The Marquee Theater Journalists Association was founded in 2015 by Sonoma County-based theater journalists David Templeton and Harry Duke with the intent of developing a critically-based awards program to acknowledge outstanding work done by the local theater community. Its name is a tribute to the fondly remembered and well-regarded Marquee Theater of Santa Rosa where many local artists honed their craft.
MTJA members commit to regularly attend and evaluate productions of a variety of genres produced throughout Sonoma and Napa counties. Current members include the North Bay Bohemian/Pacific Sun/Healdsburg Tribune’s Harry Duke, Beulah Vega, and Caitlin Strom-Martin, Stage and Cinema’s Barry Willis, and former Marinscope Newspapers theatre critic Cari Lynn Pace. Some are members of the San Francisco Bay Area Theatre Critics Circle as well as the American Theatre Critics Association.
From its inception, the Marquee Theater Journalists Association took a non-traditional approach to its awards system in comparison to most other programs. The MTJA Awards recognized four types of plays – comedy, drama, musical, and solo – and was the first theater awards program in California to utilize non-gender-specific performance categories. The Awards acknowledge Outstanding Lead and Outstanding Supporting Performances by genre. There are a total of sixteen award categories that recognize outstanding stagecraft, performances, and productions, with the nominees and recipients determined by voting and discussions among the members. MTJA members cannot nominate or vote for productions in which they were involved.
The MTJA Awards Ceremony is traditionally a low-key, casual mixer held at a centrally-located “public house” which gives the theatre community an opportunity to gather, share beverages, catch up with each other, and celebrate all the work done in the previous year.
Dormant since 2020, the MTJA has regrouped and has relaunched their Awards program in 2025 with a few changes. Now working in conjunction with the North Bay Bohemian, the MTJA Awards will now be titled the MTJA Norbay Theater Awards. Productions in both Sonoma and Napa counties will qualify for the “Norbays”. There are 16 categories of Awards and up to seven nominees for each category. Outstanding technical craft, performance, and production will be recognized. Performance awards will continue to be non-gender specific. An “Outstanding Collegiate Production” category has been added. The Oustanding Production Awards acknowledge the director and stage manager of the respective productions.
Click the ticket graphics below for complete listings of the nominees and recipients by year. Below each graphic are links to photos from each Awards Ceremony and a gallery of program covers for each season’s productions.
2025
Members – Harry Duke, Cari Lynn Pace, Caitlin Strom-Martin, Beulah Vega, Barry Willis
Click HERE for 2025 Awards Ceremony Images
Click HERE for Awards Recipients’ Certificates
Click HERE for 2024/2025 Season Productions Gallery
2020
Members – Harry Duke, Nicole Singley, Jeanie K. Smith, Barry Willis
No event scheduled due to pandemic. Recipients were announced on-line on October 28, 2020.
Click HERE for the streaming Awards announcement.
Click HERE for 2019/2020 Season Productions Gallery
2019
Members – Alexa Chipman, Harry Duke, Nicole Singley, Jeanie K. Smith, Barry Willis
Click HERE for 2019 Event Images
Click HERE for 2018/2019 Season Productions Gallery
2018
Members – Alexa Chipman, Harry Duke, Nicole Singley, Jeanie K. Smith, Barry Willis
Click HERE for 2018 Event Images
Click HERE for 2017/2018 Season Productions Gallery
2017
Members – Alexa Chipman, Harry Duke, David Templeton, Barry Willis
Click HERE for 2017 Event Images
Click HERE for 2016/2017 Season Productions Gallery
2016
Members – Alexa Chipman, Harry Duke, David Templeton, Barry Willis
Click HERE for 2016 Event Images
Click HERE for 2015/2016 Season Productions Gallery
North Bay Stage and Screen 