Evil Dead
Wanneroo Repertory Club

The Robert Finley Awards Rules and Regulations

2025 Theatrical Year

Section 1: Forms, fees and tickets

  1. Entry forms are electronic (via www.ita.org.au/forms) and compromise two components: the Finley Awards Entry Form (‘Entry Form’) and the Finley Awards Production Specifics Form (‘Production Specifics’).

  2. Entry Forms must be submitted at least eight (8) weeks prior to Opening Night, otherwise the entry will be deemed a Late Entry.

  3. Late Entries are subject to adjudicator availability if received up to four (4) weeks prior to Opening Night, and if accepted will incur a Late Fee. The ITA Committee will endeavour to confirm whether the Late Entry is accepted as soon as practicable.

  4. Entries received less than four (4) weeks prior to opening night will not be accepted.

  5. Production Specifics are required by opening night as they provide further information to adjudicators to aid them in considering entries for awards. Production Specifics must be supplied by the end of the Theatrical Year; any Entry without a corresponding Production Specifics form may be ineligible for awards at the discretion of the ITA Committee.

  6. Entries in the Plays, Musicals and School Productions categories will incur the following fees:
    Perth/Peel entries: $120 per entry, or $100 per entry when entering a full season by 31 January

    Regional entries: $190 per entry, or $160 per entry when entering a full season by 31 January

  7. Entries in the One Acts category will incur the following fees:

    Perthth/Peel entries: $40 per entry, capped at $120 where multiple one acts are entered from the same season

    Regional entries: $65 per entry, capped at $190 where multiple one acts are entered from the same season

  8. In the event that a Late Entry is accepted, it will incur a Late Fee of $50 in addition to the standard entry fees. A Late Fee will only be incurred once in the event that the Late Entry is a season of One Acts.

  9. Adjudicators will contact the noted Company contact or Box Office to arrange tickets to attend each production. Each Company/School will make available to each adjudicator two complimentary tickets (as required) and one complimentary program per adjudicator upon attendance.

Section 2: Categories

  1. There are four categories for productions to be entered into:
    - Musicals (including Pantomimes)
    - Plays
    - One Acts
    - School Productions

  2. Member clubs are responsible for choosing the category in which their production belongs and nominating this on your entry form.

  3. Entries in the One Acts category must be no longer than fifty (50) minutes in duration, and no shorter than twenty (20) minutes. Productions must have at least two (2) cast members. Performances that run over or under the permitted length will be ruled ineligible.

  4. A production without an interval should not be entered in the One Acts category unless it meets the criteria in 2.3 above and the entrant wishes is to be considered by adjudicators in that category. For clarity, a production without an interval and a running time of over fifty (50) minutes should be entered in either the Plays or Musicals category.

  5. Member Clubs can nominate whether a Play or Musical is a Youth Production (see 3.6 and 3.7 below for eligibility). School Productions are adjudicated separately from Youth Productions and are eligible for different awards.

  6. School Productions are open to primary and secondary schools in Western Australia. Entrants must become a member of the ITA (as per 3.1), and will be adjudicated for the following awards and are eligible for adjudicator certificates:
    - Best School Production
    - Best Performer in a School Production - Play
    - Best Performer in a School Production - Musical

Section 3: Eligibility and entry requirements

  1. For a production to be entered, the Company/School will need to become a member of the ITA. This is done by completing the application form and paying the necessary membership fee. Entries will not be eligible for adjudications or awards if the Membership Form has not been completed and the membership fee paid.

  2. Productions must be recognised as a community theatre production. Anyone receiving payment (including honorariums) for their services will not be eligible for a Robert Finley Award. Payment for service or participation may also affect the eligibility of the production for other awards detailed below. Where an aspect of a production is not consistent with the mission of the Robert Finley Awards, for example, where someone has been paid, the theatre should indicate on its application that this has occurred.

  3. Productions must be ‘theatre’ and not other forms of performing art. Music, dance and choral productions, talent or variety shows, non-published musical revues, and workshops of a member theatre are not eligible.

  4. Professional productions, including co-op organisations and profit-share productions, and productions by non-members organisation, are not eligible for entry into the Robert Finley Awards. 

  5. Co-productions are allowed only if the following conditions are met: 

    • All the producing theatres are ITA members. 

    • All co-productions must be submitted under one ITA member theatre. 

    • That theatre will be the point of contact for the production. 

    • All theatre level awards (eg: Best Production) will be awarded to the theatre that submitted the production.

  6. To be eligible for the Best Youth Production, 100% of the on-stage cast in the production must be 18 years or under as of the opening night of the production. 

