Applications Open For the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Bookwriting Workshop

 BMI is currently accepting applications to the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop for its Musical Theatre Bookwriting Workshop (formerly known as the Librettists Workshop). The once a week course takes place at BMI’s lower Manhattan office located at 7 World Trade Center, from September through May. The deadline to apply for the Bookwriting Workshop is June 1. Applications for the Songwriting Workshop (formerly known as the Composer/Lyricists Workshop), due August 1, will open later this month.

The Tony and Drama Desk Award-winning BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop is a free weekly program where participants collaborate with peers to develop and cultivate their skills under the guidance of experienced instructors and veteran guest lecturers. Notable Workshop alumni includes EGOT recipient Robert Lopez (Frozen, The Book of Mormon, Avenue Q), Academy Award-winner Kristen Anderson Lopez (Frozen, In Transit), Tony Award-winners Alan Menken (Newsies, Beauty and the Beast, Little Shop of Horrors), Jeanine Tesori (Thoroughly Modern Millie, Shrek - The Musical, Violet), Maury Yeston (Nine, Grand Hotel, Titanic), Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty (Ragtime, Once On This Island, Seussical), Tony Award-nominated Noel Carey (Death Becomes Her) and Benjamin Velez (Real Women Have Curves), and Elyssa Samsel and Kate Anderson (Olaf’s Frozen Adventure, The Book Thief, Between the Lines, Central Park). 

About the Bookwriting Workshop

The First Year of the weekly Bookwriting Workshop, moderated by Drama Desk Award-winning bookwriter Adam Mathias, unlocks the toolkit for musical theatre librettists. Through lectures, discussions, and assignments students learn how to apply the fundamentals of dramatic writing to the craft of creating musicals. As a class, writers deep-dive into the DNA of the musical theatre canon – from the Golden Age through today – dissecting what works and why and then applying it to their own work.

After the first year, select members are invited to join the Advanced Bookwriting Workshop which meets weekly to provide in depth peer and moderator feedback on musical theatre libretti at all stages of development.

About the Songwriting Workshop

The First Year Songwriting Workshop is moderated by BMI’s Senior Director of Musical Theatre Patrick Cook, and Workshop Administrator Frederick Freyer, who met in the Workshop in 1983. The course is designed to help establish the participants' foundational skills through writing assignments with different collaborators, discussions and in-depth analyses on select musicals throughout history and guest moderators, culminating in the creation of 10-minute musicals at the end of the spring semester.

In the Second Year, Sara Wordsworth joins Cook and Freyer in moderating the workshop where writer teams focus on crafting songs for a full-length musical with an emphasis on content and placement of songs and the use of music and lyrics to convey and develop characters.

The Advanced Songwriting Workshop hosts ongoing weekly sessions of talented graduates of the first two years. Applications for the Songwriting Workshop (formerly known as the Composer/Lyricists Workshop), due August 1, will open later this month.

For more information and to apply to the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop, please visit: https://www.bmi.com/theatre_workshop.