1. Overview
   
   1. Name of organization – the name of the corporation shall be the Washington Area Theater Community Honors (WATCH), hereinafter referred to as "WATCH".
      
   2. Mission statement – WATCH is an organization founded for the adjudication and presentation of annual awards recognizing artistic and technical excellence in community theater throughout the metropolitan Washington, D.C. area, and that these honors will:

      Foster and encourage the growth of community theater;
      Promote and enhance the image of community theater; and
      Educate and inform the general public about the theatrical opportunities provided by the member theaters.

   3. Corporate structure – WATCH shall be governed by a board of directors composed of a representative from each member theater (see section III.A.). Day to day operations shall be handled by the officers and coordinators as approved by the board of directors (see section III.A.).
      
   4. Finances – WATCH shall operate under a fiscal year from January 1 to December 31. All bank accounts shall be under the name Washington Area Theater Community Honors (WATCH). Signatory power shall rest with the treasurer and chair of the board of directors.
      
   5. Non-profit status – WATCH shall operate as a not-for-profit entity. Costs of running the corporation and administering the awards process shall be covered by the membership dues.  The awards ceremony shall be covered by membership dues, admission receipts, individual donations and/or corporate sponsorships/grants.
      
2. Membership
   
   1. Admission – any theater that meets the WATCH membership criteria may petition for membership. Petitions may be granted by the board of directors at any time during the year, but participation in the judging process will not begin until the beginning of the next judging session (calendar year). In order to participate in the upcoming judging session (calendar year) each member theater must submit its adjudicators and pay its dues by November 1 of the year preceding.
      
   2. Eligibility criteria for membership are as follows. Member theaters must:
      
      1. Produce a minimum of three full length productions each season. Reviews and compilations of one-acts shall only be eligible for adjudication if they are commercially available and traditionally presented in that format. “Radio Plays” and “Staged Readings” are not eligible for adjudication. However, radio plays, staged readings, original reviews or one-act compilations may be used to meet the WATCH membership criteria if they are presented as part of a theater’s regular main stage season.
         
      2. Be volunteer in nature and mission, excluding dinner theaters and children’s theaters.  Any payment, honoraria or other financial distributions to on-stage performers (excluding orchestra) constitutes a breach of this tenet.
         
      3. Perform within the accepted boundaries of the greater metropolitan Washington area (District of Columbia; Maryland counties of Prince Georges and Montgomery; Virginia counties of Fairfax and Arlington and encompassed cities). A group with a performance facility in a county that does not touch or fall within the Washington, D.C. Capitol Beltway (I-95/I-495) requires a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote by the Board to accept membership.
         
      4. Meet the previous criteria for two complete and consecutive seasons
      5. Eligibility waivers may be granted by a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote by the entire Board to accept membership and may be done via e-mail to the Chair and Secretary when meeting quorum does not constitute  the entire Board.  If a company requires multiple waivers, each waiver will be voted on separately (e.g. geographic, number of shows in season, history of company, etc.) so that a clear reason may be presented to the petitioner if declined.
      6. Petitions must be received before June 30 to be considered for membership.  A representative from the petitioning company must attend at least one meeting before a petition will be granted.
         
   3. Status – there shall be four classes of members:
      
      1. Charter Members – shall have participated in the planning and creation of the corporation by July 1, 1999. This group shall appoint the initial board of directors who will review the petitions of additional theaters wishing to participating in the inaugural season (January 1, 2000 – December 31, 2000). This class of members will be honorary after the inaugural season to recognize those theaters who participated in the formation of WATCH (See appendix A).
         
      2. Active – those members who are current with their dues, have provided the requisite number of adjudicators for the judging process and have provided a representative to the board of directors.
         
      3. Inactive – those members whose theater ceases production for reasons beyond its control but who wish to remain associated with WATCH. This status may only be granted by the board of directors as the situation warrants. Membership dues for inactive members will be determined by the board of directors as appropriate. The representative on the board of directors may continue to represent the inactive member theater, but voting may be restricted by the board as appropriate.
         
      4. Applicant – those members who have been successfully granted membership during a judging session (calendar year) but whose productions will not be judged until the following session may send a non-voting member to the board of directors for the purpose of representation on any issues that may affect the upcoming session. Dues (if any) shall be determined by the board of directors as necessary.
         
   4. Dues – each member theater must pay its administrative dues by November 1 of the year preceding the judging period. These dues shall be set by the board of directors as appropriate.
      
   5. Member Grievances – if any member theater has grievances about how the awards process is run or the administration of the corporation, their representative on the board is encouraged to bring them before the entire board of directors for discussion.
      
