Celebrating theatre in the Granite State
New Hampshire Theatre Alliance
newNHTA@nhtheatrealliance.org
SPECIAL AWARDS
Hover over the award banner to learn more about each award, and to find the nomination form. The nomination period for 2025 is closed.
Candidates for the Francis Grover Cleveland Lifetime Achievement Award will be chosen based upon the quality, scope, and consistency of their positive influence upon theatre in the state. This is an award for a lifetime of service, though it does not imply that the person's contributions have ended or declined.
The award was named for the founder of The Barnstormers Summer Theatre, the nation's oldest summer stock theatre company, still operating in Tamworth.
Nominations should include sufficient supporting documentation that the committee has a basis for consideration on the nominee.
Some factors the Board of Directors takes into consideration:
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​How has this person affected theatre as a whole?
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What is the extent of their impact on theatre in NH?
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How long has this person been making an impact on the theatre community in NH?
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Have their contributions made a lasting impact on theatre in NH?
THE FRANCIS GROVER CLEVELAND LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
The nomination period for 2025 is closed.
This is an award for individuals or organizations that, through completion of a single project or through their ongoing work, have made a significant and lasting contribution to the performing arts community in New Hampshire.
Examples may include completion of large capital projects that significantly expand the footprint of the NH performing arts community or substantive ongoing work that makes significant new resources available to members of the NH performing arts community.
Nominations should include sufficient supporting documentation to allow the NHTA Board to fully evaluate the nominated candidate. Submissions may include a short statement in support of the nominee as well as any available supporting materials to document or illustrate assertions made in the nominating statement. We ask that you provide contact information for the nominee as well if possible.
VISION & TENACITY AWARD
The nomination period for 2025 is closed.
Formally the Children's & Youth Theatre Award, the Recognition of Special Achievement in Youth Theatre highlights an individual who has made a noteworthy impact on the youth theatre scene in NH.
Candidates for the award should be leaders who have made significant contributions to the inspiration, involvement, growth, and achievement of young theatrical artists.
This is an award for a person, not a company, though often the two are indistinguishable from the point of view of the community in which they operate. It's also possible that the best candidate has no one organization to his or her credit and is still viewed as an inspirational or transformative leader.
RECOGNITION OF SPECIAL ACHIEVEMENT IN YOUTH THEATRE
The nomination period for 2025 is closed.
In order to recognize all of the special, unsung people who make theatre "happen" but are ineligible for the standard adjudicated awards, the NHTA has implemented the "Theatre Hero" Award.
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Participating NHTA theatre companies select one of their own whom they deem deserving of acknowledgment for their contributions to the company and theatre at large. Individual companies can use whatever criteria and selection process they deem appropriate for selecting their submission for receipt of this recognition.
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This is not a nomination process, nor is this adjudicated by the NHTA. ALL submissions (maximum of 1 per company per season) will be recognized during the NH Theatre Awards ceremony.
THE
THEATRE HERO
AWARD
Reach out to your liaison to weigh in on your company's 2025 Theatre Hero.
Recognition of Excellence in Playwriting replaced the Best Original Playwright Award.
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This award was created to acknowledge select playwrights who deserve recognition for exceptional work.
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A committee commissioned by the NHTA is tasked with reading and assessing all eligible submissions. The committee can choose to recognize as few or as many original playwrights as it deems worthy in a given season.
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Only scripts of plays submitted for adjudication in the award season will be considered and reviewed.
To be eligible, the producing company must provide a PDF file of the script and a CD or other recording of the music (if applicable) to the NH Theatre Alliance prior to opening night of the production up for adjudication.
RECOGNITION OF EXCELLENCE IN PLAYWRITING
This award was introduced in 2017 to honor the memory of Kevin Riley.
Candidates for this award should be members of the greater New Hampshire arts community who have made significant contributions to strengthen the performing arts in New Hampshire.
This award is focused on individuals who have helped build the State's performing arts community outside of any one particular theatre company.
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