NMI’s RESOURCE CENTER for musical theatre writers
…producers, theatres, contests, ideas, feedback, definitions, links, glossary, insider tips and advice, and free videos
Welcome to the musical theatre writers’ Resource Center.
This is a FREE page provided by New Musicals Inc. We’ve gathered in one place lots of info we think will be useful to writers of musical theatre:
- hundreds of musical theatre contests
- over 700 theatres and producers where you can submit your work
- an idea library of thousands of royalty-free public domain stories and plots
- a Writer Bank of potential musical theatre collaborators
- a glossary of musical theatre terms (with audio/video examples)
- a page of useful links to other resources for musical theatre writers
- access to short videos filled with tips and advice from NMI staff
You can see the full listings for FREE! You just need to register. Take a look at some random highlights from the feature boxes of the Resource Center below.
We also offer a paid Premium version of the Resource Center which gives you the ability to SEARCH all the listings for contests, theatres, and ideas which are relevant to you and your work; and includes a monthly e-newsletter with up-to-date listings that come straight to you.
Already a member? LOG-IN
INSIDER TIPS AND ADVICE |
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How to Get NO Feedback from Elise: Vlog 45 – TELLING A GLOBAL STORY The 45th post in the video blog from NMI Artistic Director Elise Dewsberry - How to Get NO Feedback from Elise. A discussion of telling a GLOBAL story in musical form. To see more fom this series, subscribe to the vlog at http://nmi.org/nmi-resources/elises-video-blog/ May 1, 2021 How to Get NO Feedback from Elise: Vlog 44 – TELLING A SHORT STORY April 1, 2021 How to Get NO Feedback from Elise: Vlog 43 – TELLING AN ENSEMBLE STORY March 1, 2021 How to Get NO Feedback from Elise: Vlog 42-COLLABORATION – COLLABORATION AGREEMENTS February 1, 2021 How to Get NO Feedback from Elise: Vlog 41-COLLABORATION – SOLVING PROBLEMS January 1, 2021 How to Get NO Feedback from Elise: Vlog 40-COLLABORATION – HOW? *** Visit the INSIDER TIPS page to see the full listing of insider tips and advice videos. *** |
CONTESTS |
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FREE LISTING of hundreds of contests for plays and musicals. Premium Subscribers: get the additional ability to search by keywords. Who’s running contests for ten-minute musicals or one-acts? Who’s looking just for musicals? Dramas? Comedies? Or search by special interest, or geography. |
Here are some random samples from some upcoming contests/submissions listings:
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GLOSSARY OF TERMS |
Here are some samples from our Glossary of definitions of musical theatre terms. We will be adding to this over time - as well as adding actual sample scores and sound recordings. Check back often!
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FORMAT LIKE A PRO |
Watch this FREE video to learn how to implement the FORMAT GUIDELINES specifically designed by New Musicals Inc. Make sure your script and score look professional and are ready to go into development. |
Eddie Cantor, circa 1920’s. From the Musical Theatre History collection of the Library of Congress. |
WRITER BANK |
Here are the newest additions to our Writer Bank:
You may peruse the Writer Bank for potential collaborators. If you are a logged-in registered (free) user, you are also welcome to enter your own information into the Writer Bank. Not yet registered? Just look for the registration form at the bottom of this page. |
PRODUCERS & THEATRES |
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FREE LISTINGS of nearly 700 producers and theatres for potential submission of your work. Premium Subscribers: get the additional ability to search by keyword or genre to identify who’s most likely to be interested in YOUR musical. (Large/small; comedy/drama; full-length/one-act; special interest like “women” or “LGBT” or youth theatre, etc.) |
Here are some random samples from our listings of theatres and producers:
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NEW MUSICALS ONLINE |
Here is one of our featured new musical theatre videos: |
LIBRARY OF IDEAS (Royalty Free) |
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FREE ACCESS to a library of 1000+ downloadable royalty-free stories, plays, plots and other inspiring indeas we’ve found in the public domain for you. There’s a brief excerpt of every item in the library, so you can take a quick glance to see whether or not you want to read the whole text. In addition, the NMI staff has made annotations and recommendations for many of the titles in the library about their potential to become musicals. Save hundreds of hours of research and reading! Premium Subscribers: get the ability to search the library for genre (Comedy, drama, suspense, ghost story, fairy story, etc.). |
