NYMF Extends Next Link Deadline to March 7; Hosts Open House Feb.22

The deadline for submitting scripts and materials for consideration for the New York Musical Theatre Festival's 2008 Next Link Project - the open-submission program that will select more than half of the three dozen new musicals at the 5th annual NYMF in the fall - has been extended one week to March 7.  The 2008 New York Musical Theatre Festival is scheduled to run from September 15 through October 5 at various venues throughout New York City.

NYMF's Next Link Project, which typically receives between 300 and 400 submissions each year, has been accepting submissions since January 1 and will continue to accept scripts registered online at www.nymf.org by March 1, with materials postmarked through the March 7 deadline, allowing an extra week for creators to work on their shows.

NYMF will hold a meet and greet at Hurley's (232 West 48th Street) on Friday, February 22 from 6-8PM.  One of the many outreach programs NYMF offers for people, the staff will be on hand to answer last minute questions prior to submission and provide information on other ways to become involved in NYMF.  For more information call 212-664-0979.

Now in its fifth year, NYMF exists to provide a launching pad for emerging musical theatre writers, composers, lyricists and performers, and to bring a new generation of work to new and diverse audiences.  Each year's Next Link Project 18 selections are overseen by a Grand Jury of theater luminaries. 

The 2008 Grand Jury consists of Tony Award-winning lyricist and bookwriter Lynn Ahrens (Ragtime), Tony Award-winning actors Hinton Battle (Sophisticated Ladies, The Tap Dance Kid, Miss Saigon) and Norbert Leo Butz (Dirty Rotten Scoundrels), Tony Award-nominated lyricist and bookwriter Michael Korie (Grey Gardens, The Grapes of Wrath), 4-time Tony-winning actress Audra McDonald, Tony Award-winning director Michael Mayer (Spring Awakening),  legendary director and choreographer Susan Stroman (Contact, The Producers), and Tony Award-winning producer ElizaBeth Williams (Crazy For You, The Real Thing).

To ensure that writers of all backgrounds and experience levels have access to the program, each submission is read by multiple members of a reading committee, using a double-blind evaluation process. Finalists will also be evaluated by the Grand Jury, whose 18 selections will receive an array of resources from NYMF, including dramaturgical support, a weekend-long series of networking events and production advice, and partially-subsidized production slots in NYMF's fall Festival.

All applications take place online.  To begin the process or to learn more about The Next Link Project, please visit www.nymf.org.