Award History

The Washington Area Theatre Community Honors (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. 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.

NVTA (link no longer active) was founded in 1980 to further communications, involvement and support among community theatres, as well as increasing community interest and awareness of theatre activity in the Northern Virginia and Metropolitan area.

To this end, it has helped foster among the member groups the sharing of ideas and personnel, as well as assisting in making known the availability of costumes, properties, and set-pieces which could be shared, thus lowering the ever-increasing costs of producing plays and musicals.

In 1993, in order to include groups from all the surrounding metropolitan area as full members, the name Northern Virginia Theatre Alliance was changed to NVTA.

Ruby L. Griffith was born in London on April 9, 1907. After her professional career, primarily in the field of theatre education as director of the Italia Conti Stage School in London, she moved to Washington DC. Early in 1964, she became a founding member of the British Players (formerly known as The British Embassy Players), and devoted her talent and energies to the Players and was given the title 'Artistic Director'. Through her wide experience and teaching talent, Ruby infused the Players with a strong sense of professionalism.

In honour of her contributions, the British Players instituted an annual award competition for All-Round Production Excellence. Initially, the Washington Theatre Alliance, which, at that time, was an organization of fourteen theatre groups including the British Players, administered the Ruby Griffith Award. At the time the award was open only to Theatre Alliance members and attracted 10 entrants in the first season.

Beginning with the 1971/72 season, the British Players assumed the administration of the competition and expanded eligibility to include more of the Washington area's amateur groups. With the start of the 1991/92 season, two new achievement awards were added; the Ruby Griffith Award for Outstanding Achievement in a Musical and the Ruby Griffith Award for Outstanding Achievement in a Non-Musical.

The competition is currently open to any amateur theatre group meeting the established criteria.