The Henry Awards follow a long line of award ceremony traditions to recognize outstanding artistry. In recent years, various performance award ceremonies have been criticized for possible inequities in judging processes that often leave folks with marginalized identities out of the running for those prestigious awards. Judging criteria will continue to be a source of refinement and examination for continued improvement. The Colorado Theatre Guild’s (CTG) Board of Directors is made up of theatre-makers of various roles: designers, actors, administrators, and more. We know our members are reinventing how theatre gets made; now, we reinvent how artistry is honored.

Prior to the 2024-2025 judging season, the CTG Board of Directors voted to enact three measures to change judging criteria. Those measures are:

• To remove the dedicated Youth Actor Award Category. Performers of all ages are still able to be nominated in the general performer awards and be nominated alongside adults.  Design Henry awards have been won by youth, so this change is to acknowledge that the work speaks for itself.
• To remove the minimum required number of weeks for a production run length to qualify for judging potential. Three-week run lengths are preferred for member organizations and eight performances are still required. All shows must still meet other eligibility requirements.
• To combine the award category titles for Best Lead Actor and Best Lead Actress to a singular category of Best Lead Performer and combine the award category titles for Best Supporting Actor and Best Supporting Actress to a singular category of Best Featured Performer. Musicals and Plays will still be judged separately. Each new category will have 10 nominations and two winners, thus, the number of awards given will remain the same.

When the Henry committee offered these changes, the Board of Directors engaged in thoughtful conversation. Here, the Board of Directors hopes to shed light on those conversations and ultimately the rationale that led to these new measures.

Removal of the Outstanding Youth Performer Category

The Outstanding Youth Performer category was added to the 2022 Henry Awards. When the Youth category was added, it was simultaneously decided that there would always be two winners of this category to place less emphasis on competition and encourage more celebration.

In recent years near the introduction of this category, a number of interesting events occurred. In 2018, before there was a designated youth award, a youth performer was submitted for the Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Musical and won. In 2022 the winner of the Outstanding Sound Design Tier 2 was under 18 years old because there was no dedicated youth designer category. Recently, there was a three-way tie for Youth Performer winners because of a scoring tie for 2nd place. Since it was agreed that both 1st and 2nd place winners would be honored as overall winners, this necessitated that three performers receive the winning title out of a nominated group of five. All of these instances called into question whether the Youth Performer category was serving young people the way it was intended.

The tabulations committee who evaluated the judge scores to determine nominees shared with the Board that, had the Youth category not existed, there would have been a few that received nominations in the performance category and in a few instances, won. For this reason alongside the circumstances stated earlier, the Board of Directors decided to eliminate the Youth Performer category for the 2024-2025 season.

Removing the Required Production Run Length of Three Weeks Minimum for Production Adjudication

When the Henry Awards started in the 2005-2006 season, all productions needed at least eight performances to qualify for consideration and a minimum of three weeks. However, with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, the theatre landscape has changed significantly. Barbara Thomas, the Henry Coordinator since 2019, who assigns judges to every single show, shared how many shows have been submitted for consideration for Henry judging during her tenure.

Now, the CTG is in need of our community’s help. Prior to the pandemic, judges viewed, on average, 15 shows per year. Presently, judges view, on average, 20 shows per year. Colorado is a large state, and this drastic increase in demand for judges to volunteer their time can be an incredible strain on some judges. CTG strives to honor every single submission for Henry adjudication from our organizational members – to accomplish this, we need more judges. Many of you reading this likely meet the requirements to serve as a Henry judge – someone with demonstrated theatre experience, formal training (collegiate or conservatory), or a theatre educator/instructor and someone who is deeply invested in the longevity of the Colorado theatre community. Make a difference for years to come by becoming a Henry Judge. Check out the Henry Judge Handbook on our website to learn how to qualify and what would be expected of you in the judge seat. Then, fill out the Henry Judge Application to start the process of joining the judge pool.

