The Jeff Awards Have No One to Blame but Themselves
by Chris Peterson
The fallout surrounding the Jeff Awards deepened this week after Block Club Chicago reported that 15 theaters had cut ties with the organization following its decision to honor Invictus Theatre artistic director Charles Askenaizer at the March 23rd Non-Equity Jeff Awards.
The rupture did not come out of nowhere. WBEZ had already reported growing backlash after the ceremony, including boos in the room, criticism from storefront theater leaders, and broader concerns about the Jeff Awards’ judgment and credibility.
That issue is that the Jeff Awards made a decision that many in Chicago theater clearly saw as disqualifying.
Askenaizer’s win was one of the night’s highest-profile honors. WBEZ reported that public allegations had already been hanging over Invictus and that some audience members booed when his name was announced.
Back in January, multiple cast members resigned from Invictus Theatre’s Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, citing what they described as newly surfaced abuse allegations involving Askenaizer. In that resignation letter, they called for the production to be shut down and for him to be removed from leadership. The allegations, which included claims of sexual harassment, power harassment, and targeted bullying, had already entered the broader theater conversation months before the Jeff ceremony.
That context matters because awards are not neutral. They are institutional endorsements. They tell a community who and what is worthy of being elevated. Once the Jeff Awards moved forward with that honor anyway, the organization stopped looking like a passive bystander to the controversy and started looking like a body willing to push past it.
And that is where the Jeff Awards deserve the bulk of the blame.
The Jeff Awards are now dealing with theaters cutting ties, artists questioning their legitimacy, and renewed scrutiny over whether the organization is even serving the storefront community well anymore.
The award to Askenaizer appears to have become the moment when a lot of long-simmering frustration finally boiled over. Theaters do not walk away from an institution like this unless confidence has already been wearing thin.
And frankly, I understand why some companies have had enough.
If you are a theater company, why keep participating in a system that wants the prestige of representing the community but does not seem prepared to carry the responsibility that comes with that role? Why keep opening your doors to judges, chasing recognition, and lending credibility to an organization that just reminded everyone how shaky its own judgment can be?
That is the problem the Jeff Awards created for themselves. They are not just facing criticism over one recipient. They are facing a collapse of trust.