Theater News

Caridad Svich Wins Francesca Primus Prize

Caridad Svich
Caridad Svich

Caridad Svich has won the $10,000 Francesca Primus Prize for her play The House of the Spirits. Jointly sponsored by ATCA and the Francesca Ronnie Primus Foundation, the Primus Prize is given annually to an emerging woman theater.


Svich’s play is a dramatic adaptation of Isabel Allende’s sprawling novel, The House of the Spirits, which follows the fortunes of three generations of a Chilean family against the backdrop of political upheaval that shaped and split the country during the major part of the 20th Century. The play was read as part of the 2010 Colorado New Play Summit and given a full production at the Denver Center Theatre Company in the fall.


Svich was selected from 22 nominees by ATCA’s nationwide committee of critics, headed by Barbara Bannon and composed of Marianne Evett, Kathryn Osenlund, Lynn Rosen, and Herb Simpson.