Elliott Hayes Award

Named in honor of Elliott Hayes, the former dramaturg and literary manager at The Stratford Festival and a dual citizen of Canada and the USA, this award recognizes excellence in dramaturgical work on a specific project over the past two years. Eligible projects may include, but are not limited to, production, season planning and implementation, educational programming, or advocacy for the profession.

Application Information

The recipient of the 2025 Elliott Hayes Award, presented at the annual LMDA conference, will receive $1000 USD and a $500 USD travel stipend to the LMDA conference held in San Diego, CA, USA/Tijuana, Mexico.

There is no application fee. Applications will be evaluated through an anonymous application process. The application is open to all.

Applications will be accepted from March 17 at 12:00 AM ET through May 1, 2025, at 11:59 PM ET. All applicants will be notified of the panel decision and the winner will be notified by May 16, 2025. However, the public announcement will be kept private until the presentation of the award at the LMDA Conference in Summer 2025.

Application Guidelines

For the purposes of this application, if you self-identify as a dramaturg, you are a dramaturg. If you come from a culture that does not view dramaturgy as separate from other parts of the creative process, or does not have a word for dramaturgy, and you feel your work fits within the rubric above, please contact us at admin@lmda.org to speak further.
All applications must meet the above-mentioned standards for eligibility.
Only one application per person.
Although we welcome applicants from anywhere in the world, the application must be in English.
The application must be a minimum of 500 and a maximum of 4000 words. There will be no reward for brevity nor punishment for length. Within the already stated boundaries, the essay should be exactly as long as it takes for you to make a strong, clear, and cogent argument for the nomination you are putting forth.
At this time, we do not have the capability to review secondary materials such as videos or slideshows. Although their inclusion will not disqualify an application, they will not be reviewed. No letters of reference are needed - nor will they be read if sent. As well, please do not include a resume in your application, as we are concerned with only the strength of your proposal and what currently engages you, not your history.
In order to facilitate the anonymous application process, you must provide two separate documents in PDF format:
- The first discussing the work with no identifying information (including the name of the work, your name or the name of the person you are nominating, or the city, state or country in which the event took place. In other words, nothing can be included which is searchable on Google or any other search engine. The phrases "the work", "the director", and "the process" are all fine substitutes.
- The second document will include all of the identifying information not present in the first, including your name and contact info or the name and contact information of the person/work you are proposing. Your application will be reviewed by a panel of dramaturgs who represent the extraordinary talent and diversity found within our profession. Only the Executive Director, who collects applications, will see the identifying information. The panelists will not know the identity of the winner until after a decision has been reached.
Although you are welcome to propose the work of others, that other person must be known to you, you must have had a real-life interaction with said person, and you must be able to provide contact information for them.
Any project you propose cannot have been completed before July 1, 2024. It is fine if the project is still underway. Ideally, it should be completed by December 31, 2025, though exceptions may be made for extraordinary work.
Each project may only be proposed once for the Elliott Hayes Award. While there is no limit to the number of years in a row one can apply (see note below), each year must feature a new project.
The winner of the award must appear at two conferences, either in person or virtually (using an application such as Zoom.) The first appearance would be to accept the award, and the second to present it to the next year's winner.
The winner of the Elliott Hayes Award is required to sit on the next year's adjudication panel.

Note: If you have won or received a special commendation for the Elliott Hayes Award, you may not reapply for three years.

If you have any further questions, feel free to contact Lindsey R. Barr, Executive Director, at admin@lmda.org

If you don't receive an acknowledgement of your application within 72 hours, please contact awards@lmda.org.

We look forward to your consideration!

To Submit

Please upload your essay without identifying information in PDF format and a separate PDF with all of the identifying information outlined here using the form below.