Judges are chosen based on their experience. If a person comes to the MAT Board and requests to be a judge, the board and judges review the person's experience as well as their reputation through references. This person must be unanimously approved by the entire committee in order for them to become a seated judge for the season. Once they have been seated for one full season, they are permanently allowed to seat on a judging panel as long as they have never been dismissed at any previous time.
The judges must agree that they will not participate in any production that they are voting on. The MAT Awards does understand that the majority of judges are also actors and directors who will be working in various shows throughout the year. Yet, in order to keep things ethical and honest, the judge may not participate in any production they vote on. One of the reasons the judges are split into Musical, Play, and Original Works Panels, is because it allows the judge to participate in a production from any of the other production categories that they are not judging in. However, they may not be considered for an award. This gives them the freedom to continue their own aspirations without hindering the integrity of the MAT Awards.
