Rogue Theatre Awards

There is an incredible amount of theatre that happens in Southern Oregon each year, and we want to celebrate it! 2027 will mark the first annual Rogue Theatre Awards.

We’re looking for people to be a part of our nomination committee! If you are an avid theatre-goer, you may qualify to be part of the nomination process for next year’s awards.

To apply, fill out the following form: https://forms.gle/mQtPfnT4PmD4ZVTE9

How does the voting work?

Each theatre in Southern Oregon will have an opportunity to put forward three options for each award category. The nomination committee will then cast their votes on those options, narrowing down the selection to up to 6 nominees in each category. Once the nominees are set and announced, Southern Oregon theatre artists (those who worked on at least one show in Southern Oregon in the last two years) and the general public will have the opportunity to vote for the winners in each category.

The votes of Southern Oregon theatre artists will be weighted to make up 2/3 of the total vote percentage. The general public vote will be weighted to make up 1/3 of the total vote percentage.

What are the award categories?

The following are the award categories for the 2027 Oregon Theatre Awards

-Best Play: Equity Production

-Best Musical: Equity Production

-Best Play

-Best Musical

-Best Direction of a Play or Musical

-Best Original Play or Musical

-Best Leading Performance in a Play

-Best Leading Performance in a Musical

-Best Supporting Performance in a Play

-Best Supporting Performance in a Musical

-Best Scenic Design of a Play or Musical

-Best Costume Design of a Play or Musical

-Best Lighting Design of a Play or Musical

-Best Sound Design of a Play or Musical

-Best Choreography of a Play or Musical

-Best Various Design of a Play or Musical

-Best Special Production (Non Play or Musical)

Award Categories FAQs

What qualifies as an Equity Play or Musical? Why the distinction?

—For the Rogue Theatre Awards, a production is considered Equity if half or more of the performers in the cast are AEA members.

—The majority of theatre that happens in Southern Oregon is done by non-equity performers, designers, and theatres. But it would be a serious oversight to not recognize the world-class professional theatre that is produced here. It would also be very difficult to fairly compare the Equity and Non Equity productions against one another, so this is the distinction we’ve decided on.

What qualifies as an Original Play or Musical?

—A production qualifies as “Original” if this was its very first full production. It must be a fully produced show, so readings and staged readings do not qualify. The play or musical may be written locally or elsewhere.

What can qualify as “Various Design”?

—This can be any design element that was particularly unique to a production. This could include puppet design, projection design, special effects makeup, or any number of other unique design choices that helped make a show come to life. Every theatre has the opportunity to nominate several designers from their season for this award.

What qualifies as a “Special Production”?

—A “Special Production” is an in-house produced show that would not reasonably be considered a full production of a play or a musical. This can include a musical spotlight, an improv-based show, a staged reading, a radio play, and much more. We want to recognize all the unique productions that happen in Southern Oregon that don’t fit the mold of traditional plays or musicals.