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| Kate Snodgrass BTM Artistic Director |
JUDGING THE BTM
Friends:
I’ve had many people ask me over the years about the judging process, so I thought I’d let you know how we do it. And, until we come up with a better system, this is the most democratic way I can think of. However, I want you to know that I’m very open to other, better suggestions. Believe me—send ‘em along!
First, I enter all the plays into my database along with your playwright information and the titles of the plays. I am the only one who sees this database, by the way, so it’s as discriminating and as private as I can make it. The cover sheets are separated from the blinded play copies, and then all three copies of your plays are numbered. Each one is placed in a packet with nine other plays.
Then the community at large—whether it be directors, actors, designers, audience members, plumbers, etc.—signs out a packet or two. That’s right! We don’t discriminate about our judges. Anyone can read and score these packets. And if one of these readers—say, a playwright—sees her own play in the packet, she recuses herself from judging it. It’s on the honor system.
After about one month, all the plays and their scores are due back at Boston Playwrights’ Theatre. Then I enter all three scores that each play has garnered into the database, and I add them up. The highest scored plays are separated from the mix of over 350 plays every year. Then…
I read all the plays myself just to make sure that a really good play has not been mis-scored or overlooked. Is it possible I still miss a few good ones? Yes. Is this a subjective process? You betcha! (By the way, I don’t take any plays out of the high scoring pile, I only put some in.)
Then I give this pile of plays (usually totaling 100-110 plays) to a volunteer panel of judges who also score the plays and make the final decisions about which plays go into the marathon and which do not. These readers are different people every year, but I can promise you that all of them are knowledgeable theatre artists. By “theatre artist,” I mean a person thoroughly grounded in the workings and the literature of the theatre. These people—just like everybody else in this process, are working for free. I do not give out these judges’ names because I don’t want them to be inundated with unhappy playwrights (and we’re all at one time or another an unhappy playwright)--just like I don’t tell the playwrights who scored their plays (although I do feel I can tell them some of the comments made by the readers—that’s only fair if they ask).
Lastly, every year I invite five or six playwrights to skip the judging process and be part of the marathon. You may have noticed works by Israel Horovitz, Robert Brustein, Ed Bullins, etc., in the marathon. I am thrilled that these writers want to be part of the event, and, truthfully, they have more than earned their places on the roster. I am proud that they are part of this vibrant theatre community, and I want to celebrate them.
So that’s it. I wish that the decision-making process could be more objective, but, just like in the real world of the theatre, everybody’s got his/her own opinion. You’ll notice that some playwrights show up in the marathon on a regular basis. There are no names on the plays that the judges read, so I think the plays are getting picked because…well, because the judges liked them. More years than not, over half of the chosen marathoners are new to the BTM—and this is a good thing! Hope this clarifies some of your questions and concerns. We want the entire community to be involved in this process, and so far I think it’s working pretty well (if not perfectly).
All the best to you, and good writing!
Kate Snodgrass, Artistic Director
Boston Theater Marathon