New York City-based playwright and director Julia Jarcho is the recipient of second The Mark O’Donnell Prize, an annual award presented by The Actors Fund and Playwrights Horizons to an emerging theatre artist.

The award includes a cash prize of $15,000, use of The Mark O’Donnell Theater at The Actors Fund Arts Center for one week to develop a reading of a new work, as well as counseling from The Actors Fund on how to apply for affordable housing and obtain health insurance.

The Mark O’Donnell Prize is funded by The Actors Fund and is made possible by a gift from Stephen O’Donnell in memory of his brother Mark O’Donnell (Cry Baby, Hairspray, Strangers on Earth, That’s It, Folks!).

Jarcho is an artist with Minor Theater. Her plays include The Terrifying (Abrons Arts Center 2017), Every Angel is Brutal (Clubbed Thumb 2016), Nomads (Incubator 2014), Grimly Handsome (Incubator 2013, Obie Award for Best New American Play), Dreamless Land (New York City Players/Abrons 2011), and American Treasure (13P 2009). She is also the recipient of a Doris Duke Impact Award and has been a MacDowell Fellow and an LCT New Writer in Residence at Lincoln Center.

The inaugural The Mark O’Donnell Prize was awarded to playwright Leah Nanako Winkler.