The BOH Cameronian Arts Awards recognise and celebrate creative excellence in the performing arts. To assess the quality and impact of a show, the judging panels use the following criteria in their evaluation.
Technique: How the performers use their body, voice or instrument to express an idea, feeling or mood but also how their skills are properly executed in a routine.
Interpretation: How the performers interpret the creative vision of the choreographer or director into a unique expression on stage.
Presence and rasa: The charisma of the performers to draw in an audience and command their attention; rasa refers to the agreeable quality of the emotional or aesthetic impression of the performance.
Group cohesion: How a group or ensemble performs, supports and interacts with each other as one entity.
Interactivity: The relationship between the performance and the audience, and how it is redefined to give the audience more direct agency.
Choice of repertoire: The choice of arrangements and pieces that give the performers a valid experience and entertain the audience in a satisfying way.
Communication with audience: How the performance connects with the audience to effectively convey an idea or evoke an emotion.
Control over performers: How the director exerts control over performers via directions in the score to ensure faithful transmission of their ideas.
Interpretation OR musicality: How the director interprets the written work OR their ability to be demonstrative, dramatic or vivid if the work is original.
Idea: The clarity of the choreographer’s way of seeing, their perspective in the work and the idea they wish to convey.
Execution: The choreographer’s aesthetic sensibilities, performance approach and adherence to convention.
Artistry: The creative expression of the performance and its connection to the audience.
Artistic vision: The clarity of the director’s way of seeing, their perspective in the work and the story they wish to convey.
Execution: The director’s aesthetic, theatrical approach and adherence to convention.
Interpretation: How the director interprets the written work into a unique expression on stage.
Organisation of elements: How the technical elements of theatre like text, staging, performance, sound and audience are arranged.
Appeal: How much the audience enjoyed the piece of music.
Originality and creativity: How significant or revolutionary the creativity or distinctiveness of the piece of music is in the Malaysian context.
Overall structure: The architecture of the music including orchestration, arrangements, rhythms, melodies and harmonies.
Characterisation: How the playwright handles the characters in such a way that they appear as real human beings.
Focus and cohesion: How the playwright achieves establishes and returns to a central focus that anchors the play.
Quality of language: How the playwright handles the language to make the play approachable and comprehensible.
Relevance: How the play fits the context of society and connects with the audience to convey an idea.
Resonance: How the playwright evokes enduring images, memories, and emotions.