ABOUT US
Mission Statement
Encouraging promising talent in an often challenging business.
What is the Theatre World Award?
At an annual ceremony and a party attended by former winners and invited members of the theatre community, twelve actors are presented with a Theatre World Award in recognition of their debut performance in a Broadway or Off-Broadway production.
The Theatre World Award remains the oldest award given for a debut theatre performance On or Off-Broadway. The contribution this Award has made to the theatre is incalculable. It is not a competition and is it only given once. Because it is given for a debut performance, it encourages and inspires newcomers to the stage to continue to pursue their dream. It is freely given at a time when encouragement is so necessary for an industry known more for rejection than reception.
The Theatre World Award winners are chosen by the Theatre World Awards Committee, which is comprised of Linda Armstrong (Amsterdam News), David Cote (The Observer), Joe Dziemianowicz (New York Theatre Guide), Peter Filichia (Broadway Radio), David Finkle (New York Stage Review), Elysa Gardner (The New York Sun), Harry Haun (Observer.com), Cary Wong (The Interested Bystander), and Frank Scheck (New York Stage Review/The Hollywood Reporter).
John Willis, Founder
The Theatre World Award John Willis bestowed to 'newcomers to Broadway' was like a benediction; a sign, that somehow, someway, one was on the right path.
-Rosemary Harris (1953 winner for THE CLIMATE OF EDEN)
Our Founder
John Willis was the Editor-in-Chief of both Theatre World and its companion volume, Screen World, for over forty years.
Theatre World and Screen World are the oldest definitive pictorial and statistical records of each American theatrical season, as well as foreign and domestic film season, and are referenced daily by industry professionals, students, and historians worldwide. Mr. Willis also served as Editor of Dance World, Opera World, A Pictorial History of the American Theatre 1860-1985, and A Pictorial History of the Silent Screen. Previously, he served as assistant to Theatre World founder Daniel Blum on Great Stars of the American Stage, Great Stars of Film, A Pictorial History of the Talkies, A Pictorial History of Television, and A Pictorial Treasury of Opera in America.
For over 40 years, he presided over the presentation of the Theatre World Awards. Begun in 1945 and presented by past winners, they are the oldest awards given to actors in a debut role on or Off-Broadway. On behalf of Theatre World, Mr. Willis received a Special Tony Honor for Excellence in the Theatre, as well as awards from Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel, the Broadway Theater Institute, National Board of Review, Marquis Who's Who Publications Board, and Milligan College. He served on the nominating committees for the Tony Awards and the New York University Hall of Fame, and was on the board of the University of Tennessee Clarence Brown Theatre.
Mr. Willis was a graduate of Milligan College and did graduate work at Indiana University, Harvard University, and the University of Tennessee, and served as an educator in the New York public school system for 20 years.
Mr. Willis, at 93 years young, passed away only a few weeks after attending the 2010 Awards Ceremony. At his memorial, Rosemary Harris (1953 Theatre World Award winner for The Climate of Eden) remarked: "The Theatre World Award he bestowed to 'newcomers to Broadway' was like a benediction; a sign, that somehow, someway, one was on the right path.”
The goal of the TWA Board of Directors is to continue his legacy of "encouraging promising talent in an often challenging business."