A rogues' gallery is a lineup of crooks and ne'er-do-wells. With a shift of the apostrophe,
the Rogue's Gallery recognizes the best of Southeast and mid-Michigan theater.

Eligibility period

In accordance with the fall-to-spring or fall-through-summer season schedules of most area theaters, the Rogue's Gallery follows a September-to-August schedule; all mainstage and late-night productions reviewed by the Rogue are eligible. For the 2011 awards, about 100 productions and 600 individual performances from September 1, 2010, through early August, 2011, will be included for consideration.

Award categories

Performance awards include individual recognition for lead and supporting performances by actors and actresses for each of the Comedy, Drama, and Musical categories, in addition to group awards for ensembles.

Awards for scenic and lighting design distinguish between "surround" seating and "proscenium" seating. If the fourth wall is essentially a single plane, this is considered proscenium seating, whether or not an actual proscenium arch is in place. Everything else is considered surround seating. Choreography has two distinct categories for dance and for fight/movement. Other design awards include costumes, properties, and sound.

New works fall into one of two categories: original production, and new play or adaptation. The difference between the two lies in the nature of the creative process and the play's likelihood to be produced again with a different cast and creative team. Thus, a piece written collaboratively by and for a team of improvisers would fall in the former category, and a submitted or commissioned new play in the latter. (Your assessments might be different from mine, but the decisions are clear to me — and final.) 

Pomp and circumstance

The 2011 Rogue's Gallery exists only online. Nominations will be released by mid-August, and the awards will follow around the first of September. (If it helps, you can get dressed up and knock a few back at home before making a brief, effusive, and teary speech into your screen.)

Semantics

An individual award is a Gallery Award. Winning a Gallery Award is equivalent to entering the Rogue's Gallery. Thus, acceptable terminology varies widely according to preference, including (but not limited to) "Gallery Award winner," "2011 Rogue's Gallery nominee," "nominated for a Gallery Award by the Rogue Critic," and "proud and deserving entrant of the 2011 Rogue's Gallery."

Disclaimer and feedback

The Rogue's Gallery is curated at the sole discretion of the Rogue Critic. Awards and nominations therefore reflect a single person's opinion based on a single viewing of a production, and may not align with the viewer's own experience or preferences.

No doubt you could have done it better yourself, but please keep it polite on Facebook and email.