   6. Withdrawal – any member theater who wishes to withdraw may do so at any time by submitting their intentions in writing to the board of directors. If said resignation occurs during a adjudication period the board will notify the adjudication coordinator of the withdrawal and he will notify the adjudicators scheduled to judge that theater’s remaining productions not to do so. Productions already judged shall be removed from the tally (adjudication coordinator to notify the commercial accounting firm), however scores submitted by the withdrawing theater’s adjudicators shall remain in effect. The withdrawing theater forfeits their dues paid.
      
3. Administrative Structure

1. Board of Directors – shall manage the affairs of the corporation and oversee the awards process
   
   1. Number, tenure and qualification. The number of directors shall equal the number of member theaters for the current judging session (calendar year). Each member theater should appoint a representative (and specify an alternate) to this board. Board members will serve one year terms from July 1 through June 30. The number of terms an individual may serve on the board shall be determined by the member theater appointing him/her. Member theaters are encouraged to send a representative to the WATCH board who also sits on the theater’s board.
      
   2. Meetings. The WATCH board of directors shall meet at minimum quarterly to discuss the regular business of the corporation. Special meetings may be called as necessary by the chair. Notice of any special meeting must be given at least two weeks prior by written notice or by phone or email, with acknowledgement of receipt returned.
      
   3. Quorum – for the WATCH board shall be simple majority.
      
   4. Voting – each board member shall receive equal vote in any matter being decided by the board. A vote requires majority of quorum to pass unless otherwise specified in these bylaws.
      
   5. Vacancies – any board member who resigns for any reason during the year will be replaced by his/her member theater board. Such change in representation should be in writing to the WATCH board from the member theater’s president.
      
   6. Officers – the board of directors at its first meeting of the upcoming session shall elect from within the following officers: chair, treasurer, recording secretary.
      
      1. Chair – shall run the meetings of the board of directors
      2. Treasurer – shall pay the bills, collect the dues, maintain any financial accounts and records of the corporation.
      3. Recording Secretary – shall recording the minutes of the board meetings.
      4. Powers – these officers have no greater authority than any other board member in deciding matters, but are necessary for the purpose administering the corporation.
         
   7. Vacancies – if any of the three officers leaves the board of directors for any reason, their position shall be filled by vote of the board of directors at the next meeting (allowing the affected member theater time to appoint a replacement to the board).
      
   8. Officers may be removed from office by a 2/3 vote of the full board of directors.
      
2. Coordinators
   
   1. The board of directors shall approve a committee of coordinators to handle the administrative operation of the awards process. Coordinator positions shall be created by the board of directors as necessary, but must include:
      
      1. Adjudication Coordinator – responsible for the administration of the adjudication process. He/she coordinates the matrix assigning each adjudicator to a particular production for adjudication. He/she coordinates with the accounting firm enlisted to tabulate the scores. He/she is a non-voting member of the board of directors, unless he/she is a member theater’s representative on the board of directors, in which case he/she shall have that theater’s vote. His/her term of office shall be November 1 from the year preceding the adjudication year through the awards presentation for that year the following March (approximately a 17 month commitment).
         
      2. Criteria coordinator – responsible for monitoring the adjudication criteria, training of the adjudicators, creating the ballots, and coordinating changes to the award criteria as necessary for submission to the board of directors for approval.
         
      3. Other coordinators as deemed necessary by the board of directors
         
   2. Nominations/elections/terms of office – a coordinator will be nominated by a member theater and approved by the board of directors for the upcoming adjudication period (calendar year). Nominations should be made prior to November 1 for approval of the board. Each coordinator shall hold that office for one year. Coordinators may hold the office for more than one session upon approval of the board of directors. Vacancies of any position shall be filled by soliciting nominations and approval of the board of directors. The adjudication coordinator can be removed by a 2/3 vote of the board of directors. Any other coordinator may be removed by a simple majority of the board of directors. Any vacancy shall be filled by the board of directors as necessary.
4. The Awards Process
   
   1. There shall be 28 awards presented for outstanding achievement in the theater arts by the member theaters in 28 categories as approved by the board of directors (see appendix B). Plus any special awards as deemed appropriate by the board of directors.
      
   2. The awards shall be presented at an event deemed appropriate by the board of directors on the first Sunday in March the year following the adjudication period, or on a date approved by the board of directors. Awards shall be sponsored as deemed appropriate by the board of directors.
      
   3. The judging session shall be based on a calendar year, the first year to start on January 1, 2000, ending December 31, 2000. All main-stage productions opened during that year shall be eligible for competition. The session for adjudication shall be the year in which the production opens regardless of when it closes or when it auditions or rehearses.
      
