1. Definitions
5. Nomination and Voting Procedures
Definitions
Awards Consideration Year
January 1 through December 31
Professional: Individual Artists
In cases where individual artists are not members of Canadian Actors’ Equity Association (CAEA) or Union des Artistes (UdA), the term "professional" is based on the definition employed by the Canada Council for the Arts:
- specialized training in the field (not necessarily in academic institutions)
- recognition by one’s peers (artists who work in the same artistic tradition)
- a commitment to devoting more time to one’s artistic activity, if financially
- feasible, and
- a history of public presentation.
Professional: Production Companies
In the case of production companies or theatre collectives that do not engage artists under existing CAEA or UdA agreements, the following criteria are applied in order to determine "professional" status:
- Performers, artists and designers must be paid for their work, even if this payment takes the form of a profit-share or honorarium. If requested, productions operating under this kind of arrangement must supply documentation, signed by all participating artists, confirming the nature of the profit-share or payment arrangement.
- Unpaid participation of actors-in-training is permitted, so long as a minimum of 50%+1 of all company members (including the production team) are paid professionals.
Locally produced
“Locally produced” refers to any show produced or co-produced by an Ottawa-Gatineau based company, and presented in the region of Ottawa-Gatineau. This shall apply regardless of where the show is rehearsed and/or built, and regardless of the number of Ottawa-Gatineau based artists participating in the production.
For clarity’s sake, and because these are commonly misunderstood terms, please note that “produced” and “producer” refer to the company who is responsible for creating the show – i.e. assembling the creative team, contracting artists, managing the budget, etc. This is not to be confused with “presented” and “presenter”, which refer to the company which sells the production to an audience. While it is true that in many cases the same company is both producer and presenter of a given production (sometimes called “self-presenting”), in order to be considered “locally produced” according to these definitions, a show must be produced or co-produced by an Ottawa-Gatineau based company, and presented in the region of Ottawa-Gatineau. Therefore, a show which is produced by a company from outside this region but presented by a local company (a common practice with touring productions) would not be considered locally produced.
Submissions from companies whose work is presented in the greater region of Ottawa-Gatineau but outside the municipally defined city limits may be subject to logistical constraints and will be considered on a case-by-case basis.
Production Eligibility
The awards program operates on a policy of self-submission. Any production that wishes to be considered for awards purposes must notify the awards committee of their desire for consideration. All productions must be considered “professional” and “locally produced” according to the definitions in the Definitions section above.
Submission Procedure
An online submission is available through www.prixrideauawards.ca, and applications can also be mailed in (an application form is available here). A submission form must be completed and submitted, along with a $25 administration fee, payable to Les Prix Rideau Awards. In addition, a minimum block of six and a maximum block of ten tickets must be made available to jury members so that they can attend the production. The submission form must be received 30 days before the opening night of the production. Juror attendance may occur at any time during the run of the production (i.e. jurors do not have to attend “opening night”), however preview performances are not eligible for jurying.
Eligibility Committee
Prix Rideau Awards maintains an arm’s length advisory committee to deal with questions of interpretation with regard to eligibility criteria. When there is a question about the eligibility of a production, the Administrator will inform the producer and the producer will be asked to write a letter justifying their submission. This letter will be forwarded by the Administrator to the Eligibility Committee Chair. The Eligibility Committee Chair will consult with the other members of the Eligibility Committee and endeavour to provide a response back to the Administrator within 72 hours. The recommendation of the Eligibility Committee will be based on the Awards Terms & Criteria and the mandate of Prix Rideau Awards, and will take into consideration any precedent that has already been set. The recommendation of the Eligibility Committee is not binding, and the final decision rests with the Steering Committee.
Remount
A remount of the same production will not be eligible in the same consideration year as the original production. A “remount” is defined as a production which, once closed, is remounted using the stage manager’s copy of the prompt script and either of the following elements: the original set and costume designer and/or at least fifty percent (50%) of the speaking roles (five lines or more) are played by artists engaged for the previous production.
Award Categories
Outstanding Production
Outstanding Direction
Outstanding Performance – Male
Outstanding Performance – Female
Outstanding Design
(Set, Costumes, Lighting, Sound / Music Composition, Projections, Puppets, Masks, Make-up, etc.)
In emphasizing the desire for inclusivity for many different design disciplines while also recognizing the impossibility of having a separate award category for each of these disciplines, TWO award winners for Outstanding Design will be announced in each consideration year, regardless of the design discipline.
Outstanding New Creation
Awarded to a playwright, theatre company or collective that has produced an original theatrical work created by the playwright, company or collective. The creator must be identified by the producing company on the submission form at the time the production is submitted (subject to verification by Prix Rideau Awards).
Emerging Artist Award
Awarded to an Ottawa-Gatineau based artist of any theatrical discipline whose work has appeared in an eligible production, and who is deemed to be in the first three years of his or her professional theatre career. In order to be eligible for nomination, artists must have a valid mailing address in the region of Ottawa-Gatineau, and must be “professional” as defined in the Definitions section. An artist who has made a significant career shift to a new discipline (for example, an actor who becomes a designer) may also be eligible if that shift has occurred in the last three years. Artists who are eligible for the Emerging Artist Award must be identified by the producing company on the submission form at the time the production is submitted (subject to verification by Prix Rideau Awards).
