The NJ Stage Awards were launched in 2015. The idea is to help shine a spotlight on places to experience art in the Garden State. Unlike many awards, we are not after who is the best performer - we want to know where the best place to see the performers are.

Voting is done in two stages. The first stage offers the public a chance to help narrow down the final list of nominees. From a comprehensive list for each category, the public chooses their favorites. We then take the top 4 vote getters in each category to go along with choices made by the NJ Stage staff. Final voting includes 4 nominees chosen by the public and 6 by NJ Stage staff.

People are allowed to vote once per day per IP address. This allows the smallet arts organization the same opportunities to win as the largest in the state. Nominees are encouraged to promote voting on their website, social media, and at their venue.

The first wave of voting occurs every September with final voting in October. Winners are announced in the November issue of New Jersey Stage magazine.

The top 3 finishers for each category are posted on the NJ Stage website in the AWARDS area (with links back to their websites) and mentioned in press releases sent out by NJ Stage. In addition, the top winners for each category are promoted at NJ Stage via a rotating banner ad that links back to their website. The award ads run until the following year NJ Stage Award winners are announced.