BLOOD, RIO, et al. Selected for NYMF's 2011 NEXT LINK PROJECT!

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) today announced the selections for the 2011 Next Link Project, NYMF's primary writer service program. The Next Link Project empowers emerging musical theatre writing teams as both artists and entrepreneurs by providing the training and relationships needed to help them move their musicals from readings to fully-realized productions and to advance their careers by maximizing the exposure they receive in the Festival. Twelve of the Festival's full production slots are reserved for participants in The Next Link Project.

Participants attend a special weekend-long symposium featuring seminars on fundraising, marketing, industry outreach, and self-producing, led by industry professionals. The writing teams are introduced to potential collaborators, supporters and producers, and receive dramaturgical support from professional literary managers and dramaturgs. Finally, each Next Link show receives financial support in the form of a $4,500 subsidy toward its production in the Festival.

Any work that has not been produced professionally in New York City may be submitted by authors (with or without industry representation), but scripts should be ready for developmental production and the widespread exposure NYMF provides. All entries undergo double-blind evaluations by several members of NYMF's reading team, with finalists referred to a grand jury of celebrated industry professionals. This year's jury includes Joe DiPietro (playwright), Tamara Tunie (actress/producer), Anthony Rapp (actor/musician/author), John Carrafa (director/choreographer), Amanda Lipitz (producer), Barbara Freitag (producer), and Michael Starobin (musical orchestrator).

Since its inception in 2004, The New York Musical Theatre Festival has premiered more than 250 new musicals - more than 70 of which have gone on to award-winning productions in New York, in regional theaters in almost every state, and in 16 countries worldwide. NYMF alum Next to Normal won three 2009 Tony Awards and the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Drama during its Broadway run, and is now enjoying a national tour. The more than one dozen NYMF shows to have enjoyed off-Broadway productions include the long-running hit Altar Boyz, [title of show] (which also enjoyed a Tony-nominated Broadway production), The Great American Trailer Park Musical, In Transit, Rooms, The Shaggs (currently playing at Playwrights Horizons), and Yank! Other shows like Meet John Doe, Nerds: A Musical Software Satire, The Mistress Cycle, and Kingdom have enjoyed award-winning productions around the country.

"We were overwhelmed by the level of talent in the Next Link musical submissions this year," said NYMF Executive Director & Producer Isaac Robert Hurwitz. "We can't wait to help get these shows on their feet, with the help of the many directors, producers, designers, and performers who will ultimately join us as part of this year's Festival. We're excited to do our part to build a new generation of active musical theater creators, keeping the art form moving forward."

This year's Festival will run September 26th through October 16th. Memberships are on sale now, and members can start booking tickets on August 1st. Single tickets will go on sale beginning September 1st. To purchase a membership, please phone the NYMF office at 212-664-0979, Monday-Friday, 10:30am-6pm.

A complete list of the 2011 Next Link Project Musicals follows....

Blood [By The Mummers]
Book, Music, and Lyrics by [By The Mummers]
Birnam High School is a hotbed of supernatural bloodshed. While the ambitious upstart, Mack, rises amongst the hallway ranks of pretty girls, nerds, jocks, and studs, best friends Jacques and Maura raise their personal stakes for the sake of survival. One problem... Maura is Mack's girl. A prophecy revealing "The Chosen One" shall determine the fates of the Birnam Woodsmen, but rest assured, the Blood will spill on the righteous and the damned alike.

The Brain That Wouldn't Die! In 3-D!!!
Book and Lyrics by T. Sivak and E. Gelman
Music by T. Sivak
It's 1961 and Dr. Dick Cuttingham will go to any lengths to further scientific knowledge---even Murder! When his fiancee, Hedy, is accidentally decapitated, Dick keeps her head alive in a baking pan while he hunts for a replacement body to transplant to her. Hedy would rather die than take part in this ghastly experiment and battles Dick in a 3D Rock'n'Roll finale! WARNING: Seeing this show may cause you to laugh your head off!

Date of a Lifetime
Book and Lyrics by Carl Kissin
Music by Robert Baumgartner Jr.
Marvin meets Katie at a speed-dating event. During their limited time together, he hypothesizes what their life as a couple might be like -- going all the way from present day to death. Then... it's her turn. Will this awkward first encounter become yet another "looking for love" horror story, or could it truly be the date of a lifetime?

