Using the 2011 Atlanta Theater Fan Awards as an example, productions must have played from July 1, 2010 to June 30, 2011 to be eligible. Productions opening near the June 30 cut-off must complete the minimum number of shows required (eight for regional productions and four for touring productions) before June 30, 2011 or the show will be considered eligible for the following year’s awards.

Separate awards for plays and musicals will be presented for best production, direction, and individual performance awards. Plays and musicals are both eligible for the choreography, scenic design, costume design, lighting design and sound design awards. A total of 18 competitive awards will be presented each year; however the editors of Atlanta Theater Fans may decide to award a limited number of special non-competitive awards at their discretion. Below is a list of the competitive awards that will be presented each year.

• Best Play
• Best Musical
• Best Direction of a Play
• Best Direction of a Musical
• Best Leading Actor in a Play
• Best Leading Actress in a Play
• Best Leading Actor in a Musical
• Best Leading Actress in a Musical
• Best Featured Actor in a Play
• Best Featured Actress in a Play
• Best Featured Actor in a Musical
• Best Featured Actress in a Musical
• Best Choreography
• Best Scenic Design
• Best Costume Design
• Best Lighting Design
• Best Sound Design
• Best Touring Show

The nominations and winners of the regular 18 non-competitive Atlanta Theater Fan Awards are determined solely by fans. Anyone who registers on the Atlanta Theater Fans website is eligible to submit one nomination form.

Online nominations forms will be available the first week of July on the Atlanta Theater Fans website with a cut-off date set for the second week of July. Each fan may nominate up to four nominees in each category. Incomplete nomination forms will be accepted, i.e. a fan does not have to list four nominees for each category or can choose to skip entire categories. The editors of the Atlanta Theater Fans website will review all submitted nomination forms and determine whether the nominees meet the above-mentioned criteria. If a nomination does not meet the criteria it will be disregarded. Each category will have four nominations. In the event of a tie during the nomination process, more than 4 nominations may be allowed. Nominations will be announced the third week in July.

The winners will also be selected by fans via online ballots. Any person who registers with the Atlanta Theater Fans website is eligible to vote regardless of whether he/she participated in the nomination process. Each fan is allowed to complete the online ballot once and is allowed to vote for only one nominee in category. Voting will be open for approximately a two-week period. The winners will be announced the first or second week of August. If a tie results from the final voting, then the award for that category will be jointly given to those with the highest number of votes.

Exact dates and deadlines will be set each year. The dates listed in this summary are meant as a general guideline.