Barrymore Awards Process FAQs

Is my company/production eligible?

The producing theatre company must:

• Be a 501(c)(3) or fiscally-sponsored organization.
• Have its organizational residency and performance venue within a 35-mile radius of City Hall in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
• Submit all productions for Barrymore consideration at least eight weeks before the first performance.
• Remit a submission fee of $175 per production at least four weeks before the first performance.
• Provide at least one complimentary ticket (a 2nd ticket as a courtesy is encouraged) to each of the randomly-selected Barrymore Nominators for initial Barrymore consideration.
• Provide at least one complimentary ticket (a 2nd ticket as a courtesy is encouraged) to each of the Barrymore Judges panel members for all productions elevated to Barrymore Recommended status.

Each production submitted for consideration must:

• The production must have a minimum of 12 performances that may be attended by Barrymore Nominators and Judges (previews may be included if those performances are need to meet the minimum of 12, if there are more than 12 performances after Opening Night, companies can request that previews not be adjudicated).
• Meet or exceed the following minimum pay scale: $150 per week for all actors who appear on stage; $500 per production for all credited composers, choreographers, and scenic, costume, lighting, and sound designers; $750 per production per director.

How does the adjudication system work?

Adjudication is a two tiered system:

1. A small group of randomly assigned nominators are sent to each production. An online ballot is submitted by each of these voters where they indicate if the show should move to the second tier for any available category. If a show receives majority “Yes” votes in any single category is moves to Tier 2. If we are not able to find 8 

2. Our pool of Judges then sees the production and it is deemed “Barrymore Recommended". The Judge Panel(s) assigned are determined by which categories the Nominators voted a majority "yes" in. The Judges meet quarterly to discuss what they have seen (no decisions are made in these meetings).

How are nominees and recipients determined?

Nominees and recipients are determined in a series of steps involving the pool of 3 Judge Panels:

1. After quarterly meetings throughout the season Judges are asked to submit “top choices” in each category. These submissions are aggregated into a master list for discussion in a 5th meeting.

2. The Judges discuss each aggregated category. Judges have the opportunity to suggest a vote to include additional nominees who may be absent.

3. The list is finalized and then transferred into a 1st Round blind online ballot to determine the nominees.

4. The nominee list is then distributed and a 2nd Round and final blind online ballot is used to determine the recipients. The ballot is calculated by an unaffiliated third party using ranked choice voting.

5. The Judges of each panel meet a last time to confirm the results of the vote, to ensure the results of the vote are in alignment with the conversations each panel has had over the season.

Who handles governance of the Barrymore Awards?

The Barrymore Oversight Committee handles decisions, rule adjustments, and feedback for the Barrymore Awards. This committee is a volunteer group made up of community artists, administrators, and educators from varied disciplines.

How do I become a Barrymore Judge or Nominator?

Applications are available annually in spring. All applicants are reviewed by the Oversight Committee in April and selected volunteers are notified in the start of June. There is an annual Orientation the last week of June each year.