Here are some random samples from our listings of story ideas in the public domain:
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IMPROVE YOUR CRAFT |
New Musicals Inc. offers a whole series of professional online LABS for bookwriters, lyricists, and composers who are serious about improving their craft. This video is a FREE sample of one of the lecture videos from the all new Lyric Lab 1 - Fundamentals. |
LINKS |
Here are some random samples from our musical-theatre related links:
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MUSICAL THEATRE ARCHIVES |
| Here is some musical theatre trivia about events that happened during THIS month in the past: |
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June 3, 1990 City of Angels unexpectedly triumphed over Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Aspects of Love and Tommy Tune’s Grand Hotel: The Musical at the Tonys, winning Best Musical, Best Score, and Book. June 4, 2000 Contact won the Best Musical Tony Award today, despite having no singing or live music. June 19, 1978 Broadway has a whorehouse in it: The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas opened today and ran for more than four years. June 17, 1917 Rat-packer Dean Martin was born today. June 28, 1902 Richard Rodgers was born today. |
news feed:
16th Annual Broadway Junior Student Celebration Streams June 23
The 16th annual Shubert Foundation/Music Theatre International Broadway Junior Student Finale premieres virtually on Playbill June 23. The annual event is the culmination of a program that helps NYC public schools affect school culture change through building sustainable theatre education programs. Watch the special performance above beginning at 7 PM ET.Participating students, all from schools in the second and third years of the program, will share performances from their 2020–2021 productions…Read moreWinners of Columbia@Roundabout’s 2021 New Play Reading Series Announced
As part of the collaborative partnership between Roundabout Theatre Company and Columbia University, the reading series awards three playwrights from the current MFA program and recent alumni with a cash prize as well as a reading produced by Roundabout.Nikki M. James, Zachary Noah Piser, Micaela Diamond & More Join Williamstown Theatre Festival 2021 Live Season
Williamstown Theatre Festivalhas announced additional casting and members of the creative teams for all three of their 2021 Live Season productions, which begins July 6 and will take place outdoors, socially distanced, and with safety prioritized.Nikki M. James, Jeannette Bayardelle, Andy Grotelueschen, More Tapped for Williamstown Theatre Festival Season
Tony winner Nikki M. James, Tony nominee Andy Grotelueschen, Broadway alums Jeannette Bayardelle and Michaela Diamond, and more are headed to Massachusetts this summer for Williamstown Theatre Festival. As previously announced, the three-production outdoor season begins July 6 with Celebrating the Black Radical Imagination: Nine Solo Plays. In addition to the casting announcement, WTF has extended its season by one week through August 15, adding performances for the musical Row and immersive the…Read moreVIDEO: Watch BROADWAY BARES: TWERK FROM HOME- Live at 9pm!
After more than a year of being homebound and Zoomed out, the cast of Broadway Bares will turn on their cameras and turn up the heat when Broadway Bares Twerk from Home premieres tonight, June 20 at 9pm ET.VIDEO: Times Square Comes Alive with BROADWAY CELEBRATES JUNETEENTH
The Broadway League hosted a free outdoor event centered around Black joy and unity that featured Black Broadway performers in a 90-minute concert with live music provided by The Music Performance Trust Fund.Playbill Vault’s Today in Theatre History: June 19
1978 Carol Hall’s The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, starring Carlin Glynn, opens on Broadway at the 46th Street Theatre. The musical directed by Peter Masterson and Tommy Tune garners seven Tony nominations and wins two, for Glynn and co-star Henderson Forsythe.1987 Robert Harling’s smalltown drama Steel Magnolias transfers from Off-Broadway’s WPA Theatre to Off-Broadway’s Lucille Lortel Theatre where it plays 1,126 performances. The play features Betsy Aidem, Mary Fogarty, Margo Martindale,…Read moreRita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go for It Documentary Released June 18
Rita Moreno: Just a Girl Who Decided to Go For It, the documentary about the EGOT-winning artist, arrives in theatres June 18. Watch the trailer above. Directed by Mariem Pérez Riera, the film chronicles Moreno from her early years in Puerto Rico through her childhood as an immigrant in New York City and the racial bias she faced in the studio system, while breaking down barriers and overcoming sexism and identity discrimination with integrity. Rita Moreno in West Side Story Nikko Tavernise In a…Read moreVIDEO: On This Day, June 18: Happy Birthday, Kristen Bell!
