2021/22 Rules & Regulations
The information provided in the 2021/22 Rules & Regulations is a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and is subject to change at any time.
Playhouse Square 1501 Euclid Ave., Suite 200 Cleveland, Ohio 44115
1 PROGRAM OVERVIEW
The Dazzle Awards presented by Pat & John Chapman inspire and honor excellence in high school musical theater and recognize the importance of musical theater and arts-education within the Northeast Ohio community. A curated panel of independent adjudicators attends one production at each participating school and provides educational feedback and scores to determine nominees and awards in over 15 categories. The program culminates regionally in the Connor Palace at Playhouse Square with the Dazzle Awards, modeled after the Tony Awards®, to recognize outstanding musical theater productions and students. The 2022 Dazzle Awards ceremony is on May 21, 2022 at 7:30 p.m. The Dazzle Awards program is affiliated with the National High School Musical Theatre Awards (“The Jimmy Awards”) presented by The Broadway League Foundation. The regional winners of the Best Actor and Actress categories will represent Playhouse Square and Northeast Ohio at The National High School Musical Theatre Awards® (The Jimmy Awards®).
About NHSMTA: The Jimmy Awards® / The National High School Musical Theatre Awards® (NHSMTA®) program impacts more than 140,000 students who participate in high school musical theatre competitions sponsored by presenters of Touring Broadway productions throughout the United States. Presented by the Broadway League Foundation, the program invites two winners from each of these regional ceremonies to participate in a theatre intensive including coaching and rehearsals with Broadway professionals in preparation for a one- night-only talent showcase. The program has been the catalyst for more than $4,000,000 in educational scholarships. For more information, visit JimmyAwards.com.
About Playhouse Square: The largest performing arts center in the country outside of New York, the not-for-profit Playhouse Square is Northeast Ohio’s destination for Broadway and more great entertainment. Playhouse Square is a champion of arts education and downtown Cleveland, and proud to be the home of Cleveland Ballet, Cleveland Play House, Cleveland State University Department of Theatre and Dance, DANCECleveland, Great Lakes Theater and Tri-C JazzFest.
Program Contacts: Amber McIntyre – Community Programs Manager, Playhouse Square Office: 216-640-8453 Email: [email protected]
Emily Raber – Community Programs Coordinator, Playhouse Square Office: 216-640-8454 Email: [email protected]
2 RULES & REGULATIONS
Playhouse Square can accommodate a limited number of schools in the program; therefore, participation is granted on a first come, first served basis. Applications are processed in the order they are received. The first 25 eligible school applications are guaranteed participation. All 2020/21 returning schools are guaranteed participation in the 2021/22 Dazzle Awards program. The returning school application period is September 20, 2021 at 9 a.m. – September 24, 2021 at 11:30 p.m. The new school application period is September 27, 2021 at 9 a.m. – October 1, 2021 at 11:30 p.m. Allowances may be made for late inquiries if fewer than 25 applications are received by the October 1, 2021 deadline.
Application Criteria: • Schools must be in Cuyahoga, Geauga, Lake, Lorain, Medina, Portage or Summit County. • Schools must produce a full-length musical listed on the NHSMTA Qualifying Shows & Roles list. • Schools must produce their musical between November 1, 2021 – April 24, 2022. • Schools must participate in the Director Orientation on October 13, 2021 at 4 p.m. • Schools must provide their Insurance Policy showing Playhouse Square as an additional insured through June 30, 2022. • The Dazzle Awards encourages diversity whenever possible, including connecting to schools that may not otherwise have the budget to produce full-length musicals. We also encourage schools to select designers, technicians, performers, and crew from BIPOC and under-represented communities. • Schools must commit to the following program expenses: o A $125 participation fee o The purchase of 42-54 tickets for the Dazzle Awards Ceremony, per the chart below:
Total Required Ticket Total Participation Grand Schools Tickets Price Ticket Cost Fee Total 28 54 $20 $1,080 $125 $1,205 29 52 $20 $1,040 $125 $1,165 30 50 $20 $1,000 $125 $1,125 31 48 $20 $960 $125 $1,085 32 46 $20 $920 $125 $1,045 33 44 $20 $880 $125 $1,005 34 43 $20 $860 $125 $985 35 42 $20 $840 $125 $965
Program Fees & Payment: Participating school must pay a non-refundable participation fee of $125.00. Additionally, Playhouse Square requires all participating schools to purchase tickets for the Dazzle Awards Ceremony at the reduced student rate of $20. The quantity is contingent on the number of participating schools and the required ticket purchase chart above. Participating schools will be invoiced for the total due on November 1, 2021. The payment deadline is January 31, 2022. Please do not submit payment until you’ve received an invoice.
