# No more guaranteed yearly Tony awards for Sound Design



## gafftapegreenia (Jun 11, 2014)

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/2014/06/11/arts/ap-us-tony-awards-sound-design.html?hp&_r=2

The categories of Best Sound Design for a Play and Best Sound Design for a Musical have been struck to the wings. Special honorary awards may be given "when extraordinary sound design has been achieved".

So, if the reasoning for cutting the Sound Design awards is that Sound Design should only be recognized when its "good enough", shouldn't all the other awards be made optional as well?


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## derekleffew (Jun 11, 2014)

Jeez, Louise (pull me offa my knees), it wasn't THAT long ago (2007-08 season) that the Tonys started recognizing Sound Design as honorable in the first place. (Perhaps if they could count past two...)

OTOH, the (unaired) "In Memoriam" reel contained at least four dead stage managers.

And I thought Hugh's Hopping opening number was dumb.

Kevin Adams' gold lamé jacket was just a bit much.


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## Tabetha White (Jun 11, 2014)

The Tony Awards have taken Sound Design off the list of awards for future seasons! Sign this petition to ask them to reinstate the award-
http://www.thepetitionsite.com/470/217/554/reinstate-the-tony-award-categories-for-sound-design-now/


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## Footer (Jun 12, 2014)

Eh. Who cares. If you really want to get into it they should open it up to all LORT A theaters instead of a 6 block radius on a tiny island. Does anyone here actually care? 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Tapatalk


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## TheaterEd (Jun 12, 2014)

It's not like we'll ever hear their speeches anyways. All the tech awards are relegated to the commercial breaks with other inconsequential awards like LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT!


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## Jay Ashworth (Jun 13, 2014)

More: m.prosoundnetwork.com/article/tony-awards-kill-sound-design-categories/17868

Sent from my SPH-L720


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## rochem (Jun 18, 2014)

Footer said:


> Eh. Who cares. If you really want to get into it they should open it up to all LORT A theaters instead of a 6 block radius on a tiny island. Does anyone here actually care?



Forgive me, but this is a terrible attitude to have. Yes, the Tonys are nothing more than a really expensive commercial for the shows in that 6 block radius. We all know this, and it's the same as every other highly publicized awards show out there. Major awards and nominations are decided as much by politics as they are by merit. This is not to say that the people casting their Tony votes are dishonest - rather, since every award the Tonys recognizes is subjective, there's no possible way to objectively identify the "best" of a group without being subconsciously biased by external factors.

However, this doesn't make the removal of a Tony for a design category any less alarming. How would you feel if a large group of your peers got together and decided that the art form that you had dedicated your life to, and probably earned multiple degrees in, wasn't really art after all? Your post reflects an extremely narrow-minded and insensitive view of the issue, one that ignores the long-term effects that a decision like this will have - effects like lower pay for Sound Designers, smaller resources and budgets, and a lack of inclusion into the design process, where Sound Designers are already fighting for a seat at the table. And if you think this decision won't affect theatres at the LORT level, you're very much mistaken. 

I am not a designer at all, but I have the pleasure of knowing lots of Sound Designers - many who have earned or were eligible for Tony nominations - who now face the possibilities of lowering design fees, less respect from their fellow theatre artists, and having to explain to their kids why Daddy's job isn't as important as the other jobs. In the grand scheme of things, Tony awards don't mean much. But to an individual desperately trying to make it in the industry, even a nomination can be a huge career stepping stone - one that they no longer have access to.


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## Footer (Jun 18, 2014)

rochem said:


> Forgive me, but this is a terrible attitude to have. Yes, the Tonys are nothing more than a really expensive commercial for the shows in that 6 block radius. We all know this, and it's the same as every other highly publicized awards show out there. Major awards and nominations are decided as much by politics as they are by merit. This is not to say that the people casting their Tony votes are dishonest - rather, since every award the Tonys recognizes is subjective, there's no possible way to objectively identify the "best" of a group without being subconsciously biased by external factors.
> 
> However, this doesn't make the removal of a Tony for a design category any less alarming. How would you feel if a large group of your peers got together and decided that the art form that you had dedicated your life to, and probably earned multiple degrees in, wasn't really art after all? Your post reflects an extremely narrow-minded and insensitive view of the issue, one that ignores the long-term effects that a decision like this will have - effects like lower pay for Sound Designers, smaller resources and budgets, and a lack of inclusion into the design process, where Sound Designers are already fighting for a seat at the table. And if you think this decision won't affect theatres at the LORT level, you're very much mistaken.
> 
> I am not a designer at all, but I have the pleasure of knowing lots of Sound Designers - many who have earned or were eligible for Tony nominations - who now face the possibilities of lowering design fees, less respect from their fellow theatre artists, and having to explain to their kids why Daddy's job isn't as important as the other jobs. In the grand scheme of things, Tony awards don't mean much. But to an individual desperately trying to make it in the industry, even a nomination can be a huge career stepping stone - one that they no longer have access to.



