The Gregory Awards began life in 1998 as the Gregory A. Falls Sustained Achievement Award. Over the following 11 years, it honored individuals who spent much of their careers strengthening theatre in our region. In 2009, while continuing this tradition, we also added six annual categories and incorporated the Falls award into our first Gregory Awards, which were presented at a gala event on October 19, 2009 at the Intiman Theatre.
After a three-year pandemic imposed hiatus, we brought back the Gregory Awards for a 23rd annual special event. In 2023 we presented 8 awards. The event was viewed by over 120 screens, including 20 unique watch parties and raised over $9,500 towards our goal of bringing back the fully audited Gregory Awards season and event in 2024.
The Gregory Awards are a way for the Performing Arts community of the Puget Sound to celebrate the outstanding work being done each year.
The Gregory Awards program is a year-long process of nominators being assigned to, attending and nominating shows in the different categories they have entered for consideration. Nominations are collected, finalists are selected, and the active membership of Theatre Puget Sound then has an opportunity to vote to award outstanding work in our community.
TPS members are encouraged to participate in the final voting process for nominees of the Gregory Awards. Regional People’s Choice voting will happen annually to celebrate outstanding organizations in each region. Additionally, after nominations are announced, TPS members will have 30 days to write-in additional nominees for each category. TPS members will then vote on the top nominees in each category.
These votes will be taken into consideration to determine who will be named as the recipient of the award in each category. Information on when and how to vote for the coming season celebration will be shared in the weeks prior to the celebration in October.
2023-2024 Gregory Awards nominating is happening now! Members are welcome to continue submitting their productions with performance dates running up to August 31st, 2024. The 2024 Gregory Awards have not yet received proper funding to host a full and public celebration. We are actively looking for sponsors interested in funding this event so that we can bring our community back together for this celebration.
Gregory A. Falls, a former chair of the UW School of Drama who is credited with creating Seattle’s vibrant theater scene, died April 3, 1997. He was 75 when he died unexpectedly of pneumonia. More than any other individual, Falls was “most responsible for the theater boom in this town,” says Arne Zaslove, artistic director of the Bathhouse Theatre at Green Lake. “He was the impresario of bringing it all together.”
Falls, who founded theaters wherever he went–he started Ohio’s Mad Anthony Players and ran the University of Vermont’s drama program and Champlain Shakespeare Festival before coming to Seattle in 1961–decided to create ACT in 1965 because he saw that the two-year-old Seattle Repertory Theater as mostly committed to classics. He wanted ACT to produce plays that then were revitalizing the American theater.
And he didn’t stop there. He was instrumental in helping other theaters get their start, includng the Empty Space and Intiman.
“He was a gentle gentleman, a gifted theater man and a theater teacher,” says Peter Donnelly, president of the Corporate Council of the Arts.
A native of Russellville, Ark., Falls was always interested in theater. He was active in high school plays, and his mother was known to complain about him loaning out their furniture for theater productions.
A Fulbright scholar, Falls came to Seattle in 1961 to head up the UW School of Drama. He founded the highly acclaimed Professional Actor Training Program and the school’s doctoral program. In addition, he actively engaged as a playwright and play director in the UW comprehensive child drama/theater program.
Under his leadership, the UW drama school became one of the best in the nation. Among the students to come through the Professional Actor Training Program are Patrick Duffy, ’71; Jean Smart, ’74; Pamela Reed, ’75; Kyle MacLachlan, ’82; and Richard Karn, ’79.
Falls left the UW in 1971 to devote more time to ACT, though he stayed on as a part-time faculty member until 1976. He earned a long list of awards for his work in the theater. A former president of the National Theater Conference and Washington Association of Theater Artists, Falls was inducted into the prestigious College of Fellows of the American Theatre in 1994. He is survived by his wife, two sons and two daughters.
– Jon Marmor
A list of all awardees for Gregory Awards is in process and coming soon!
The Gregory Awards are a combined effort from every member of the TPS Staff and Board. From our executive director to our volunteers, it takes community, coordination and passion to organize and execute this event. We appreciate all of the time and effort our team has put toward bringing these awards back to the Puget Sound community. Are you interested in joining the team that helps to bring this season and event to life? Sign up to be a TPS volunteer!
