Call for compositions: Festival of New Musicals in the US

Now in its 33rd edition, the annual event is the cornerstone of the organisation’s mission to be a catalyst for nurturing musical theatre development and production.

NAMT supports the development of all forms of musical theatre, including musicals, song cycles, opera and hybrid works. Each year, eight musicals are featured in 45-minute presentations for an audience of more than 700 industry professionals. The festival seeks new musicals at all stages of development from the broadest possible range of voices.

NAMT says the festival’s goal is to connect producers with writers so that their shows can extend their development trajectory, and the long-term goal is to expand the musical theatre repertoire and advance the musical theatre art form.

The objectives of the festival are to:

• Showcase quality new musicals with a wide range of subject matter, style and concept.
• Nurture composers, lyricists and book writers of all identities and backgrounds.
• Stimulate networking opportunities for NAMT Members and theatre professionals.
• Provide a forum to spark new collaborations and ventures.
• Encourage future productions of new musicals.

How to submit

• Writers can submit applications free of charge.
• An endorsement from an industry professional is required.

The call for submissions will open officially from 4 to 18 November 2021.

More information can be found here, and any queries can be emailed to festival@namt.org.

“We never take any royalties from our writers or ask them to pay for their participation in the festival,” NAMT says. “The festival is funded solely through sponsorships, grants and donations contributed by government agencies, foundations, organisations and individuals.”

Meanwhile, the 33rd edition will take place on 21 and 22 October 2021. Founded in 1985, the National Alliance for Musical Theatre is a not-for-profit organisation serving the musical theatre community, with 155 organisational members and 60 individual members located throughout 33 states and abroad, which are some of the leading producers of musical theatre in the world. They include theatres, presenting organisations, higher education programmes and individual producers.