SUBMISSIONS BEING ACCEPTED FOR

2009 FRANCESCA PRIMUS PRIZE

The Francesca Primus Prize is an annual $10,000 award honoring outstanding contributions to the American theater by an emerging female theater artist, one who has not yet achieved national prominence. Submissions for the 2009 award must be postmarked no later than Feb. 28, 2009.

Administered by the American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA), the prize is made possible through the generosity of the Francesca Ronnie Primus Foundation, which honors the writer, critic, performer and dramaturg who died at 42 of lung cancer in 1992.

Historically the award has been given to an outstanding female playwright, but the committee also considers other significant female theater artists, such as directors or artistic directors. The Primus Prize operates on an open submission basis—an applicant may submit herself or be nominated by another individual or organization. Members of ATCA are eligible to nominate or provide letters of recommendation.

To qualify for consideration, a playwright must have had a fully staged, professional production of her script within the calendar year 2008. For other artists, there must also have been some significant achievement in the calendar year. But in both cases, the committee will consider a body of work going back several years.

A submission must be in the form of a portfolio of no more than 20 single-sided pages. It should include a letter recommending the candidate, a synopsis of her body of work, and supporting materials sufficient to familiarize the committee with her achievement, possibly including reviews and/or a statement of the artist's philosophy. Playwrights should also submit the script. If more than one play was produced in 2008, only one may be submitted, but excerpts from others might be part of the portfolio. Portfolios will not be returned.

Six copies of an applicant's entire portfolio—both portfolio and script—along with an application fee of $25 (checks made payable to ATCA) should be sent to ATCA, c/o Katie Burger, 773 Nebraska Ave. W., St. Paul, MN 55117 (phone 651-261-7804). Once again, the applications must be postmarked no later than Feb. 28, 2009.

For further information, contact Primus Prize chair Barbara Bannon, Salt Lake City, bbannon@xmission.com, or ATCA chair Chris Rawson, Pittsburgh, crawson@post-gazette.com.

The winner will be announced at a national ATCA conference, with the recipient notified in advance and funds provided so she can attend.

Primus Prize Facts

Founded in 1997, the Primus Prize was until 2002 administered by the Denver Center Theatre Company and limited to emerging women playwrights. Since 2004, a woman in any category of theater has been eligible, with the prize administered by the nationwide American Theatre Critics Association, comprising critics in all media.

An affiliate of the International Association of Theatre Critics, ATCA also administers the Harold and Mimi Steinberg/ATCA New Play Awards, for plays that have not yet been produced in New York City, and the M. Elizabeth Osborn Award, for a play by an author whose work has not yet received a major production, such as off-Broadway or Broadway, or any major national awards.

Previous Primus Winners

1997—Julia Jordan, playwright, Tatjana in Color

1998—Brooke Berman, playwright, Wonderland

1999—Melanie Marnich, playwright, Blur

2000—Brooke Berman, playwright, Playing House

2001—S. M. Shepard-Massat, playwright, Some Place Soft to Fall

2002—Alexandra Cunningham, playwright, Pavane

2004—Lynn Nottage, playwright, Intimate Apparel

2005—Michelle Hensley, artistic director, Ten Thousand Things Theatre Company, Minneapolis, Minn.

2006—Karen Zacarías, playwright, Mariela in the Desert, and founder/artistic director, Young Playwrights’ Theater, Washington, D.C.

2007—Victoria Stewart, playwright, Hardball

2008—EM (Ellen) Lewis, playwright, Heads