   4. Each member theater will appoint at its own discretion the requisite number of adjudicators as required of all theaters as determined by the board. Adjudicators should have expertise in production and/or technical theater. Adjudicators should be appointed by November 1 of the year preceding competition and reported to the Adjudication Coordinator.
      
   5. Adjudicators will be assigned productions to score using an electronic matrix to guarantee random assignments. A matrix validation will be performed by a committee of no less than two people (including the current adjudication coordinator) according to statistical data from previous two years to assure a balanced distribution of judges to each show. If an adjudicator is unable to score a particular production, the Adjudication Coordinator will coordinate an exchange to ensure the requisite number of adjudicators score each production. Each adjudicator will be assigned up to 10 productions during the calendar year.
      
   6. Criteria for scoring each element shall be approved by the board of directors. The Criteria Coordinator will coordinate any changes in the criteria which would then be approved by the board of directors.
      
   7. Each member theater’s productions will be eligible providing they meet the criteria listed under membership criteria (section II-B). Reviews and compilations of one-acts shall only be eligible if they are commercially available and traditionally presented in that format.  Productions scheduled for fewer than six performances are not eligible for adjudication, although they may be counted toward the company's qualification to participate in WATCH.
      
   8. Each eligible production will be assigned to a total of 10 judges for adjudication (chosen randomly by the computerized matrix), each of whom will complete a ballot sent directly (via mail or electronic transmission) to the independent tabulator. Tabulation rules will be maintained as an appendix to the by-laws (Appendix E). A list of the nominees will be made available for notification and publicity prior to the presentation event.
      
   9. No adjudicator will score a production by his/her member theater. No adjudicator shall represent more than one member theater. No adjudicator shall score a show he/she is directly involved with. The Adjudication Coordinator will handle any swapping of shows by adjudicators if a conflict of interest arises and shall report such actions to the board of directors.
      
5. Bylaw amendments
   
   1. Must be presented to the board of directors in writing. The board will discuss the amendments at the meeting at which they are presented. Amendments shall be accomplished by a 2/3 vote of the full board (not quorum) at the next full board or special meeting. This is so each board member may take the amendment back to his/her theater’s board for further discussion (if any) prior to the vote.
      
6. Dissolution, Merger or Consolidation
   
   1. At any special meeting of the board of directors where the purpose has been stated in the notice of meeting (sent 30 days in advance), the corporation may elect to dissolve, merge or consolidate with another organization by a 2/3 vote of the full board of directors. In this event, the board of directors shall liquidate its assets and distribute them in accordance with the law and the articles of incorporation.

ORIGINAL BY-LAWS (EXCLUDING CHANGES NOTED IN APPENDIX C) WERE APPROVED 7/11/99

APPENDIX A

Charter Members of WATCH and Inuagural Season Members for 2000:

The Arlington Players

Castaways Repertory Theater

Elden Street Players

Hard Bargain Players

Little Theatre of Alexandria

Montgomery Playhouse

Port Tobacco Players

Prince William Little Theatre

Reston Community Players

Tapestry Theater Company

APPENDIX B

Awards Presented by WATCH are for Outstanding Achievement in the following areas:

APPENDIX C

Approved Bylaw Changes:

11/00 - Section IV, Paragraphs D and E - The number of judges was increased to five from four in order to reduce the number of productions adjudicated by each judge to ten or fewer per year.

07/15/01 - Section II., Paragraph B  - Eligibility criteria for membership, subparagraph 3 be amended to as follows: Perform within the accepted boundaries of the greater metropolitan Washington area (District of Columbia; Maryland counties of Prince Georges and Montgomery; Virginia counties of Fairfax and Arlington and encompassed cities). A group with a performance facility in a county that does not touch or fall within the Washington, D.C. Capitol Beltway (495) requires a two-thirds (2/3) majority vote by the Board to accept membership.

Previous language was as follows:  Perform within the accepted boundaries of the greater metropolitan Washington area (District of Columbia; Maryland counties: Montgomery, Frederick, Howard, Anne Arundel, Prince Georges, and Charles; Virginia counties: Arlington, Loudon, Fairfax, Prince William, Fauquier, Stafford and encompassed cities).

07/15/01 - Section IV., Paragraph A, - Change the number of categories and awards from 25 to 26. 

07/15/01 - Appendix B - Elimination of the combined category award for Make-Up/Hair.  The addition to Appendix B of one technical category award for Hair and one technical category award for Make-Up. The total number of Technical awards in Appendix should be changed from ten (10) to eleven (11). (effective for adjudication in the 2002 calendar year)

09/30/01 - Section IV., Paragraph A  is amended to reflect the following: A. There shall be twenty-eight (28) awards presented for outstanding achievement in the theater arts by the member theaters in twenty-eight (28) categories as approved by the board of directors. Plus any special awards as deemed appropriate by the board of directors. 

