The calendar year for judging runs from December to November. Participating societies nominate which productions they would like judged throughout the year. Each show is independently viewed and judged by the 5 appointed judges using the same criteria. A report is submitted to the adjudicator after every show.

The panel meets in early December to identify a list of final nominees, who are announced at a separate event hosted by one of the musical societies. The judges then meet again to vote on the winners of each category with the final results announced at the awards evening.

How the judging works
Each of the 5 judges must see a show once in their capacity as a NAPTA judge - where ever possible avoiding both opening and closing performances. Judges are free to attend shows again, but judging occurs only on the first viewed performance.

The Judges independently complete an assessment of each Award category for a show. Each category is rated on its own merits and follows a rating guide in increments of 0.5: 1-2 Adequate, 3-4 Competent, 5-6 Well Done, 7-8 Strong, 9-10 Exemplary. Comments are also recorded for each category. The forms are collected and held by the adjudicator (a member of the organising committee).

Click here to view the Judging Criteria Guidelines... (PDF)

On completion of the judging year, the adjudicator will tally the scores and nominees are generally found using these scores. A maximum of 5 nominations in each category is the guideline.

The final decision
On completion of the nomination process the final decision process then takes place. The judges are presented with the collated comments of all nominees for each Award category.

An open discussion is then entered into followed by a secret ballot. After 4 - 5 categories the convenor and adjudicator will collate scores. If a minimum of three judges have voted for one nominee they become the NAPTA recipient. If a recipient is not found then further discussions take place & another ballot is taken until a recipient is found.

The convenor & adjudicator are the only people who know who the recipients are. The adjudicator then collates the recipients in readiness for the NAPTA Awards evening.

2010 Judges
Our current Judges for the 2010 NAPTA season are:
• Flip Hirst
• Deborah Day
• Kerry Priestley
• Rhonda Daverne
• Gary Hieatt

Selection of Judges
Judges are appointed by the NAPTA organising committee for a maximum period of two consecutive years. Participating societies are called upon to nominate suitable members to fill the 5 annual judging roles.

If you are interested in becoming a NAPTA Judge, or would like to nominate someone, please contact your participating theatre group.