The Polyphone Festival 2024 is Now Accepting Applications

The Polyphone Festival of New Musicals at the University of the Arts is currently accepting applications for musicals for its 2024 Festival, to be held in Philadelphia in the Spring of 2024. Applications are due Sunday, August 13, 2023 at 11:59PM.

Now approaching its 10th year, The Polyphone Festival of New Musicals is an internationally recognized festival for the development of new musical theater at the Ira Brind School of Theater at the University of the Arts in Philadelphia. Polyphone brings creators of adventurous new musicals to Philadelphia to collaborate with student casts and production teams on new works in process. 

“The Polyphone process is rooted in a deeply held belief that the container of musical theater contains endless possibility,” Artistic Director Maggie-Kate Coleman said. Polyphone seeks pieces that look toward the future of the musical theater form, and is especially motivated to program voices and stories systematically excluded from the musical theater canon. UArts remains committed to an open application process for the Festival and does not charge an application fee or require representation to apply. While anyone regardless of location may apply, the festival is best able to support artists who reside within 150 miles of Philadelphia.

Selected artists will receive an in-person workshop in Spring 2024, where they will be encouraged to experiment, rewrite, and engage in targeted exploration of their work over the course of 7 weeks. In the final week, work is shared with audiences in the form of off-book, staged concert productions with small bands and elements of theatrical design.

The initial application requires a complete draft of the script, a link to song demos, and a statement of developmental goals for the proposed musical.  Individual applicants may apply with no more than two musicals per cycle, with a separate application required for each proposed piece. To apply, complete the online application form found at www.polyphone.org and provide requested materials.

APPLICATIONS ARE DUE SUNDAY, AUGUST 13, 2023, 11:59PM

More information about Polyphone and the application process can be found at www.polyphone.org.  Learn more about UArts at www.uarts.edu.

If you have any questions about the application or the Polyphone process that are not answered on the website, please contact Artistic Director Maggie-Kate Coleman at magcoleman@uarts.edu.

If you have any technical issues with the application form or process, please contact Associate Producer Lindsay Cram at lcram@uarts.edu.

About University of the Arts

University of the Arts' mission is simple: to advance human creativity. Established in 1876, UArts believes creativity is the most essential skill for success in today's society and has educated generations of groundbreaking artists, performers, designers and creative leaders for 145 years.

After being granted university status in 1987, University of the Arts became the largest institution of its kind in the nation, offering programs in design, fine arts, media arts, crafts, music, dance, theater and writing. It now features 22 undergraduate arts majors, 13 graduate programs and the nation's first PhD program in Creativity. UArts is also home to innovative centers across disciplines, including the Center for Immersive Media, Lightbox Film Center, Philadelphia Art Alliance and Rosenwald-Wolf Gallery. Learn more about UArts at www.uarts.edu.

Don't Miss a Philadelphia News Story
Sign up for all the news on the Summer season, discounts & more...