  7. To be eligible for a Best Youth in a Play or Musical, a cast member must be 18 years or under as at the opening night of the production. Companies should state the age of any Junior Performers in a non-Youth production on the Production Specifics form. 

  8. Nominations for Best Performer in a School Production must go to current school students. Schools must list any performers who are not currently enrolled in any primary or secondary college in their Production Specifics form. Nominees for individual roles must not have graduated secondary schooling at the time of production.

  9. In the event that a production is double cast, or a role is double cast, only one cast may be submitted for adjudication, and this cast must be indicated on your Finley Entry Form or by email to the ITA Committee at least eight (8) weeks prior to opening night. If a cast is not indicated then no role where a double or dual casting exists will be eligible for nomination as a lead. If you are unsure how this impacts your entry, please contact the ITA Committee.

  10. All productions entered into the Robert Finley Awards must have the authorisation of the relevant rights holders. It is the responsibility of the entrant to obtain permission for the performance and to pay the appropriate royalty fee in advance. The entrant is required to certify that this has been done: a disclaimer is part of the entry form and must be completed before any entry will be accepted. All alterations to a script must be approved by the author or his/her representative or estate. The ITA can request evidence of rights permission at any time. Any Company/School found to not have the required permission to stage a production will not be eligible for any award for that production. In this instance, entry fees will not be refundable.

  11. Productions must run for a season of at least two performances over at least two days and be open to the general public in Western Australia (unless the audience is restricted by the performance rights). Any Entries with a performance season of less than seven (7) days duration will be subject to adjudicator availability at the time of entry.

  12. Productions must be performed during that Theatrical Year, which runs from 1 December to 30 November the following year. Entries opening during the last week of the eligibility year must have the majority number of performances in the current year; if not, the production must be entered in the following year’s awards. 

  13. Non-binary performers will have the option of electing whether their performance is considered in the Actor or Actress category.

  14. The eligibility of any awards is the final determination of the ITA Committee. 

Section 4: Effect of remuneration on eligibility

  1. Production Eligibility: No person in a production is to receive any form of remuneration for participation in the production, including honorariums. Complimentary tickets may be given to participants as a thank you from the theatre if all participants are given the same consideration. If the ITA Committee determines that a person(s) has received any form of remuneration, the ITA Committee may consider eliminating the person and relevant nominated areas from consideration, or to remove the entire production from consideration. Where there is a legal requirement for work to be undertaken by a licensed person such as an electrician, rigger, plumber or carpenter who requires payment, this is exempt from any payment conditions imposed by these rules however payment must still be disclosed. Where specialist training, directorial or choreographic skills are required to ensure safety of cast and crew such as intimacy directors, fight choreographers, stunt coordinators and dance tutors (who train but don’t choreograph), this is exempt from any payment conditions imposed by these rules however payment must still be disclosed.

  2. Remuneration of schools are not to be considered in this as School Productions are adjudicated in a separate category and adjudication certificates are to be focused on student-led achievements.

  3. Personal eligibility: A person who has or will receive remuneration in any form for services relative to a production being adjudicated in competition shall not be eligible for any award. In addition, the production itself may not be considered for the Best Production categories of the Finley Awards. It shall be the duty of the representative of the theatre to notify the ITA in advance of the production that the role is disqualified from the Robert Finley Award consideration. To be eligible for an award, the performer must not receive remuneration for the performance or for working in or on a production. The only exception to this rule is the reimbursement of costs associated with purchasing items for the production. Ultimately, the final decision regarding any person’s eligibility will be made by the ITA Committee. If it is discovered that a Company/School has remunerated a person, in a manner other than reimbursement, without declaring it to the ITA, they will be disqualified from the Awards for all entered productions and no refund of entry fees will be given.

  4. The remuneration of the participant will make the participant ineligible for any individual award. These are:
    - The Yvonne Lynch Breakthrough Award
    - The Brian Maddocks Award for Youth in A Play
    - The Veronica Overton-Low Award for Youth in A Musical
    - The Yvonne Hough-Neilson Adjudicators Award
    - The Jenny McNae Adjudicators Award (One Act)
    - The Peter Kemeny Encouragement Award (One Act)
    - Hywell Williams Award for Technical Achievement
    - Best Director (Musical) – Mary Webb Award
    - Best Choreographer
    - Best Musical Director
    - Best Costumes (Musical) (See 4.8 for more detail)
    - Best Set (Musical)
    - Excellence in Lighting Design in a Musical - Jeff Hansen Award
    - Best Actor (Musical)
    - Best Actress (Musical)
    - Best Supporting Actor (Musical)
    - Best Supporting Actress (Musical)
    - Best Director (Play) – Susan Hayward Award
    - Best Costumes (Play) – The Brenda Stanley Award (See 4.8 for more detail)
    - Best Set (Play) – The David Crewes Award
    - Excellence in Lighting Design in a Play - Pauline Lawrence Award
    - Best Actor (Play)
    - Best Actress (Play)
    - Best Supporting Actor (Play)
    - Best Supporting Actress (Play)
    - Best Director (One Act) – Mike Binns Award
    - Best Costumes (One Act) – The Peter Mann Award (See 4.8 for more detail)
    - Best Actor (One Act)
    - Best Actress (One Act)
    - Best Supporting Actor (One Act)
    - Best Supporting Actress (One Act)

