THE COLUMN AWARDS

RULES & GUIDELINES

AND FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

__________________WHAT ARE "THE COLUMN" AWARDS?_______________

After the birth and first year of THE COLUMN, I thought just for fun
as the Editor/Founder of THE COLUMN that I would pick and announce my
personal picks for the best in DFW Theater.

This "first" ceremony was actually just a special issue of THE COLUMN
sent out to the readers. After that issue, several friends would tell
me, "You know, you should hold an actual ceremony for those awards."

Everyone knows how addicted I am to ALL award shows, from the Oscars
to the Tonys. I just get a major high from all the excitement,
suspense, and drama that surround awards and award shows. Who will get
nominated? Who will win? What will they wear? And so on.

Plus I am a sucker for big, fun-filled parties, friendship, and unity!
So how much fun would it be to bring the ENTIRE theater community
together for one night to celebrate, laugh, cry, and honor the ENTIRE
Dallas-Fort Worth theater community?

As an actor, I have worked everywhere, from Casa Manana, Stage West,
etc. to practically every company here in Dallas. I knew I was not
alone in this. ALL thespians, designers, directors, musical directors,
choreographers, etc. work ALL over the metroplex. We go everywhere to
work in the art we all love so much: theater. We are ALL connected
somehow. So why not? Why not have a great night to bring us all
together like a big ole family reunion?!

Then I thought, "Hmmm. There are no awards given in the metroplex that
honor the entire metroplex. From equity to Community theaters."

Then another idea, "And what about if we donate the ticket money to a
charity? Like BROADWAY CARES/EQUITY FIGHTS AIDS!"

It was that small seed in my tiny brain that begin the birth and
creation of THE COLUMN Awards Organization.

Over the next two years I gathered a group of close friends and we
worked like insane, hyperactive bees in creating the very first Gala
at the Plaza Theater in Garland.

I no longer picked my own choices, but instead left it all up to the
subscribers to vote. Thus it fell to the hands and voices of THE
COLUMN subscribers to choose the best in DFW Theater. Remember
Reader's Poll?

During these eight years I've had some amazing, brilliant, and hard
working individuals assist each year to bring the gala to life. It is
a MAJOR undertaking that now takes over a year in advance preparation
to create.

These friends became "Advisory Board Members". Some have been with me
from the very beginning. Slowly over the years, came the creation of
the Board of Directors. The Board serving today contains a group of
dedicated, immensely talented, and highly qualified individuals that
do outstanding work each year. They believe in THE COLUMN Awards
primary goal: To honor excellence in Theater within the entire Dallas-
Fort Worth metroplex.

In the last nine years here's what THE COLUMN Awards has achieved:

*THE COLUMN Awards in 2006 was voted BEST LOCAL AWARDS SHOW by the
DALLAS OBSERVER.

*THE COLUMN Awards is the ONLY Awards organization in the ENTIRE
United States that donate all their proceeds (after operating
expenses) to BC/EFA.

*THE COLUMN Awards has been recognized by EQUITY News, PLAYBILL, THE
DALLAS VOICE, DALLAS MAGAZINE, BROADWAY.COM, BROADWAYWORLD.COM,
TALKINBROADWAY.COM, BROADWAYSTARS.COM, and BC/EFA.

*THE COLUMN Awards for the last three years have been named as major
contributors in the Angel Campaign of BC/EFA.

*In 2007 THE COLUMN Awards became a 501C Organization.

With all this recognition THE COLUMN Awards have been extremely
grateful and lucky to have major stars from the worlds of Broadway,
Film, and Television attend the gala as Guest stars and performers.

Past guest stars have included Anthony Rapp (Original "Mark" in
Broadway's RENT); Michael Urie (SAG nominee, UGLY BETTY); Christian
Campbell (TRICK, BOOK OF DANIEL); Stephanie D'Abruzzo (Tony Nominee
for AVENUE Q); George Wendt (CHEERS, Emmy winner); and Richard Thomas
(WALTONS, Emmy winner).

