Awards and Bursaries: Performing - Theatre

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Below is a list of organisations which offer awards and bursaries awarded in theatre.  Click on the title for more details.

See also:- Competitions and Prizes - Theatre

PLEASE NOTE: while every effort has been made to ensure an accurate listing, neither culture.Info or EUCLID accepts responsibility for any errors - please double-check deadlines via the website accessible through the hyperlink provided.

Canada

Elizabeth Sterling Haynes Awards
Deadline: June
Award: see website
More info: A celebration of excellence in the professional theatre in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. Includes list of nominations, past winners, and profile of Ms. Haynes. 

Sterling Awards
Deadline: June
Award: various
More info: Based in Canada

Pacific

 Adelaide Critics' Circle Awards
Deadline: see website
Award: up to $1500
More info: Since its inception in 1996, at the instigation of Festival Artistic Director Robyn Archer, and its first awards in 1997, the Adelaide Critics Circle has steadily grown in both breadth and stature

UK

Verity Bargate Award
Deadline: see website
Award: £1500
More info: The Verity Bargate Award is a biennial award in honour of the company's founder, Verity Bargate. It is a national competition. The development of shortlisted plays through workshop is also available to aid talented new writers

Alfred Fagon Award
Deadline: August
Award: £5000
More info: The Award is dedicated to providing inspiration and validation for playwrights of Caribbean descent, who are resident in the UK. Set up in memory of the late Jamaican playwright and actor Alfred Fagon, the Award seeks to discover a wide variety of writing talent

Lawrence Olivier Award
Deadline: see website
Award: various
More info: The Laurence Olivier Awards, which are presented annually by the Society of London Theatre, are the UK's most prestigious theatre awards and the highlight of the West End calendar. The Awards were established in 1976 to recognise excellence in London theatre; Lord Olivier agreed to have his name associated with them in 1984.

Peggy Ramsey Award
Deadline: see website
Award: various
More info: Grants are made directly to writers who have some writing experience, who need time to write and cannot otherwise afford to do so. Grants are made to companies who might not otherwise be able to find, develop, or use new work. Grants are made for projects which may facilitate new writing for the stage.

The Oxford Samuel Beckett Theate Trust
Deadline: see website
Award: up to £32 000
More info: The purpose of the award is, in particular, to help the development of emerging practitioners in the field of experimental theatre and, in general, to encourage the new generation of creative artists. Support is aimed at assisting artists in the transition from fringe to studio spaces. A grant of up to £30,000 and a three week run at The Riverside Studios (Studio 3) i will be awarded to an individual or company for a production of their choice. Bold, innovative and challenging projects will be favoured. This is the first year of the award and it is hoped it will become an annual event.

Critics Awards for Theatre in Scotland
Deadline: June
Award: various
More info: The Critics' Awards for Theatre in Scotland are organized annually and awarded by the theatre critics of Scotland to celebrate and mark the best Scottish theatre achievements in the theatre year May - April.

Theatrical Management Awards
Deadline: October
Award: various
More info: These unique awards recognise the achievements of artists and companies based throughout the United Kingdom. The awards champion the excellence and diversity of artistic activity and the high standard of professional, specialist work which contributes to and supports the success of the performing arts

Total Theatre Awards
Deadline: see website
Award: various
More info: The Total Theatre Awards 2006, which honour the best in physical and visual performance at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe

John Whiting Award
Deadline: see website
Award: £6000
More info: The award is intended to help further the careers and enhance the reputation of British playwrights and to draw to the public attention the impotance of writers in contemporary theatre.

Meyer Whitworth Award
Deadline: see website
Award: £8000
More info: Award professionally produced English language play which shows writing of individual quality and the promise of a developing talent. Candidates now must have had no more than two plays professionally produced, as the award is aimed at new and emerging talent. Plays must be nominated by directors of professional theatre companies.

The W R Foundation Award
Deadline: see website
Award: £5000
More info: The world deserves to see quality new writing and The Edinburgh Festival Fringe is the foremost showcase for the International stage. Russell and Firth invite all those who have written a new play, are writing a new work or who have the most incredible new production but can’t afford to stage it.

Writer's Guild of Britain New Writing Encouragement Awards
Deadline: see website
Award: see website
More info: The Writers’ Guild of Great Britain is the trade union representing writers in TV, radio, theatre, books, poetry, film and video games 

USA

Barrymore Awards
Deadline: June
Award: various
More info: Philadelphia's theatre event of the year, the Annual Barrymore Awards for Excellence in Theatre are the region's only comprehensive theatre awards program, recognizing artists for excellence and innovation while serving to increase awareness of the richness of the local theatre community

Drama Desk Awards
Deadline: see website
Award: various
More info: The prestige of the Drama Desk Awards has helped launch the careers of many major stars and playwrights

Helen Hayes Award
Deadline: see website
Award: various
More info: One of the country’s most prestigious cultural honors, The Helen Hayes Awards recognizes and celebrates excellence in professional theatre throughout the Washington metropolitan area.

Joseph Jefferson Awards
Deadline: see website
Award: see website
More info: Given annually by The Joseph Jefferson Awards Committee to honor excellence in professional theatre produced in the immediate Chicago area. Features current and previous recipients and nominees, FAQs, committee members, and news. 

Gene Kelly Awards
Deadline: see website
Award: various
More info: Based in Pittsburgh, this event celebrates the power of the Arts to significantly improve all areas of education. High school theater programs are the real winners as show business veterans and community celebrities help spread the word about the achievements of high school students and their school's musical theater programs. The Gene Kelly Awards for Excellence in High School Musical Theater was launched in 1991 as a means to recognize and encourage student achievement and to focus the attention of the community and school districts on the importance of musical theater and arts education.

Lucille Lortel Awards
Deadline: see website
Award: various
More info: The League of Off-Broadway Theatres & Producers, Inc. was founded in 1959 for the purpose of promoting and fostering theatre produced Off-Broadway, to assist in the voluntary exchange of information amongst its members, and to serve as the collective voice of its membership in pursuit of these purposes. The League provides service to its members in the field of labor relations and in the management of industry pension and welfare funds

National Broadway Theatre Awards
Deadline: see website
Award: various
More info: The Touring Broadway Awards (TBAs) are the only national awards program for touring Broadway shows. The TBAs were developed in 2000 by the League of American Theatres and Producers, the national trade association for the Broadway industry, to celebrate excellence in touring Broadway by honoring the artists and productions that visit as many as 140 cities across North America each year. Until 2004, they were known as the National Broadway Theatre Awards

New York Innovative Theatre Awards
Deadline: September
Award: various
More info: The New York Innovative Theatre Awards (the IT Awards) are given annually to honor individuals and organizations who have achieved artistic excellence in the Off-Off-Broadway theatre. The New York IT Awards organization recognizes the unique and essential role Off-Off-Broadway plays in contributing to American and global culture. We believe that publicly recognizing excellence in Off-Off-Broadway will expand audience awareness and appreciation of the full New York theatre experience.

Craig Noel Awards for Excellence in Theatre -
Deadline: see website
Award: see website
More info: Home of the Craig Noel Awards for Excellence in Theatre, bestowed annually by professional print and online theatre critics in San Diego, California. 

Tony Awards
Deadline: see website
Award: various
More info: The American Theatre Wing's Tony Awards® got their start in 1947 when the Wing established an awards program to celebrate excellence in the theatre.

Village Voice OBIES Award
Deadline: see website
Award: various
More info: The Village Voice OBIE Awards were created soon after the inception of the publication in 1955 to publicly acknowledge and encourage the growing Off Broadway theater movement.