Change of Performance Nomination Category Titles

The Henry Awards were modeled after the Tony Awards when selecting what types of nomination categories would be honored. Since the Tony Awards’ inception in 1947, their performance nomination categories evaluate men and women separately, as do many other award ceremonies around the country. However, a few ceremonies with similar reputations to the Tonys in other performance art fields have made changes to their awards for performance categories in recent years. In 2021 the Emmy Awards still have the categories of “Actor” and “Actress” but a nominee may request their award read “Performer” when they receive it and emphasize that gender is not an eligibility requirement. Additionally, the Grammy Awards removed gendered categories for all awards in 2012 and has had a varied history for public opinion as a result.

Conversation surrounding the relevance of gender in the Henry Awards has existed for many years and regained national attention in 2023 when three non-binary performers received nominations from the Tony Awards. That same year, the Henry Awards also had its first non-binary nominee for performer, Eden, for Supporting Actress in a Play. Conversations were reignited about the potential advantages or disadvantages of the use of gendered categories. Board Vice President and Henry Committee member Lia Kozatch notes, 

“For many years, I have had many conversations with colleagues about the impacts of having performers nominated on their gender or a character’s gender in an award category and not on for their acting ability. Many of these conversations were with performers who were nominated in the past or removed themselves from nomination consideration based on adhering to a gender binary. The core matter, other than erasure of one’s self, was that requiring a performer to have to choose a gendered category doesn’t match with designers, directors, playwrights, and ensembles who are all nominated/awarded based on their work, not their own gender identity. As a gender-fluid person, it has never felt right to have to choose when put in a situation where my gender had a bearing on my ability to do something or just be. I haven’t been nominated for anything as a performer, but if I was and was only offered a binary gendered performance category, I would have no place to be. By removing gender as a basis of an award category, we can allow performers to be judged on acting choices, not having to defend their existence.”

Years ago, data from past Henry tabulations indicated a bias that favored men over women in the same role type when determining winners. The Board of Directors knew that this bias may not have affected the result of the nomination process at that time, but it was still a matter we wanted to resolve. Since 2020, the Henry Judge training has included several factors to bring judges awareness to biases they may have in order to reduce them. We, the Board, owe it to our community to make our best effort to recognize artistry with minimal bias, and that is what the data largely indicates today.

Change within an organization can take a long time; that is – until it happens. When the Board votes on any motion there is always a singular objective for each member: to serve our community in the best way possible. We do not always agree on the best path forward, but we all work towards serving our community as best we know how. Regarding this change to the Henry Awards, Caden, the Board Secretary, who voted in favor shares his thought process here.

“De-gendering awards is a choice with risk associated, but it will never be without risk. Representation is complex, and I think it’s important that CTG shows good faith to our Colorado performers that we trust our judges to evaluate in an unbiased way, and trust that our member-producing companies pick works that were written in ways that allow for performers to succeed. It is a bold step, and one I believe the Colorado theatre scene is ready to take.” 

Broadening these awards to all “Performers” allows every performer to be recognized solely for their ability to tell outstanding stories on stage. The Henry Awards were created to honor outstanding excellence in Colorado theatre and they will continue to adapt to this community’s needs as long as it takes. So, beginning with the 19th annual Henry Awards in July of 2025, the performance award categories will no longer be separated by gender when determining nominations and the same number of artists will be honored. Thank you to the Colorado theatre community for voicing your concerns, being a part of this change, and building a space where all performers feel welcome to be honored as themselves.

Conclusion

The Colorado Theatre Guild’s mission is to serve, “the theatre industry in Colorado through connection, celebration, advocacy, and education.” This mission could not be realized without you, our theatre community, voicing your concerns and ideas. This Board of Directors is honored to serve such an involved community and we are immensely grateful for your support. The Henry Awards offer an opportunity not only to highlight those nominated but also to celebrate the outstanding work made all year long! There are only so many nominations per category, but there is obviously more incredible work throughout the season within our community. Our Guild members will always celebrate more fully when they are able to be their fullest selves and we can cultivate that. These changes invite exciting possibilities that have yet to be realized and we are thrilled about the ripples this may affect for years to come.