09/30/01 - Appendix B is amended to reflect the following: Amend Performance (8) to Performance (10) and add the two following awards under this category: Cameo Performance in a Play and Cameo Performance in a Musical. 

10/07/02 - Section II, Paragraph B Articles 5 and 6 - added to the by-laws to allow the board the ability to grant waivers on individual eligibility requirements on a case by case basis.  Also the deadline for petitioning to join WATCH was specified as June 30.  The word "president" was originally approved but changed to "chair" for consistency in the by-laws, since the office of president does not exist in WATCH.

7/20/03 -  Section I, Paragraph E - changed the following original language: "The awards themselves shall be covered by individual sponsors. The awards ceremony shall be covered by admission receipts and corporate sponsorship and/or grants." to the following language:  "The awards ceremony shall be covered by membership dues, admission receipts, individual donations and/or corporate sponsorships/grants."

7/20/03 - Section II, Paragraph B, Article 1 - changed the following original language: "Original reviews or One-Act Evenings may be used to meet the WATCH membership criteria if they are presented as part of a theater’s regular season." to the following language: "“Radio Plays” and “Staged Readings” are not eligible for adjudication. However, radio plays, staged readings, original reviews or one-act compilations may be used to meet the WATCH membership criteria if they are presented as part of a theater’s regular main stage season."

7/20/03 - Section II, Paragraph B, Article 2 - added the following language to further define the meaning of volunteer in nature: "Any payment, honoraria or other financial distributions to on-stage performers (excluding orchestra) constitutes a breach of this tenet."

7/20/03 - Section III, Paragraph A, Article 6, Sub-article b - changed the following original language: "shall pays the bills, collects the dues, maintains any financial accounts of the corporation. Maintains all financial records of the corporation." to the following language: "shall pay the bills, collect the dues, maintain any financial accounts and records of the corporation."

7/20/03 - Section IV, Paragraph H - This section defined the original plan for tabulation.  The change moved the tabulation rules to an appendix still being finalized.

1/6/04 - Appendix D updated for 2004.

4/18/04 - Appendix E approved.

1/1/05 - Appendix D updated for 2005.

7/12/05 - Section IV, Paragraph G -  The following statement was added.  "Productions scheduled for fewer than six performances are not eligible for adjudication, although they may be counted toward the company's qualification to participate in WATCH."  This change to the by-laws is effective as of 1/1/2006.

10/30/05 - Appendix D, updated for 2006.

10/18/06 - Appendix D, updated for 2007

10/18/06 - Section !V, Paragraph D - The following statement was changed: "Each member theater will appoint at its own discretion five adjudicators." to the following: "Each member theater will appoint at its own discretion the requisite number of adjudicators as required of all theaters as determined by the board."  This change allows the board to annually set the number of judges per company (for the following year) without requiring a formal by-law change process, and according to a majority vote by the quorum at a regular board meeting.  This change was approved and is effective as of 10/15/06.

10/18/06 - Section IV, Paragraph E - The following statement was changed: "This will be done by the Adjudication Coordinator." to the following: "A matrix validation will be performed by a committee of no less than two people (including the current adjudication coordinator) according to statistical data from previous two years to assure a balanced distribution of judges to each show.".  This change was approved and is effective as of 10/15/06.

APPENDIX D

List of Participating Companies by Adjudication Year:

2000 - Charter Membership Year

2001 

2002

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

2008

Officers of WATCH - History

1998 - Al Edick
1999 - John Monnett, TAP (Chair), Bob Bartlett, HBP (Treasurer), Eleanore Tapscott/Peggy Jones, TTC (Secretary)
2000 - John Monnett, TAP (Chair), Bob Bartlett, HBP (Treasurer), Peggy Jones, TTC & Sue Pinkman, RCP (Secretary)
2001 - Sue Pinkman, RCP (Chair), John Monnett, TAP (Treasurer), Mary-Anne Sullivan, CRT (Secretary)
2002 - Sue Pinkman, RCP (Chair), John Monnett, TAP (Treasurer), Mary-Anne Sullivan, CRT (Secretary)
2003 - Kye-Won Kopko, AMS (Chair), Seth Ghitelman, RLT (Treasurer), Scott Olson, CRT (Secretary)
2004 - Kye-Won Kopko, TCP (Chair), Seth Ghitelman, RLT (Treasurer), Scott Olson, CRT (Secretary)
2005 - Todd C. Huse, ESP (Chair), Bailey Center, ACCT (Treasurer), Leta Hall, SSS (Secretary)
2006 - Todd C. Huse, ESP (Chair), Bailey Center, ACCT (Treasurer), Leta Hall, SSS (Secretary)
2007 - Bailey Center, ACCT (Chair), Jim Robertson, CCP (Treasurer), Sue Pinkman, RCP (Secretary)