Behind le Rideau Award
Awarded to a member of the production team whose work is not readily visible to the audience but who has gone above and beyond the call of duty in service of the production. Examples may include (but are not limited to): stage managers, technicians, crew members, publicists, administrators, etc. In order to be eligible for nomination, nominees must be “professional” as defined in the Definitions section. Due to the nature of this award, it is not subject to the same voting process as the other awards, but rather voting is based ONLY on letters of nomination received from a producing company, which must concern a submitted eligible production in a given consideration year. See “Behind le Rideau Award Nominations” in the Nominations section below for more information.
Jury Procedures
Jury Selection
The steering committee will issue an open call for nominations to the anglophone and francophone juries by November 1 of each year. Potential jury members must reside in Ottawa-Gatineau and are nominated both by members of the steering committee and members of the community at large. Jury nominations must be received by November 15. Final jury selection of fifteen jurors for each of the anglophone and francophone juries is made by the steering committee. Every attempt shall be made to ensure that juries consist of local artistic professionals of varying ages, cultural and artistic backgrounds, disciplines, and interests. Formal approaches to jury members are made in early December, with jury members finalized by December 15 of each year. The identities of jury members will not be publicized.
Jury Term
Jury members serve for a period of one year, and may be asked to serve as jurors for subsequent years, but may not serve for more than three years in any five-year period.
Jury Duties
Jury members shall make every attempt to attend every production deemed eligible for awards consideration. No less than six (anglophone) or five (francophone) jury members must attend each eligible production. Attendance may occur at any time during the run of the production (i.e. jurors do not have to attend “opening night”), however preview performances are not eligible for jurying.
Ticket stubs and theatrical programs must be kept so that attendance can be independently verified. Jury members must attend a mandatory orientation session at the beginning of their term, and are required to sign a letter of agreement confirming their understanding of their role before attending any productions as a juror.
Conflict of Interest
Jury members must declare a conflict of interest to the Jury Chair for any production where the jury member’s judgement may be influenced by direct or indirect involvement with the production. When a conflict of interest has been declared, the juror will abstain from voting for the production in which the conflict has been identified.
Jury Chair
The steering committee appoints one of its members to serve as the Jury Chair. The Jury Chair is responsible for:
- Coordinating juror attendance for eligible productions (including booking of tickets)
- Liaising between the jury and the steering committee
- Maintaining a list of eligible productions
- Maintaining a list of jurors who have attended each production
- Maintaining a list of jurors who have declared a conflict of interest for each production
- Ensuring that the minimum number of jurors attend each qualifying production (six for anglophone productions; five for francophone productions)
- Coordinate any necessary meetings of the jury members
In the event that the Jury Chair has their own conflict of interest with a particular production, juror attendance will instead be coordinated by the Jury Liaison (steering committee position).
Nomination Process
Ballots for voting purposes must be made available to the jurors no later than January 15 of the year following the consideration year. Jury members must submit completed ballots by February 1. Sealed ballots are collected by the steering committee and delivered unopened to independent accountants who tabulate the votes.
Nomination Announcement
A final list of nominations must be made available for public release by February 28 of the year following a consideration year. An annual press conference / community event will be held to announce nominations.
Awards Gala
The winners are announced at the annual gala in April.
Nomination and Awards Voting Procedures
Nominations
Nominations for awards in any award category are put forth by jury members, provided that:
- nominees meet the eligibility criteria outlined above
- jurors do not nominate productions for which a conflict of interest has been declared
- jurors do not put forth nominations associated with productions that they did not see in their official capacity as a juror
Lists of productions / artists eligible for those awards which have special eligibility criteria (New Creation, Emerging Artist) will be forwarded to jury members in advance of voting. For these awards, nominations may only be made from productions / artists appearing on these lists.
Any award category which receives less than three eligible submissions in a given consideration year will not be voted on or awarded in that year.
Nominations are submitted by secret ballot, wherein jury members rank up to five of their top preferred nominees. There is no minimum number of nominations required (implying that jurors may choose to make NO nomination for a particular award, in an extreme case).
Nominations are scored by independent accountants (one anglophone, one francophone) as follows:
- The juror’s first choice in each category is awarded five points
- The juror’s second choice in each category is awarded four points
- The juror’s third choice in each category is awarded three points
- The juror’s fourth choice in each category is awarded two points
- The juror’s fifth choice in each category is awarded one point
Final scores, which determine the award winners, are tabulated as follows:
- Each nominee’s total number of points is divided by the number of eligible jurors who attended the production in question in order to arrive at a final score
- In order for a nomination to stand, nominees must have been put forth by at least 33% of the jurors who attended the production
- Nominees are ranked according to score, in descending order
- The top-scored nominees form the final nomination list. There may be no less than three nominees announced for each category, and no more than five
- The top-scored nominee will become the recipient of the award. In the case of Outstanding Design only, the top two scoring nominees will become the recipients of the two design awards (regardless of design discipline)
The list of final nominations is returned to the steering committee with nominees listed in alphabetical order, without final scores. Top scorers are kept in confidence until the Awards Gala, at which time they are revealed in each category as the award recipients.
Behind le Rideau Award Nominations
Since it is impossible for a jury to assess this award based upon production attendance, nominations for this award must come from companies submitting eligible productions in a given consideration year. Letters of nomination outlining the recommended candidate and their reasons for nomination can be sent at any time throughout the year to jury@prixrideauawards.ca, but must be received no later than January 10 of the year following the awards consideration year. The letters will be passed on to jury members as part of their ballot package. The jury will vote based ONLY upon these letters of recommendation, using the same scoring process outlined above.