Creative Cauldron Announces 'Bold New Musical Voices' Competition For Women

Creative Cauldron announces an open call for submissions for its new "Bold New Musical Voices" Festival, to be held from April 27th through May 6, 2020. The festival seeks new and innovative musical works by women and women-identifying writers and composers. Queer women and women of color are encouraged to submit.

Three to five new musicals will be selected at the end of the submission window (January 10th, 2020) and these works will receive support from seasoned writers and directors. The chosen finalists will have their musicals workshopped and staged by professional directors, actors and musicians during the festival run. Finalists will receive a $500 stipend to cover travel expenses.

At the end of the festival, one final musical will be chosen by our resident artistic team for inclusion in our 2020-2021 professional season.

Creative Cauldron Producing Artistic Director, Laura Connors Hull, celebrated the new project as a way to support the work of women in the theater, who are under represented both on and off the stage. "The musical theater has been dominated by male voices for decades and that has been reflected in the stories that we see produced on stage. We welcome the opportunity to shine a spotlight on bold new musical theater writers who are changing the field and the way we look at this uniquely American art form."

The "Bold New Musical Voices" Festival follows on the success of Creative Cauldron's five-year commissioning project with Matt Conner and Stephen Gregory Smith, in which five critically acclaimed musicals were premiered (The Turn of the Screw 2015, Monsters of the Villa Diodati 2016, Kaleidoscope 2017, Witch 2018 and On Air 2019). Conner and Smith will be on hand as advisors throughout the project, sharing knowledge gained from their experiences creating new work at Creative Cauldron, Signature Theatre and other professional venues.

Carol Campbell a local playwright, lecturer, radio host, and Humanities professor will serve as the project director. Carol's commitment to broadcasting, performance and education is framed in social justice work. Her contributions include award-winning theatrical projects and published works aimed at ending gender oppression. Her "Goddess Diaries" was voted "Best of the Fringe" at the Capital Fringe Festival by DC Metro Theater Arts three years in a row.

Submissions are being accepted through on-line application at http://www.creativecauldron.org/bold-new-musical-voices.html