The Ivey Awards were an annual award show, celebrating Twin Cities (Minneapolis/Saint Paul, Minnesota) professional theater. Established in 2004, the non-nomination based awards served to recognize outstanding achievements within the past theater season in direction, performance, design, etc. The awards were founded by Scott Mayer and administered by a panel of local theater professionals and theater patrons. The Iveys ceased in 2018 due to lack of funding. The Iveys were held each year in September at the historic State Theater, in the theater district of Minneapolis.

About the Award Ceremony

The IVEY awards were created in 2004 in an effort to acknowledge the ever-growing Twin Cities theater community, while providing theater professionals and theater-goers an "annual celebration and recognition ceremony," honoring the previous year's theater season and theatrical accomplishments. The evening of entertainment and awards consists of performances from the past year of theater (ranging from musical theater, dance, scenes), award presentation, and lifetime achievement recognition. Typically, the award presenters, entertainment and hosts are local theater professionals and celebrities. However, the occasional nationally known celebrity, having recent local theatrical experience, has hosted the event and/or presented an award.

Details of the IVEY Awards

Because of the celebratory nature of the IVEY awards, there is not a pre-determined number of awards nor pre-existing categories. Furthermore, the awards are not meant to be a competition, thus there are no nominees. However, there are three general categories included in the recognition ceremony:

Eligibility

Note: all information taken from IVEY Theater Eligibility Requirements Organizations that elect to participate in the project and be considered for Ivey Awards recognition must represent themselves as a professional theater organization. Professional theater organizations that wish to participate or be considered for an award must: All work eligible for an award must: The awards will not cover touring theater or college and university theater.

Recognition Evaluation Process

The process of evaluation was developed to include many theater perspectives. The opinions of a group of 100 evaluators, who represent many aspects of the theater audience (theater professionals [actors, directors, designers], general theater-goers, donors, etc.), attend performances and evaluate certain aspects of each performance. These opinions are collected and further evaluated by the IVEY Award panel, and awards are then decided upon. Furthermore, all opinions from any audience member can contribute to the evaluation process by submittal to the IVEY Award panel, via the official website.

Awards and recipients

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2005

2006

Productions

Individuals

Actor Honorees

Emerging Artist Award

Christiana Clark, performer

Lifetime Achievement Award

Jack Reuler, Artistic Director

2007

Productions

Individual Honorees

Actor Honorees

Emerging Artist Award

Kate Sutton-Johnson, scenic designer

Lifetime Achievement Award

Sheila Livingston

2008

Productions

Individual Honorees

Actor Honorees

Emerging Artist Award

Matthew Amendt, playwright and performer

Lifetime Achievement Award

Don Stoltz

2009

Productions

Individual Honorees

Actor Honorees

Emerging Artist Award

Emily Gunyou Halaas, Performer

Lifetime Achievement Award

Dudley Riggs

2010

Productions

Individual Honorees

Actor Honorees

Emerging Artist Award

Kalere Payton, Costume Designer

Lifetime Achievement Award

Wendy Lehr, Actress

2011

Productions

Individual Honorees

Actor Honorees

Emerging Artist Award

Anna Sundberg, Actress

Lifetime Achievement Award

Bain Boehlke

2012

Productions

Individual Honorees

Actor Honorees

Emerging Artist Award

Isabel Nelson, Actress and Artistic Director

Lifetime Achievement Award

Rick Shiomi

2013

Productions

Individual Honorees

Actor Honorees

Emerging Artist Award

Ricardo Vázquez, Actor, Director and Playwright

Lifetime Achievement Award

Jeffrey Hatcher, Playwright

2014

Productions

Individual Honorees

Actor Honorees

Emerging Artist Award

Tyler Michaels, Actor

Lifetime Achievement Award

Michael Robins and Bonnie Morris, Co-Producing Directors