New York Innovative Theatre Awards

The New York Innovative Theatre Awards (IT Awards) were founded in 2004. These annual awards honor excellence in Off-Off-Broadway Theatre and help nurture and promote the Off-Off-Broadway community.

The New York Innovative Theatre Foundation was created to bring recognition to the great work being done in New York City's Off-Off-Broadway, to honor its artistic heritage, and to provide a meeting ground for this extensive community. The organization advocates for Off-Off-Broadway and recognizes the unique and essential role it plays in contributing to American and global culture. We believe that publicly recognizing excellence in Off-Off-Broadway will expand audience awareness and appreciation of the full New York theatre experience.

The IT Awards is a not-for-profit arts organization supporting the Off-Off-Broadway community by:

This organization was founded in 2004 by Jason Bowcutt, Shay Gines and Nick Micozzi.

STAFF: Shay Gines, Executive Director; Nick Micozzi, Executive Director; Akia, Company Manager; Christopher Borg, Communications & Outreach; Hillary Cohen, Judge Wrangler; Desmond Dutcher, Judge Coordinator; Doug Strassler, Update Editor; Morgan Lindsay Tachco, Community Services Manager; Katie Rosin, Public Relations

BOARD OF DIRECTORS: Jason Bowcutt, Roman Feeser, Shay Gines, Benjamin Hodges, Bob Lee, Roger LeFevre, Leone Rendon de Litt, Nick Micozzi, Linda S. Nelson

ALUMNI STAFF/BOARD: Michael Michell, Board President; Tim Pinckney, Board Member; Nancy Kim, Members Coordinator; Emily Sandack, Update Editor

The awards are selected based on a peer evaluation system that includes adjudication from 3 assigned Off-Off-Broadway artists as well as the average of audience votes.

The judging system is a direct result of the endeavour to provide opportunities for artists to see each other's work and create a venue for them to become familiar with other Off-Off-Broadway companies and artists, some of which they might otherwise never know.

In 2008 a video was created to detail this process and can be viewed on YouTube.

The IT Awards authored a book entitled Producing Off-Off-Broadway which will be published by United Stages in 2007.

The 2011 New York Innovative Theatre Awards were held on Monday, September 19 at Cooper Union's Great Hall in New York City and was attended by 800 artists and their guests. The event was hosted by comedian Harrison Greenbaum, directed by Tom Wojtunik and a presentation by the Flux Theatre Ensemble. Presenters included Susan Stroman, Jay O. Sanders, David Henry Hwang, John Glover, Shirley Knight, and John Patrick Shanley.

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