First, the creator of the art has the ability to call it art. If they "believe" its art, it is. Walk though MOMA, you can see this in action. 

If there are sound designers out there who want to get their rocks off and be in charge and important, move over to the R&R world where they rule the roost and lighting and scenery take a back seat. 

For a musical, it is as much as a feet of acoustical engineering then it is a design artform. On the scale of TD vs scenic designer the sound designer does play more TD. That is the honest truth. For legit theatre, it can sway either direction. But... for straight musicals your more on the technical side. You really can't argue that. 

If design fees lower due to this I would be blown away... and 829 is not doing its job right. Who cares what your kids think... if your bringing a paycheck home and supporting a family with money earned in this industry you win no matter what. Drama desk awards are still out there and still have a sound design category. Who cares about the art or what people think. If you get paid to do this well enough to live in NYC, you won. 

The big thing is... why do we actually care about the Tonys? To be eligible you have to do a show in 1 of 40 theatres. A quarter of those theatres have had the same show in them for the last 10 years, some more. So, you have to get hired to do one of the 15-20 shows that are opening. At that point, one would think you have already made it. You have spent your time in a LORT house. You have done the off broadway thing. You probably have an MFA that you are regretting every time you make a student loan payment. You have made it. A Tony nomination is not going to change that. A producer knows they want to hire the best because they want the audience to hear the show. They won't think less of the person because of the lack of a piece of metal on their desk. 

I would care more if the Tonys were not limited to those 40 venues. Chicago, Minneapolis, Atlanta, Boston, and Dallas (+many more) ALL have great regional theaters. Hell, Brooklyn has some good stuff these days. Why are these sound designers not included? Why should the world look at these 40 theatres and only these 40 theatres? The Oscars does not limit it to films only shot at Paramount and Warner Brother studios. The Emmys does not limit it to CBS, ABC, and NBC. 

So, with that, I pretty much right off the whole thing. Its not a national award. Its a midtown theatre award that happens to be broadcast to the world. If you feel you need an award to be validated or to get farther in this industry you should just get out now. This is not little league. Everyone does not get a trophy.


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## StradivariusBone (Jun 18, 2014)

Q2Q seemed oddly relevant to this discussion...


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## Joshualangman (Jun 28, 2014)

The Tony committee recently voted to eliminate the sound design categories. If you'd like to join the many designers and theatre artists who are protesting this decision, sign the petition:

http://www.thepetitionsite.com/470/217/554/reinstate-the-tony-award-categories-for-sound-design-now/

The Dramatists Guild says:

The Steering Committee of the Dramatists Guild, on behalf of its council, has written to the Tony Administration Committee in objection to its recent decision to discontinue the Tony Award for best sound design.
The Guild feels the decision may have been hastily made, with insufficient preparation, debate and discussion, and without explanation to the theater community at large.
We understand that there may be an insufficient understanding among the Tony nominators and voters about the art of sound design, such that some may feel it renders the award illegitimate. But a similar argument could be put forth regarding the other design categories as well, and orchestrations, too. The answer may be in making a greater effort to educate the voters, with the help of the sound designers, rather than elimination of the category.
It has also been said that the impact of sound board operators creates too great a variation in the sound at any given performance for voters to truly appreciate the design, but that is the nature of evaluating live performances. There are nightly variations in the execution of all the awarded categories, but we do not eliminate the awards based on that; we simply take that into consideration when nominating and voting in those categories.
In light of these factors, we have respectfully requested that the Tony Administration Committee reconsider its decision to discontinue the Tony for best sound design and re-open the debate at its next meeting.
If you would like to express your views on this matter, we have attached a link to the petition that has been put forth so that you may consider adding your name to its rolls.​And here's an open letter by the creator of QLab:

http://figure53.com/notes/2014-06-15-tony-can-you-hear-me/

Some discussion on the sound design forum:

https://groups.google.com/forum/?fromgroups#!topic/theatre-sound-list/ueovP1PT1mE

You can also find many more discussions online, including on Twitter ([HASHTAG]#tonycanyouhearme[/HASHTAG]).

MOD EDIT: MERGED FROM OTHER THREAD


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