Theatre Now Musical Writers Lab Applications Open Now

Formed in 2019, the Theatre Now Musical Writers Lab is a community of 20 writing teams who meet bi-weekly to work on the development of new musicals through Lab presentations, sharing their process, and offering support. Lab members benefit from Theatre Now services including developmental readings and productions, publishing, and licensing. This is a highly skilled, active, and collaborative group focused on embracing and fostering the diversity of musical theatre styles, forms, and creators.

At this time there are openings available for one musical theatre writing team in the local NY Lab and two teams in the International Lab. The NY Lab is for those residing in the local tri-state area and meets in person. The International Lab is open to anyone and meets on zoom.

There is no cost to apply, and no dues or fees are required if accepted. The deadline for submissions is September 4th, 2024 at midnight.

Submission guidelines can be found HERE (https://bit.ly/46FdJTG), and the application can be accessed HERE (https://bit.ly/3yxGq8G). Visit www.tnny.org for more information on Theatre Now and its programs.

Theatre Now's current Musical Writers Lab consists of 35 librettists, lyricists, and composers from the NYC area and around the world from diverse backgrounds ‒ straight and gay, cis and trans, young and old, rural and urban, white, Black, Latinx, and Asian. It includes members of ASCAP, BMI, and the Dramatists Guild; an Alan Menken Award winner; a Fulbright Scholar; and the first ever Black List Musical Film Fellow as well as early-career writers. These artists have received recognition from prestigious awards, organizations, and festivals, and their work has been heard everywhere from NPR to MTV.

This year, shows from Lab members will be featured in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the National Music Theatre Conference (NMTC), and, for the third year in a row, the National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) Festival of New Musicals.

Founded in 2013, Theatre Now New York (TNNY) is a non-profit organization dedicated to the development, production, publication, and circulation of short and long-form musicals by providing ongoing support for writers and their work in order to nurture voices and forms that push the boundaries of musical theatre. TNNY produces developmental productions of new works as well as the annual SOUND BITES Festival of 10-Minute Musicals. Published in 2019, The 10-Minute Musical: an Anthology from the SOUND BITES Festival collects 25 short musicals from the first six years of the festival, all of which are licensed for production through an ongoing partnership with Music Theatre International (MTI). Theatre Now will license an additional 20 titles through MTI by the end of this year.