Craig Noel Awards

Every February the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle hosts the Craig Noel Awards to recognize excellence and the achievements of professional theatres throughout San Diego County. The award nominees and winners are determined by the members of the Critics Circle who meet throughout the year to discuss the achievements in San Diego theatre.  The organization is an independent, nonprofit organization composed of people who write for newspapers, magazines, and online publications about theatre.

The Craig Noel Awards are named in honor of Craig Noel, a longtime artistic director at San Diego Old Globe Theatre and a champion of the arts in San Diego and nationwide.

The number of categories and winners may vary depending on the types of productions that opened in the calendar year and what work in the industry the critics deem extraordinary.

San Diego Theatre Critics Circle believes in the power of performance and has removed gender specificity from our awards. We recognize and honor all gender identities, making each performance award gender-neutral. We award the top performances from the past years performances for the following 17 categories with a total of 22 winners:

1. Actors of the Year  – 2 winners

2. Outstanding Featured Performance in a Musical – 2 winners 

3. Outstanding Featured Performance in a Play – 2 winners 

4. Outstanding Lead Performance in a Musical – 2 winners

5. Outstanding Lead Performance in a Play – 2 winners

6. Outstanding Direction of a Musical

7. Outstanding Direction of a Play

8. Outstanding Music Direction

9. Outstanding Costume Design

10. Outstanding Scenic Design

11. Outstanding Projection Design

12. Outstanding Choreography

13. Outstanding New Play

14. Outstanding Lighting Design

15. Outstanding Sound Design

16. Outstanding Resident Musical

17. Outstanding Dramatic Production

Specialist Awards

Outstanding Young Artist Award and the Sandra Ellis-Troy Scholarship  – Every year, we like to single out one upcoming young artist, and acknowledge excellence in performance at present and their notable potential for the future. 

Outstanding Achievement by a Small Theatre – This award is to acknowledge the exceptional achievements of a small theatre company

Director of the Year –  This award is presented only on the occasions when a director has shown an extraordinary breadth and quality of work within the qualifying year.

Outstanding Specialty Artist – This award is presented only when there is a specific talent from the year that is to be celebrated and is unique from any of the other category awards.