Jeffrey Weiss

Mr. & Mrs. Elias Weiss of New York created the Jeffery Weiss Literary Award Competition with THSA in 1984. Their son Jeffrey had a lifelong interest in theatres and was a member of the THSA from 1974 until his death in 1982. The Weiss family endowed an annual competition to honor and perpetuate their son’s memory.

The competition is to stimulate interest in research and writing on historic theatres and to publish the winning articles in Marquee®, the educational magazine of the THSA and the THSA e-newsletter, Readerboard. Certificates and monetary prizes are awarded for the winning entries.

RULES AND PROCEDURES

• The competition is open to anyone, except members of the Weiss committee, and officers, and directors of THSA or their immediate families. You need not be a member of THSA to enter.
• Submissions should represent an original, comprehensive effort in research and documentation of some aspect of theatre history, detail description or architecture, relevant to THSA’s mission to “Celebrate, document and promote the architectural, cultural and social relevance of America’s historic theatres.”
• Photographs or illustrations with appropriate identification/captions are strongly encouraged, as they count in the scoring of the entry.
• Submissions may not have been previously published by THSA, nor be submitted more than once. An individual may submit only one entry each year.
• Copyright of the submission remains with the author, except as noted herein.
• Submissions must be no less than 2,500 words nor more than 10,000 words in length, exclusive of footnotes/endnotes, footers/headers, bibliography, and/or index. THSA reserves the right to edit submissions selected for publication in Marquee. Pages must be numbered, with the title of the entry (abbreviated if necessary) on each page. DO NOT include your name anywhere in the body of the text or in footers or headers.
• A cover sheet must be included with the submission containing your name, mailing address, e-mail address and telephone number. Also, please indicate how you learned of the Weiss Award competition. You must include and sign the following statement:
  • ”This submission is for the Jeffrey Weiss Award Competition. I, [your full name], agree to abide by the rules and procedures of the Weiss Award Competition and grant the Theatre Historical Society of America both initial and subsequent publication rights in any manner or form without further compensation.”
• Electronic submissions are encouraged, but we will also accept submissions by mail or delivery service, as follows:
  • By e-mail: Submit attached files containing the entry in Word or editable pdf format, along with any photos or illustrations in TIF or jpg format. E-mail to: office@historictheatres.org.
  • By mail or delivery service: Submit one printed copy of the entry and photocopies of any photos or illustrations, AND one CD/DVD containing both the entry (in Microsoft Word, or editable pdf format) and any photos or illustrations.
    • Send to: Weiss Award Submissions, Theatre Historical Society of America | 461 Cochran Rd. Box 144 | Pittsburgh, PA 15228
  • Your submission will be acknowledged upon receipt.
• DO NOT SUBMIT ORIGINAL PHOTOGRAPHS OR ILLUSTRATIONS! You should submit good quality photocopies with your mailed or delivered entry, or low resolution scans with your electronic entry. At our request, however, you must provide a DVD with high quality scans (300dpi or better, 900×1200 pixels or greater, TIF format preferred, jpg format acceptable) of all photos and illustrations. Captions and source credits for each image must be provided. You are responsible for obtaining from the owners of all images the necessary written reproduction rights and permissions (furnished to us upon request) and for payment of any applicable image or usage rights fees upon our notification that your submission has been accepted for publication.
• All entries must be e-mailed or postmarked (or received by the delivery service) by December 31 of the competition year.
• Winners will be notified by May 1 of the year following the competition year. Awards are presented at the annual summer Conclave/Theatre Tour of the Theatre Historical Society. Winners are encouraged to accept their awards personally (and may, if interested, register for and attend the full Conclave at the THS member rate).
• Up to three awards may be given in any year, consisting of a certificate and monetary prize as follows: First Place $500; Second Place $300; Third Place $100.
• In its sole discretion, the Weiss Committee may declare a tie for any of the awards and divide the monetary amount accordingly, and also reserves the right to not give all or any awards in a particular year. All decision(s) of the Weiss Committee regarding judging, procedures and/or interpretation of the Rules and Procedures shall be final.
• Any inquiries regarding the competition should be directed to info@historictheatres.org with “JEFFREY WEISS Award” in the subject line or mailing address above.