The Hampton Roads Achievement in Community Theater (HRACT) Awards, or the “ACTys” for short, will be presented each year, with the season running from July 1 – June 30, based on the date that the show completes its run.

To be considered for recognition in the HRACT Awards, a play must…

1. Be in the local Hampton Roads area of Virginia (so our voters can get to the show).
2. Run for at least three weekends of performances at a single venue (so our voters have enough options to get to the show).
3. Not be a “recurring play”.  For these purposes, a “recurring play” is a play that a theater generally puts on each year.  For example, certain theaters put on “A Christmas Carol” every year, and while we do enjoy seeing that play every year, since it is fairly similar each time it is put on, we aren’t going to include it in our awards show each year.
4. Not be sponsored directly by a school, university, or other educational institution.  The goal of the HRACT Awards is to support local community theater – we would love to eventually extend our reach into the college or high school theater communities with separate categories for those troupes, but at this time we are keeping the eligible shows to just those not sponsored by a school or university.
5. Have an all-volunteer cast.  Note that crew can be paid small stipends, but generally should not be paid to the extent they could realistically make this full-time employment.  There is some judgment here, but the goal is to support and recognize achievement in community theater, and we want to keep it fair by not including truly professional theaters.
6. To be considered for the acting categories, a role cannot be double-cast, such that two (or more) cast members are essentially splitting the performances. This is to keep things fair, as our voters cannot be expected to see plays multiple times to see each version of the cast.
7. The HRACT Awards must be notified of the show (via email below) at least two months before the show opens, and in all cases no later than September 30 for a show that closes by the following June 30 (i.e., we must be notified by September 30, 2024 for any shows that close by June 30, 2025). This is to allow our voters enough time to properly plan to attend the performances.

If you know of a show that meets these requirements but is not on our “Eligible Performances” list, we want to hear about it!  Send us an email at HRACTAwards@gmail.com.