Submissions Open For The SOUND BITES Festival Of 10-Minute Musicals

Theatre Now is accepting submissions for SOUND BITES 13, the 13th Annual Festival of 10-Minute Musicals, now through December 1st. 10 finalists will be selected for presentation on Monday, May 4, 2026 at Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center.

There is no fee to submit, and there are no required fees for artist participation in the event. For more information and to submit a show, go to www.tnny.org/soundbitessubmissions.

SOUND BITES provides talented musical theatre creators free and discounted rehearsal space, stipends, and an opportunity to present their fully-staged work in front of audiences and industry professionals. Any 10-minute piece that can be performed live, has a story arc, and includes music qualifies. Theatre Now has produced over 100 short musicals and is seeking diverse pieces that are current, test the musical form, and communicate a well-crafted story. All styles and genres are accepted including foreign language and/or bilingual scripts. Submissions from historically under-considered voices are strongly encouraged, including female, BIPOC, and LGBTQ+ writers and writers with disabilities.

25 short musicals from the first six years of the festival have been collected and published in The 10-Minute Musical: an Anthology from the SOUND BITES Festival, and a total of 45 shows are licensed for production through an ongoing partnership with Music Theatre International (MTI). Past SOUND BITES selections have also gone on to be part of the New York Musical Festival, Next Link Project, City Theatre's Short Play Festival in Miami, and The Samuel French Off-Off-Broadway Short Play Festival.

Founded in 2013, Theatre Now New York (TNNY) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the development, production, publication, and circulation of new musicals by providing ongoing support for writers in order to push the boundaries of musical theatre. In addition to SOUND BITES, TNNY produces developmental readings and productions of new works developed in their Musical Writers Lab as well as a monthly cabaret series at SoHo Playhouse and monthly Industry Nights. These evenings recently featured Master Classes with Tony winners Lynn Ahrens, Stephen Flaherty, Lisa Lambert, and Rachel Sheinkin as well as Andrew Lippa, Susan Birkenhead, Mindi Dickstein, and others. Upcoming guests will include Adam Gwon and Anna K. Jacobs. For more information, go to www.tnny.org.