The Francesca Primus Prize is an annual $10,000 award honoring outstanding contributions to the American theater by a significant female artist who has not yet achieved national prominence. Submissions for the 2008 award must be post-marked no later than Feb. 29, 2008.

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 now 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 supply evaluative letters.

To qualify for consideration, a playwright must have had a fully staged, professional production of her script within the calendar year, 2007. For other artists, there must also be 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 six copies of the script. Portfolios will not be returned.

Six copies of an applicant's entire portfolio, along with an application fee of $25 (checks made payable to ATCA), are to be sent to ATCA, %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. 29, 2008.

For further information, contact Primus Prize chair Nancy Melich, nmelich@yahoo.com, or ATCA chair Chris Rawson, crawson@post-gazette.com.

The winner will be announced at a national ATCA conference, with the recipient notified in advance.

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. Now, a woman in any category of theater is eligible, and the prize is administered by the nation-wide 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 and the M. Elizabeth Osborn Award.

Previous 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.