NMI's 2016 Musical Theatre Conference Adds New Creative Panel

New Musicals Inc. has announced a new panel "What Makes a Good Idea for a Musical?" as part of their sixth national conference for musical theatre writers in Burbank on July 22-24.

The Biz of the Musical Theatre Biz Conference is for musical theatre writers and producers focusing on the business side of the musical theatre business. The conference features panels and networking with producers, directors, writers, entertainment attorneys, money-raisers, dramaturgs and other insider theatre professionals.

"We've had an overwhelming demand from our writers asking us how to know what makes a good musical, and how to avoid spending years and years and lots of money on a BAD idea," says Elise Dewsberry, NMI's Artistic Director. "Where can you find a good idea for a musical? How do you know a good idea when you've found it? How can you head off a problematic idea before you start?"

The new panel addresses these issues head on. The panel assumes that conference participants don't control the rights to blockbuster movies or novels, and so they are always on the lookout for compelling stories and characters which can drive their next musical.

NMI's Executive Director Scott Guy will take writers and composers through a whirlwind of idea-generating techniques and resources, developed through his years as a television writer/producer at Disney, PBS, NBC and Warner Bros.

Fellow conference panelist and Broadway producer Ken Davenport says, "Maybe you haven't yet heard of New Musicals Inc., but you should know them. They run both a professional development branch, creating musicals for regional and local producers, as well as the Academy for New Musical Theatre, which has offered the fabled Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop on the West Coast since the days of Lehman Engel himself. They're also the ones who sponsor the New Voices Project for writers under the age of 26, as well as workshops, concerts, productions, and this writers' conference. I really support them and their mission."

The new panel will take place on the third day of the conference, Sunday July 24th at 10:00am. New Musicals Inc.'s Sixth Biennial Conference on the BIZ of the Musical Theatre BIZ is at the ANC conference center in Burbank, July 22-24. To register or for more information, visit nmi.org/develop/conference.