Prize for Female Theater Artists

SUBMISSIONS BEING ACCEPTED FOR
2009 FRANCESCA PRIMUS PRIZE

Calling all female theatre artists: there?s still time to submit yourself
as a candidate for The Francesca Primus Prize. This annual $10,000 award
honors 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. Letters of recommendation are helpful.
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.



Previous Primus Winners

2008?EM (Ellen) Lewis, playwright, Heads
2007?Victoria Stewart, playwright, Hardball
2006?Karen Zacar?as, playwright, Mariela in the Desert, and founder/artistic
director, Young Playwrights? Theater, Washington, D.C.
2005?Michelle Hensley, artistic director, Ten Thousand Things Theatre
Company, Minneapolis, Minn.
2004?Lynn Nottage, playwright, Intimate Apparel
2003? no prize awarded during transition year
2002?Alexandra Cunningham, playwright, Pavane
2001?S. M. Shepard-Massat, playwright, Some Place Soft to Fall
2000?Brooke Berman, playwright, Playing House
1999?Melanie Marnich, playwright, Blur
1998?Brooke Berman, playwright, Wonderland
1997?Julia Jordan, playwright, Tatjana in Color