{"id":28205,"date":"2016-01-22T13:00:44","date_gmt":"2016-01-22T19:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/?p=28205"},"modified":"2016-01-23T13:12:29","modified_gmt":"2016-01-23T19:12:29","slug":"playwright-sharyn-rothstein-wins-2015-primus-prize","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.crescentcityjewishnews.com\/blog\/playwright-sharyn-rothstein-wins-2015-primus-prize\/","title":{"rendered":"Playwright Sharyn Rothstein wins 2015 Primus Prize"},"content":{"rendered":"

The American Theatre Critics Association (ATCA) announced on January 15 that playwright Sharyn Rothstein had been awarded the 2015 Francesca Primus Prize for her play By the Water. <\/em>Jointly sponsored by ATCA and the Francesca Ronnie Primus Foundation, the Primus Prize is given annually to an emerging woman playwright. As the recipient, Rothstein received a $10,000 award check immediately and will be officially congratulated at an upcoming ATCA conference.<\/p>\n

Set in Staten Island, New York in 2012, By the Water <\/em>deals with the aftermath of Hurricane Sandy. The two protagonists, Marty and Mary Murphy return to the shattered remains of their home to face a crucial question: Should they join most of the members of their working-class community in taking a government buyout and moving to higher ground or struggle to rebuild the house that has been the center of their family life for decades? Sal and Brian, their very different sons, who have their own issues, return home to help them decide, but Marty\u2019s dogged determination to stay at any cost rekindles buried family conflicts and antagonizes his relationship with best friends and neighbors Philip and Andrea Carter as Mary tries to play the peacemaker.<\/p>\n

Rothstein was commended by the Primus selection committee for her ability to tune in “so naturally to the rhythms of family life \u00a0that it feels as if the audience is eavesdropping on real conversations.” Several critics on the committee compared By the Water <\/em>to Arthur Miller\u2019s quintessential American dramas like Death of a Salesman<\/em> and All My Sons<\/em>.<\/p>\n

Rothstein says the idea for the play sprang from one indelible image. She drove out to Staten Island after the storm to survey the areas earmarked for a buyout: \u201cLeaving behind a community, a lifetime of memories, seemed like an enormous leap of faith and an incredibly difficult decision, but the destruction was gut wrenching. Yet, in front of one neat, clearly beloved house, a man who looked to be in his sixties was tending his lawn. With his whole neighborhood in ruins, with a majority of his neighbors already gone or figuring out how to leave, here was a man clearly standing firm. The image of him standing there amid so much loss was the genesis of my play.\u201d<\/p>\n

By the Water <\/em>was commissioned as part of the Ars Nova\/Manhattan Theatre Club Writer\u2019s Room, a two-year development program that encourages playwrights to take risks with their work. The play received readings and a full workshop prior to its premiere production at Manhattan Theatre Club\u2019s Stage II in November 2014, where Time Out New York <\/em>called the play \u201ca force of nature.\u201d The play has also been published by Dramatists Play Service.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Francesca Ronnie Primus Foundation was established to recognize and support emerging women artists who are making a difference in the theater community in which they work,\u201d observed Barry Primus, the foundation administrator. Founded in 1997 in memory of actress and critic Francesca Primus, the Primus Prize was originally administered by the Denver Center Theatre Company. ATCA began overseeing the award in 2004. Rothstein was selected from 39 award applicants.<\/p>\n

ATCA is the nationwide organization of theater critics and an affiliate of the International Association of Theatre Critics. In addition to the Primus Prize, it administers two other playwriting awards: the Harold and Mimi Steinberg\/ATCA New Play Award and the M. Elizabeth Osborn Award. ATCA members also recommend a regional theater for the annual Tony Award and vote on induction into the Theatre Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n

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