the 2007-08 Spokies

Theater awards, published in The Inlander, pushed back to our June 26 issue. (We moved around some cover stories, and that has an effect on the rest of the paper's content.)
Very tentatively -- no guarantees -- we're working on developing a logo for the awards (to go on certificates this year, to the winners) and then perhaps trophies for the following year, and an awards event of some kind for the year following.
Actors and directors deserve to be honored....
But, Bobo asks, what to do with the following dilemma? The Spokies are just one guy's opinion. Kershner's under orders (apparently) not to join forces with the critic from that OTHER newspaper in town. As for Bobo's experiment with canvassing local theatergoers: OK, but a sense that their opinions were interesting but didn't matter as much, and what did the newspaper critic think? Besides, too many people have a dog in this hunt; and it's too small a town. Those MOST involved with theater here often don't have time to go see ANY (much less MANY) shows done at other theaters locally; and of course there's the recusal/he's prejudiced, just voted for his own people concern. So it comes down to me, as somebody who's paid to see a lot of (but by no means ALL) of local theater. And then after La Mancha (which I'm going to go see again tonight) even more people than before are saying that they discount the opinions of that Bowen jerk.
Which actually is OK: keep the anger, keep the fervor. The theater's absolutely dead (it only always seems to be dying) when people stop caring, stop getting all riled up over it. Several people have told me that they often/usually/always disagree with my critical assessments.
As well they should. I just get to be a sort of verbose launching pad for discussions about theater around here. What really, really matters is what gets said and done around here in theater AFTER Bobo has had his little say. (And long before it -- I mean, look at all the work that goes into any show long before any ticket buyers see it performed). I've always thought of real estate agents as parasites (what do they produce, what value do they actually add? just unnecessary complications of our financial system -- and of course I'm exaggerating to make a point) but critics are certainly parasites in the theatrical universe, too, the passive-aggressive jerks.
SO ... sorry to ramble ... any suggestions? We want to continue publishing annual awards. Theaters cite them in their promotional stuff; Bobo gets messages about how blind he is, and how could he have liked Performance A better than that piece-of-crap Performance B? So, in some small sense, they're worth doing. But ideally, they'd have certificates and trophies and an awards dinner and MORE JUDGES. What to do? Our lines are open ...