3 Seating sections are assigned upon acceptance into the program, in the order applications are received. During the application process, schools may choose to purchase additional tickets at the $20 student rate. This is the only time to purchase additional tickets at the reduced rate. Additional ticket requests are processed on a first come, first served basis and are subject to availability. All tickets purchased during the application process are guaranteed in your school’s assigned section. Tickets purchased after the application period or online are $25 and will not be seated in your school’s section. Ticket information for the public will be issued by Playhouse Square prior to the Dazzle Awards Ceremony. Please Note: All ticket purchases are non-refundable.
Orientation Meeting: The school contact is required to participate in the orientation meeting on October 13, 2021 at 4 p.m. If the school contact is unavailable, a secondary contact or another adult representative from the school must participate in their place.
Extension of Rights/Rentals: Schools are required to maintain all rights to any/all music, costumes, and scenic rentals through June 30, 2022. Playhouse Square will contact the licensing houses on behalf of the participating schools to request material extensions and performance permissions for the Dazzle Awards Ceremony. If approved, schools nominated for Best Musical and/or Best Actor/Actress will retain their rights through June 30, 2022, at no additional cost.
If you plan to perform a musical with rights owned by Concord Theatricals, please be advised that we must receive notification of showcase song rights approval from Concord Theatricals no later than May 13, 2022 for eligible Best Musical Nominee production numbers and Best Actor/Actress medleys to be included in the 2022 Dazzle Awards Ceremony.
Insurance Policy: Participating schools must provide their school’s insurance policy showing Playhouse Square as an additional insured through June 2022. Playhouse Square should be listed on the policy as:
PLAYHOUSE SQUARE FOUNDATION 1501 EUCLID AVE., STE 200 CLEVELAND, OHIO 44115.
If your school's policy is unavailable at the time of application, we will collect it upon acceptance into the program.
4 ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA
To uphold the program’s mission, participating schools must adhere to the following eligibility criteria. Specific category eligibility will be provided upon acceptance into the program.
Casting Requirements: To participate in the Dazzle Awards program, at least 80% of the total cast must be high school students (grades 9-12). If a production calls for the casting of young children or adults in minor roles, or if a school’s production includes K-8 grade performers, no more than 20% of the total cast may be non-high school performers.
Students from a Different School: Recognizing that many area schools have co-productions and/or shared performers, a performer may only be nominated for their role in one musical production. If a performer is nominated for multiple roles, the role that receives the highest adjudicator score will receive a nomination.
Double Casts: Due to limited resources, the Dazzle Awards can only adjudicate one production at each participating school. Should a school double cast their production, the director will choose the cast to be adjudicated.
Split Roles: Should a school split the lead or supporting roles between multiple performers, those roles will be ineligible for the Individual Performance categories.
Non-Traditional Gender Casting: For the purposes of the Dazzle Awards, performers are adjudicated in the category corresponding to their gender identification, not the gender of the role they are playing. (For example, a female-identifying performer portraying the leading role of Tevye will be adjudicated in the Best Actress category). If a school changes the gender of any leading or supporting roles within a production, they must provide written proof that permission to make that change was granted by the publishing company. Failure to receive permission from the publishing company and/or provide written proof, may result in disqualification from the program.
Non-Binary Performers: Non-binary performers will be adjudicated in the category that reflects how the role was written or originally performed. (For example, a non-binary performer portraying the leading role of Tevye will be adjudicated in the Best Actor category, because the role was originally written for and played by a male-identifying performer). Please Note: Playhouse Square will work to incorporate preferred pronouns into any copy or dialogue.
Best Actor/Actress: The nominations and winners for the Best Actor/Actress categories are determined by a combined production and audition score. Eligible performers will receive a production score and feedback from the adjudicators that attended their production. Additionally, these performers will audition for a separate adjudicator panel on March 26, 2022. Participation in the audition is required for eligibility in these two categories.
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