On this day, we’re celebrating the birthday of Broadway, film, and television star, Kristen BellFeinstein’s/54 Below Reopens Its Doors June 17 With Joe Iconis and George Salazar in Two Player Game
New York City’s popular cabaret venue Feinstein’s/54 Below will welcome back audiences for live performances beginning June 17 with an all-star lineup of entertainment and a new summer menu from Consulting Chef Harold Dieterle, best known as the Season 1 winner of Top Chef. The opening weekend shows include Joe Iconis and George Salazar: Two Player Game (June 17-24), Shakina Nayfack (June 17), Larry Owens (June 19, July 9 and 31), and a celebration of the city, Our New York Renaissance! A Celebr…Read more| new musicals ... incorrigible |
MONTHLY NEWSLETTER |
Premium Subscribers receive a monthly email that lists upcoming contest deadlines; the newest members of the Writer Bank, some sample public domain ideas; as well as some fun musical theatre trivia like random lyric quotes, pictures from the archives, and listings of things that happened in the musical theatre world during this same month in the past. We know that it's not always easy to remember to come back to the Resource Center to remind yourself of what contest deadlines are coming up soon - so this newsletter will come to YOU. |
FREE ACCESS right now; just register with us and pay no fees. But for $50 a year, Premium Subscribers get all the extra stuff listed on this page. Here’s a summary of the additional perks for Premium Subscribers:
Free v. Subscription?
| Free | Subscribers | |
| Insider Tips | √ | |
| Contests | √ | Custom search |
| Producers/Theatres | √ | Custom search |
| Idea Library | √ | Custom search; recommended titles |
| Links/resources | √ | √ |
| Writer Bank | √ | √ |
| Glossary of Terms | √ | √ |
| Monthly Newsletter | – | √ |
| Format Guidelines | $15 | FREE |
| Creative Services | – | $50-$400 off |
| Advice | – | $50 off |
CREATIVE SERVICES
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| The Resource Center is a very powerful clearinghouse of information and source material. But what it does NOT include are workshops, feedback, or advice on how to get produced, all of which have some fees involved. However, premium subscribers to the Resource Center get discounts on our services, ranging from $50-$400. Here are some links to pages describing how New Musicals Inc. supports writers and composers of new musical theatre: |
| New Musicals Inc. Creative Services — Script Analysis, workshops, table readings, concerts. You’ll also find here some options about developing your musical. (Hint: look at “The Sandbox” — and create your own pathway according to your budget and timetable.) PREMIUM Subscribers get up to $400 off. |
| Consulting/Advice — We’re known for our supportive, practical consultations on producing, raising money, putting together budgets, as well as artistic issues like music notation, script doctoring, etc. PREMIUM Subscribers get $50 off. |
| Format Guidelines — Want your script and score to look as professional as possible when making submissions? PREMIUM Subscribers get our infamous GUIDELINES FOR PROFESSIONAL SCRIPT AND SCORE FORMATTING - ILLUSTRATED & EXPLAINED (a $15 value) for FREE. |
REGISTER FOR FREE!OR become a PREMIUM SUBSCRIBER!Already registered? Please login below.
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The lack of romance in my soul --Jerry Herman |
Free v. Subscription?
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FREE to Registered Users |
| Insider Tips |
| Contests (Subscribers get access to custom SEARCH options) |
| Producers/Theatres (Subscribers get access to custom SEARCH option) |
| Idea Library (Subscribers get access to custom SEARCH and recommended titles options) |
| Links/resources |
| Writer Bank |
| Glossary of Terms |
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PERKS for PREMIUM Subscribers |
| Custom search/filtering options |
| Monthly Newsletter |
| Format Guidelines for FREE |
| DISCOUNTS on Creative Services (from $50 to $400) |