Adjudication Coordinator History
2000 - Don Wilson, PWLT
2001 - Don Wilson, PWLT
2002 - Suzanne Fehl, PTP
2003 - Suzanne Fehl, PTP
2004 - Suzanne Fehl/Donohue, HBP
2005 - Suzanne Donohue, HBP
2006 - Leta Hall, SSS
2007 - Leta Hall, SSS
2008 - Leta Hall, SSS

APPENDIX E

Tabulation Rules

1. (as of Jan. 2005) To be accepted for scoring, all ballots must be received within thirty days of the closing date of the show (or postmarked December 31st, whichever occurs first). Ballots received later than 30 days from closing (or postmarked December 31st, whichever occurs first) will not be accepted or included in the average score.
2. As of the deadline, any shows that have received eight ballots or more shall be considered closed.
3. For any shows that fail to have at least seven ballots received for tabulation before the deadline, board representatives will attempt to collect outstanding ballots until seven or more ballots is reached.
4. A “final tabulation day” and tabulation committee will be established with the cooperation of the board of directors and the tabulation firm no later than one full week prior to the nomination announcement event. The tabulation committee shall be formed to include at least one “neutral” and “disinterested” representative. Traditionally, this has been a board member of a new or returning company that did not participate in adjudication for the tabulation year.
5. Two days before “final tabulation day”, any shows that still fail to have collected at least seven ballots shall be deemed closed. The tabulator will then be granted permission to copy received ballots until the ballot total reaches seven. The second received ballot shall be copied, then the third, then the first. If a show receives less than four ballots, an emergency meeting of the board shall be called to determine a solution.
6. All ballots will be completely entered into an accepted tabulation spreadsheet or database, including all N/A and N/I scores.
7. The tabulation firm will bring the compiled raw electronic data and the original ballots to the place of “final tabulation day”.
8. The ballot data will be averaged as follows:

   a. The sum of the received scores shall be normalized by multiplying the sum by 10 and then divided by the number of scores received (N/A and N/I shall be counted as “no scores” and shall not be counted as a “score received”). From this total, the high score and low score will be subtracted and the final remainder shall be divided by 8 for a final score.

   b. A threshold of 7 minimum ballots has been the accepted limit since the inception of the WATCH Awards program. If, in the future, fewer than seven ballots are received, ballots will be copied until a seven ballot threshold is achieved.

   c. At least seven numeric scores must be received for any element to be “qualified”. This means that any show where only seven ballots are tabulated any elements receiving a score of N/A or N/I by one or more judges shall disqualify the element regardless of other scores.

9. Before any nominations or awards are disclosed to the committee, the tabulation firm may ask clarification from the committee on any of the following areas:
   1. Agreement on which productions were musicals.
   2. Lead, Featured and Cameo designations.
      1. All roles receiving 7 lead or cameo designations are considered set in their category, however it is incumbent upon the committee to review any roles where only 5 or 6 lead designations were provided. If missing ballots or incomplete ballots were cause for the exclusion, the committee is authorized to move the role into the lead or cameo category.
      2. If the cameo category does not have enough roles with 7 designations to fill out a nomination slate of five, then the committee shall agree on a new threshold that does provide at least five nominees.
   3. The tabulation firm will also request approval of any other issues and tabulation resolutions.
10. The tabulation firm will then provide compiled reports to the tabulation committee showing the projected nominees and award recipients.
    1. Ties that result in more than five nominees will be accepted.
    2. The formula implemented in 2003 makes award ties much less likely and any resulting ties should remain.
11. Once all decisions affecting nominations and award recipients have been completed the slate will be declared complete.
12. The committee will then be divided into teams of two. Each team will receive two show packages of ballots to confirm data entry. If errors are discovered, they shall be corrected and each team will continue checking ballots until each team has successfully checked two full show packages of ballots without discovering any errors.
13. All acting awards are split into musical and play categories and by gender of the performer (not the character portrayed). The only exception is the cameo awards which are not split by gender, only by musical and play.
14. All technical and overall elements shall apply to all productions, except for Overall Musical, Overall Play, Direction of a Play and Direction of a Musical which shall be determined by only those productions designated as musicals or plays respectively. It is possible for choreography and music direction to receive nominations from a production deemed to be a play.

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