Other celebrities sent via personal letters their support and congrat-
ulations to THE COLUMN Awards as well. Such as two time Tony Award
winner and Broadway legend Chita Rivera, 2007 Tony Award winner
Christine Ebersole (GREY GARDENS), and Golden Globe/Emmy/SAG winner,
America Ferrera (UGLY BETTY).

In the last eight years if you have been nominated for a COLUMN Award,
or be one of those lucky few that now possess a crystal COLUMN Award.
Remember that you were voted by your peers. Those who work in front
and behind the curtain have deemed your work this honor.

THE COLUMN also has hundreds of subscribers who are just die-hard fans
and supporters of theater. So you are also being nominated and honored
by the very people who sit in the audience admiring your work on
stage, or your direction, or design elements, and so on.

Since that first year we have constantly changed, evolve, and learn
from our highs and lows within the organization. This brings us to
the 2008 Column Awards!

Column Awards Eligibility Guidelines

Show Classification

THE COLUMN Awards are divided into two distinct classifications, Equity and Non-Equity.

To be eligible for EQUITY classification, the production must have at least one (1) Actor’s Equity Association contract. The contract can be either acting or technical contact (i.e. Stage Manager).

If there are NO Equity contracts and NO equity performers in the production-then that production will be listed in the NON EQUITY classification.

The Column Awards selected the distinction in an effort to honor ALL theater companies. The Column Awards Board of Directors and Executive Director strongly believe that the same passion, dedication and commitment goes into both classifications of shows. Thus we strive to include and honor our smaller companies as well, not just the larger Theater companies.

Voting Eligibility

ONLY people who are registered subscribers to THE COLUMN are eligible to vote. NO EXCEPTIONS. Yearly deadline for the following year’s award is Dec. 1. Our internal system shows everyone’s “official” date they joined THE COLUMN. This guideline helps reduce fraudulent use of voting rights.

Nomination Eligibility

Any Theater Company in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex is eligible if the following guidelines have been met:

1. (1) The production must be performed within a calendar year (Jan. 1 – Dec. 31) of the Awards year. A production opening on Dec. 31 is eligible for THAT years awards, NOT the upcoming year. i.e. – show opens Dec. 31, 2010, it’s eligible for the awards in 2010.
2. (2) The production must run in the theatre companies regular season. It CANNOT be performed as a part of a festival, stage reading, special series, benefit shows, or one night only events.
   (3) The production must run at least five public performances.
   (4) The production MUST be listed as part of the theatre companies season including, websites,
   brochures, and other assorted publicity material. These tools are used as verification by THE COLUMN Awards Board of Directors and the Executive Director.

All the above has been cleared and verified by the Board of Directors for this year's eligible productions. During these last six months, theater liaisons have been in constant contact with their appointed theater companies.

The person at the Theatre be it the Artistic Directors, Producers and/or Director assign ALL eligible performers/designers/production staff in categories on the ballot.

These people had SOLE control of where to put down individual performances. The Board of Directors and Executive Director have NO SAY.

However, in productions with large casts (i.e. ensembles), not everyone should be listed. In reference to ensemble / chorus members, the Artistic Director, Producer and/or Director decides which (if any) ensemble members are eligible in the "Featured" categories.

Ballots not turned in by the yearly deadline results in that Production and/or Theater Company not allowed participation in that years THE COLUMN Awards

Educational Theatre Eligibility

The Column Awards respects the training Colleges and Universities provide and believes competition at that level distracts from the emphasis of training.

The Column Awards encourages Colleges and Universities to participate in the American College Theatre Festival.

The Column Awards will place on the ballot one production (play or musical) of a College or Universities choosing for a special award to be voted on by all voters.
There are no restrictions to what production the College / University wishes to place on the ballot.

The category will be:

Outstanding Production by a College or University

Children’s Theatre Eligibility

The Column Awards respects the training Children and Youth Theatre provide and believes competition at that level distracts from the emphasis of training.

The Column Awards encourages High Schools to participate in the University Interscholastic League of Texas.

Theatres producing shows using youth / child actors as an extension of a school or training program are NOT eligible to be on the Ballot.

