The National Critics Institute (NCI) was established to assist in elevating the level of arts criticism in the United States and to help writers to grow at the same pace as the arts and artists whose work they review and interpret. These goals are made possible by daily critiques of plays and films in tutorial sessions with a resident master critic at NCI’s four-week conference at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center in Waterford, Connecticut each summer. Students must be nominated by a faculty member to participate.  

KCACTF, in association with NCI, will present a National Critics Institute Scholarship. At each of the regional festivals, students nominated from institutions that have entered an Associate or Participating production will be asked to write critiques of a selected number of plays presented at the regional festival. During the festival, they will participate in intensive writing and dramaturgical workshops with a professional writer/critic. One student from each of the eight regions will be selected as a finalist for the national award. Critiques from these eight will be forwarded to the KCACTF national office, and the finalist will be selected by the national NCI Director. The national winner will attend the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center during its national playwriting conference in July, working with leading professional newspaper and magazine critics from across the United States. All expenses are paid.

Information & Guidelines:

The LMDA/ATHE/ KCACTF Student Dramaturgy Award recognizes contributions by student dramaturges to the conception, development and production of theater within their colleges and universities, or to educational projects in dramaturgy.

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How to Enter:

• Who is eligible?- Undergraduate and graduate students who work specifically as the dramaturg on a production or workshop, or who submit work created for a dramaturgy class are eligible. If the project is a workshop or production, the student must be credited as the dramaturg. A student who also writes, directs, designs, performs in, or otherwise collaborates on a project will be responsible for articulating the boundaries of the dramaturgical work and speaking on its behalf. The student need not be enrolled full-time to submit work for this award. Projects must be completed (plays closed, workshops completed, projects turned in) by January 2, each year to be eligible.
• How to apply-
  • Fill out the application form, identifying the dramaturg and the project and including two statements written by the dramaturg
  • Enclose a letter of nomination from a faculty member.  If you wish, you may include more letters of support from persons directly related to the project – collaborating artists or audience members for a workshop or production, or fellow students/teachers in a classroom project.
  • Submit three copies of the entire application packet to the NCI Chair