Jack Perry is Alive (And Dating)
Book and Lyrics by Harrison David Rivers and Daniella Shoshan
Music by Julia Meinwald
Jack Perry is a thirty-something Manhattanite seeking Crate & Barrel domestic bliss, aimless strolls down the aisles of Whole Foods, a pug to raise and neuroses to share. But despite his well-meaning coupled-up pals' attempts to set him up and settle him down, Jack finds himself down and out. In this one-day-in-the-life musical, bar-hop, cab-stop, and heart-flop with Jack as he pursues the mysterious source of a late-night love-professed text message.

Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Lindsay Warren Baker and Amanda Jacobs
Elizabeth Bennet and Fitzwilliam Darcy's romance comes to life with fresh eyes as Jane Austen revisits her unpublished manuscript, First Impressions. As Austen transforms their story into what will ultimately become her masterpiece, Pride and Prejudice, both the author and her characters struggle to learn the joy of second chances.

Look at This f-ing Hipster
Book by Keythe Farley
Music by Lori Scarlett and John Ballinger
Lyrics by Lori Scarlett
Lars is the lead singer of the successful indie band MARK TWAIN'S MOUSTACHE, but when he falls in love with spitfire Josie Harvey, he gets more than he bargained for. Sure, Look At This f-ing Hipster is a musical about a bunch of "navel-gazing, skinny jean-wearing, self-consciously quirky consumers of obscure indie rock", but it's also about trying to carve out a sense of Love and Community in a world where everyone is too busy looking out for their own self-interest. Fuck On!

Madame X
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Gerard Alessandrini and Robert Hetzel
It's "Madame X" with a huge capital "M!" for Melodrama! Music! and Murder! in this over the top hysterical take on Douglas Sirk films and the ever-durable genre of the altruistic, self sacrificing mother. It's a new twist on John Singer Sargent's classic portrait, "Madame X," as she haunts an over-sexed housewife who won't take responsibility for her own hedonism...until it's too late!

Man of Rock
Book and Lyrics by Daniel Heath
Music by Kenneth Flagg
In the summer of 1982, Dorimant, lead singer of Silverwolf, broke hearts all down the Jersey Shore with his panty-dropping hit ballad, "Come Down Angel." But now it's 1986, and he's still a one-hit-wonder. When the hot and brainless JJ Rock rolls into town with his band Hämmer, Dorimant must rediscover the spirit of rock'n'roll, or lose his band, his bar... and his one shot at a girl who can rock as hard as he does.

Outlaws
Book by Perry Liu, Joe Calarco and Alastair William King
Music by Alastair William King and Perry Liu
Lyrics by Perry Liu
Conceived by Alastair William King and Perry Liu
A media sensation before his time, Billy the Kid was one of the Wild West's most infamous outlaws. He, Pat Garrett and their young gang live a rebellious carefree life, but that quickly changes after Billy draws his gun. On the run, these ‘kids' must learn to grow up... the hard way. Driven by a heart-pounding rock score, this edgy musical spins a tale of youth and friendship, fame and violence in America.

Rio
Book, Music, and Lyrics by Mitch Magonet and Joey Miller
Sky. Neon. Sun on glass. Concrete. Carnaval. In a re-invention of Oliver Twist set in modern day Rio, twelve year-old Pipio searches for his mother among the street-kids, gangs and drug-lords in Rio's slums, or "favelas." When the reigning drug-lord's girlfriend Neves gets entangled in Pipio's plight, a search for identity becomes a struggle for survival.

Time Between Us
Book and Lyrics by Brett Schrier and Tess Barker
Music by Brett Schrier
Fresh out of art school, best friends Morgan and Matthew begin "real life" with the shared dream of having it all. But is it really possible to build the perfect career and the ideal personal life? Across the span of thirty years, irresistible opportunities and heart-wrenching decisions bring each of the friends towards achieving half of their dream - and force them to leave the other half behind. A beautifully haunting portrait of best friends, passions, and time.

Now entering its eighth year, The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) exists to revitalize musical theater culture by discovering and promoting new musical theater artists, producers and projects; nurturing a vibrant and innovative artistic community; and connecting one of America's greatest art forms with a diverse, contemporary audience.

For more information, please visit: www.nymf.org