Professional Theatres producing works for young audiences using adult actors are eligible.

Mainstage / Secondary space

All shows produced by a theatre company should meet the 5 performance guideline to be placed on the Ballot. If a theatre has a secondary space and produces shows in that space for the required 5 performances, it is eligible under the primary theatres name or a new name for the secondary space.

Puppet Theatre

The Column Awards believes Puppet Theatre to be a respected and viable form of entertainment. For purposes of The Column Awards, productions using puppets must have actors onstage and seen manipulating the puppet to be considered a production eligible for placement on the Ballot.

Revivals

Productions that are revived must have a 7 year waiting period, from first production, before the show is eligible for placement on the ballot. Shows that are revived are NOT eligible until the 8th year of production (as a point of clarification, this includes Christmas shows.) A revival, for purposes of this guideline, is defined as a show produced by the theatre with the same OR different cast or production staff.

Original Musical / Play with Music differentiation

Shows considered to be Original Musicals must meet ALL the following requirements. Should ALL requirements are not be met, the show becomes eligible in the Play category.

1. 1. Original Musicals must have six (6) or more original songs / numbers specifically written for the book of said musical. Three (3) of the songs must be solos specifically composed to express emotions / subtext / characterization of one of the roles within the piece.
   2. Original Musicals CANNOT contain songs / number s from previously published or composed musicals – including but not limited to Music Catalogues from recording artists. All songs / numbers must have been specifically composed for the piece.
   3. Original Musicals must have six (6) or more choreographed dance numbers, INCLUDING two (2) solos and two (2) full company numbers. All dance numbers must be specifically created solely for the piece.
   4. Original Musicals must meet the five (5) performance requirement established for all shows for eligibility. Show styles NOT considered Original Musicals include but are not limited to: Dance Concerts, Dance Recitals, student directed shows / projects, benefits / fundraisers, concerts or musical workshops.
   5. Original Musicals for consideration for placement on the ballot must be attended by at least one (1) member of The Column Awards Board of Directors for verification of eligibility. Should no member of the Board of Directors attend a performance, the theatre has the right to produce a DVD / Video copy of the piece for review by the Board of Directors. Deadline for receipt will be the first day of December (Dec. 1.) A decision to the theatre will be made no less than 2 weeks from receipt of copy.

______________CAN ANYONE SEE WHO I VOTED FOR?________________

NO. That is a DEFINITE no. Not a single person that serves on the Board
of Directors OR the Executive Director/Producer has ANY access whatso
-ever into the official voting ballot. We are very determined to keep
your voting PRIVATE. So again-they have NO access into the system to
see how you or anyone else voted.

Everyone is assigned a "voting code" when voting-which means your
actual name or email address is NOT visible whatsoever when voting.
Only the Director of the ballot design/tabulation has access to the
voting codes-NO ONE ELSE DOES.

Thus your voting selections are kept completely confidential.

____________WHAT IS ROUND ONE VOTING AND FINAL VOTING?_________

ROUND ONE voting is when every ELIGIBLE name, show, etc. is listed on
the ballot. It's the first ballot that contains EVERY actor, designer,
show, etc. that was provided by the Theater Companies.

The ballot for ROUND ONE is lengthy due to the overwhelming array of
choices you have to choose from. So be prepared.

After the cut off date for ROUND ONE VOTING concludes, that weekend
the Ballot Design team will tabulate ALL the votes.

The SIX (6) individuals, shows, etc. in EACH category that has the
HIGHEST amount of votes will then become OFFICIAL nominees for the
2008 Column Awards.

It's just like the Academy Awards. They get a ballot in the mail with
all the eligible films, performances, etc. for the 2006-07 calendar
year. They vote on that ballot. Then Price-Waterhouse Accounting firm
will tabulate those ballots, and the five individuals/movies, etc.
that have the highest amount of votes become the final five nominees
for the Oscar. THE COLUMN Awards are the same.

At this point the Ballot Design and Tabulating team will meet with the
Executive Director/Producer and two Board of Directors in a closed
meeting to let them know who the final nominees are are.