{"id":190,"date":"2017-10-10T17:59:59","date_gmt":"2017-10-10T17:59:59","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/theatre-and-dance\/?page_id=190"},"modified":"2026-03-25T15:26:45","modified_gmt":"2026-03-25T19:26:45","slug":"theatre-night-awards","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/www.montclair.edu\/theatre-and-dance\/productions-and-events\/theatre-night-awards\/","title":{"rendered":"Theatre Night Awards"},"content":{"rendered":"Register for the Foxy Awards<\/a><\/span>\n

Theatre Night Awards<\/em> recognizes excellence in the production of high school and middle school straight plays throughout New Jersey.<\/p>\n

Our Mission<\/div>
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Our goal is to promote and advance the commitment to high-quality straight play production in New Jersey\u2019s secondary schools. The awards honor the accomplishments of individual achievement of both students and educators in the areas of performance, direction, design and technical theatre, as well as outstanding productions.<\/p>\n

We endeavor to raise the bar in the area of straight play production in New Jersey schools. Theatre Night Awards has positively affected the level of directing, acting, design and production work in straight plays. Educators are choosing from a wider and more sophisticated range of plays for production and are experimenting with updated methods and styles of staging plays.<\/p>\n

By rewarding challenging choices in the production of new plays and classics, we have observed that more school theatre programs are producing Greek and Shakespeare plays, challenging works by such modern writers as Bertolt Brecht, Brian Friel, Arthur Miller, George S. Kaufman and Moss Hart, as well as new plays and original works.<\/p>\n

Since 2020, we now accept musicals. We evaluate musicals based on direction, technical elements, choreography, acting ability and ensemble work. Vocal quality and technique will not be considered when evaluating performers.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

Our History<\/div>
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Theatre Night Awards has been an increasingly significant and well-attended event each year since its inception in 2009. Theatre and Dance Department professor Susan Kerner and Mahwah High School teacher JoAnne Fox conceived the event to provide a balance for the popularity of the high school musical and its celebration at well-established awards ceremonies in New Jersey and the region.<\/p>\n

The event is a positive educationally based community building experience. Students are able to share their work with other students and to be recognized outside their own high schools. This outside recognition has direct benefits for students and teachers in districts throughout the state. In a time when theatre arts programs are in peril this outside recognition helps maintain and even build quality high school theatre programs.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

Outcomes<\/div>
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There is a significant ripple effect that results from Theatre Night Awards. In addition to many individuals receiving well-deserved recognition for their commitment to excellence in play production, state legislators and district administrators take notice of the achievements of the talented students and educators in their communities and further appreciate the importance of supporting arts programming.<\/span><\/p>\n

By sharing their work with peers throughout the state, students and teachers have the opportunity to observe and learn from the high standards, extraordinary creativity and risk-taking artistic choices made by outstanding theatre educators and their students.<\/span><\/p>\n

Teachers participate in a valuable educational network that has developed as a result of the University\u2019s professional development programs. Teachers and students are introduced to the excellent opportunities in the BA, BFA, and MA programs in the Theatre and Dance Department at Montclair State University. When theatre students arrive as freshmen or as graduate students at Montclair State, they encounter professors who are already familiar with their considerable achievements as theatre artists in their secondary school communities.<\/span><\/p>\n

There is a significant ripple effect that results from Theatre Night Awards. In addition to many individuals receiving well-deserved recognition for their commitment to excellence in play production, state legislators and district administrators take notice of the achievements of the talented students and educators in their communities and further appreciate the importance of supporting arts programming.<\/p>\n

By sharing their work with peers throughout the state, students and teachers have the opportunity to observe and learn from the high standards, extraordinary creativity and risk-taking artistic choices made by outstanding theatre educators and their students.<\/p>\n

Teachers participate in a valuable educational network that has developed as a result of the University\u2019s professional development programs. Teachers and students are introduced to the excellent opportunities in the BA, BFA, and MA programs in the Theatre and Dance Department at Montclair State University. When theatre students arrive as freshmen or as graduate students at Montclair State, they encounter professors who are already familiar with their considerable achievements as theatre artists in their secondary school communities.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n

Theatre Night Awards Submission Guidelines<\/div>
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