Made Up World Productions Launches WORLD BUILDERS Musical Development Initiative

Announcing WORLD BUILDERS: A New Development Initiative for the American Musical

New York, NY - 4/20/2026 - World Builders is a new workshop and development initiative from Made Up World Productions (Andrew Lippa, Owner and President; Matt Webster, Creative Director). An incubator for theatrical projects, World Builders will create a breeding ground for ground-breaking new work. In collaboration with our curated partners, World Builders will reshape the development pipeline and shake up the expensive and often slow world of new musical development while establishing a fresh, collaborative, and cross-market creative environment.

Each cycle, World Builders will select a theatrical piece to develop and send through the Pipeline. The Pipeline consists of three distinct development phases and partners:
Step One: University
Step Two: Regional Theatre

Step Three: Off-Broadway Theatre

Each of these phases will consist of either a workshop or a production, all leading towards eventual licensing and/or a New York City production.

Partners for Cycle One include: Webster University, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, and Out of the Box Theatrics.

World Builders seeks daring new work that focuses on youth-centric stories. The musical must be a complete draft at the time of submission and feature original music and lyrics. Max cast size: 10. Submissions for Cycle One will open on May 1st, 2026.

For Cycle One, each of World Builders' partners will solicit submissions through their network of known writers. No open submissions at this time.

Andrew Lippa, President of Made Up World Productions, has this to say about the exciting new initiative: "Our idea is simple: Create a clear path for writers of musicals to succeed. And do it in a reasonable amount of time with a sufficient amount of support. Simple, right? But not easy. Musicals need time and musical dramatists need support. World Builders aims to step in where, when I was starting 30+ years ago, theaters in NYC could commit to many developmental readings a year. Not so anymore. World Builders is working to adapt the system in favor of the writers and the musicals they write. Give these artists time, space, and enough dollars to bring their vision to life, and we'll watch them build mighty and thrilling worlds to inspire us all."

Matt Webster, Creative Director of Made Up World Productions and the Lead Producer of World Builders says, "We can finally give writers a road map. A plan. We've found an incredible group of partners who have all committed to championing a piece through this exciting new development pipeline. Plus, there's no cost to writing teams."

Liz Flemming, Founding Producing Artistic Director of Out of the Box Theatrics, shares, "Out of the Box Theatrics is honored to be part of this unique and important development initiative. There is a lack of support in the arts for up-and-coming musical writers, and there is such a need for true development. World Builders offers an opportunity for development at every level which offers a path forward toward a full production in New York. We are honored to be partnering with our colleagues as a champion of new musicals and incubator of new work.

Kate Bergstrom, Artistic Director at The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, says, "We are thrilled to be in collaboration with Andrew Lippa, Matt Webster, and this team alongside our beloved partners at Webster University. New and original musical theatre that celebrates excellence, relevance and extraordinary experience is crucial to the future of our field!"

Jef Awada, Chair of the Sargent Conservatory of Theatre Arts at Webster University shares, "Webster University's Sargent Conservatory is thrilled to partner with World Builders in developing the next generation of American musical theatre storytellers. Our mission is to train future colleagues to become visionaries, creators, and leaders in theatre, and World Builders is exactly the kind of forward-thinking, collaborative environment where that mission comes alive. For Webster Conservatory, this is more than a development initiative - it's a glimpse into the future of how theatre gets made. We want our students in that room, doing that work, and helping build the industry they're about to step into."

Made Up World Productions is a production company from Broadway composer Andrew Lippa and writer Matt Webster, with a focus on developing new, challenging, and innovative work for stage, film, and television. Let's make up a new world together. www.MadeUpWorldProductions.com