  5. The remuneration of the participant will make the theatre/participant ineligible for the following club level awards:
    - The Yvonne Hough-Neilson Adjudicators Award
    - Hywell Williams Award for Technical Achievement
    - Best Ensemble in a Play - The Terry Hackett Award
    - Best Ensemble in a Musical - Carole Dhu Award

  6. Except in the case of a rehearsal pianist where the pianist is playing for rehearsals only and not performing another function as part of the production, the remuneration of musicians will make the Musical Director ineligible for Best Musical Director. The remuneration of lead actors will make the Director ineligible for Best Director. The remuneration of directors, choreographers, musical directors, musicians or actors will make the production ineligible for:
    - Best Youth Production
    - The Robert Finley Award for Best Play
    - The Robert Finley Award for Best Musical
    - The Dorothy Barber Award for Best Overall Production (One Act)
    - The Rob De Vaack Award for Most Innovative Production (One Act)

  7. Where costumes have been hired, or bought, the theatre/costume designer is still eligible for an award unless the costumes have been hired as a standard set for that production. For example, if a theatre staging “Fiddler on the Roof” hires the costumes of another company’s “Fiddler on the Roof” or buys costumes designed for a staging of “Fiddler on the Roof” then the designer/theatre is ineligible for the award. Where the production has been staged by the club previously and the same costumes are used the designer also becomes ineligible. Unless stated above, the ineligibility of an individual award or club award does not negate the awarding of other awards to that production. For example, a person ineligible for Best Musical Director does not make a lead actor/actress ineligible for a Best Actor or Actress award. Likewise, ineligibility for Best Youth Production, Best Play or Best Musical does not make a lead ineligible for Best Actor or Actress.

Section 5: Penalties and withdrawal of nominations

  1. Any breach of these Rules, whether deliberate or negligent may result in a disqualification. The ITA reserves the right to determine elements or the entirety of a production to be ineligible owing to a breach of the Rules.

  2. Adjudicators are appointed at the discretion of the ITA Committee. Refusing entry to an adjudicator will see that production disqualified from the Finley Awards and forfeit of the entry fee.

  3. Entrants acknowledge that the application fee will not be refunded.

  4. Entries can be withdrawn by contacting the ITA Secretary.

  5. As submissions to the Robert Finley Awards are made by member clubs, only the relevant member club can request for the withdrawal of a nomination in an applicable category.

  6. Adjudicators are volunteering their time to facilitate the Finley Awards and any abuse - verbal, written or otherwise - will not be tolerated. The ITA Committee reserves the right to investigate any reported abuse of Adjudicators and may take disciplinary action at their discretion, which may include full disqualification of that club’s entire season for the theatrical year.

  7. Entrants acknowledge that fees associated with a production cannot be refunded after a performance has been adjudicated, or if adjudicators are in transit to the performance.

Section 6: Miscellaneous

  1. Your entry form becomes the adjudicators notification form. If your theatre is in a larger facility, like a school, please also include directions from the car park to the theatre. 

  2. Please notify the ITA immediately if you cancel or change a production that has been entered. 

  3. Please make sure that the Box Office phone number is a number where the adjudicators can make an actual booking or leave a message about making a booking. 

  4. Please make sure that the contact phone number is one that is monitored right up to curtain up, so the adjudicators can contact you if they get lost or need to notify you of a cancellation. If there is no box office, please provide the contact details of someone who can organise tickets for the adjudicator. 

  5. Please have your box office keep track of the adjudicators reservations. You can help us by notifying the ITA ten days before closing night if adjudicators have not reserved tickets by then. 

  6. If your program is only provided in a digital format, please email a digital file to the ITA Committee prior to opening night so that it may be distributed to and archived by the adjudicators for future reference.

  7. Please ensure your programs acknowledge the correct cast, crew and creatives as adjudicators will use this when considering nominations for awards and adjudicators certificates. Any errors in the program may then flow through to erroneous nominations.

  8. Member Clubs are responsible for engraving trophies from the Finley Awards and returning perpetual trophies to the ITA by 31 October in preparation for the following Finley Awards event.