National Alliance for Musical Theatre Receives $60,000 Grant from National Endowment for the Arts

For the second consecutive year, the National Endowment for the Arts awarded a $60,000 grant to the National Alliance for Musical Theatre to support NAMT's 2010 Fall Conference and 22nd Annual Festival of New Musicals, which will be held in New York City. This was the highest grant awarded in the Theater and Musical Theater categories, which together comprised over 180 awards.

NAMT's Fall Conference will bring together NAMT's membership, which includes some of the leading professional producers of musical theatre, to learn the latest on new work development and production. At the 22nd Annual Festival of New Musicals, NAMT members will be joined by hundreds more industry professionals to see 45-minute staged readings of eight new musicals over two days. The goal of the Festival is to introduce writers to the people who can develop and produce their work. The 2009 Festival had 700 attendees, and 200 artists participated. Past Festival shows include The Drowsy Chaperone, Kingdom, Ordinary Days, The Story of My Life, Striking 12, and Vanities.

Executive Director Kathy Evans commented, "It is such an honor to receive this acknowledgement of our important work from the NEA. We are proud of our track record in helping very talented writers find further productions of their musicals. And this is also a testament to our 145 members - theatres, commercial producers, universities, and developmental organizations - who are at the forefront of the development of new musicals across the country."

About National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT)

Founded in 1985 and based in New York City, the National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT), is a national service organization dedicated exclusively to musical theatre with a focus on nurturing the creation, development, and production of new musicals. NAMT's 145 members include theatres, developmental organizations, universities, and independent producers. Located throughout 33 states and 4 countries, they cumulatively staged over 26,000 performances attended by 15.6 million people last year. NAMT fulfills its mission through its New Works Programs which include the Festival of New Musicals, New Works Summits, and the National Fund for New Musicals, which awards grants to theatres to support their work with writers as they develop and produce new musicals. For more information, visit www.namt.org.