NAMT Now Accepting Submissions For 2011 Festival Of New Musicals

The National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) is accepting submissions for its 23rd Annual Festival of New Musicals taking place in New York in fall 2011. Submission information and the online application are available at www.namt.org.

The eight shows selected for the Festival will receive fully-funded 45-minute professional readings for an industry-only audience of over 600 people. The writers will also each receive a $500 honorarium for being selected for NAMT's Festival of New Musicals.

Submission Deadlines: (postmark)

· January 25, 2011- Non-NAMT Member Professional Theatre Organizations and Theatrical Literary Agents ($60 registration fee)

· February 15, 2011 -NAMT Members and Alumni Festival Writers (no registration fee required)

Any writer may apply, as long as the submission includes a Letter of Endorsement from a NAMT member, any other professional theatre organization, commercial producer or an agent.

NAMT will also be hosting Festival Submission Information Session on January 6, 2011 from 6:30pm-7:30pm for anyone interested in submitting a show this year. The Session will be hosted by Branden Huldeen, NAMT's New Works Director and the Festival Producing Artistic Director, and will include members from the selection committee. The Session will be held at CAP21 (18 W. 18 th Street, 6 th) in New York City. To RSVP for this event, please e-mail Festival@namt.org.

Past Festival successes include Tony Award-winners THOROUGHLY MODERN MILLIE (Festival 1996) and THE DROWSY CHAPERONE (Festival 2004). Other recent successes include:

Adam Gwon, writer of ORDINARY DAYS (Festival 2008), received the Fred Ebb Award, in addition to a production at Roundabout Underground, Adirondack Theatre Festival, South Coast Rep and The Human Race Theatre Company. The show also has a cast recording and has been licensed by Rodgers & Hammerstein.

THE MEMORY SHOW (Festival 2009) received a production at Barrington Stage Co. last summer.

RIPPER (Festival 2009) will receive its world premiere production next season at The Broadway Rose Theatre Co.

SEE ROCK CITY & OTHER DESTINATIONS (Festival 2008) was seen this summer Off Broadway at The Transport Group and is now licensed by Samuel French.

IRON CURTAIN (Festival 2009) will receive its world premiere production this season at The Village Theatre.

KINGDOM (Festival 2007) by Ian Williams and Aaron Jafferis received the Richard Rodgers Award and had readings at The Public Theater and Queens Theatre in the Park, with productions at The Old Globe Theatre and ReVision Theatre.

TINYARD HILL (Festival 2007) had its world premiere production at TheatreWorks in Palo Alto, CA following a developmental production at Red Mountain Theatre Company last year. It was also presented this summer at Cumberland County Playhouse.

VANITIES, A NEW MUSICAL (Festival 2006) had a production at the Pasadena Playhouse followed by a production Off Broadway at Second Stage Theatre summer 2009, and a production this spring at The 5th Avenue Theatre in collaboration with ACT.

DANGEROUS BEAUTY (Festival 2006) will premiere in February at Pasadena Playhouse.

Jane Austen'S EMMA (Festival 2006) will have a new production at The Old Globe next month. It was also produced at TheatreWorks in Palo Alto, Cincinnati Playhouse, and The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis.

NAMT's Festival of New Musicalsis the cornerstone of NAMT's mission to nurture the creation, development, and production of new musicals . NAMT's Festival brings theatre professionals from across the world together for an industry-only event to discover eight new musicals over two days. Since 1989, the Festival has presented over 230 musicals and 390 writers, and 75% of these shows have found subsequent productions, tours, and licensing agreements as a direct result of the Festival. NAMT's Festival is overseen by Producing Artistic Director Branden Huldeen.

The Festival of New Musicals is funded entirely by contributions to the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, a not-for-profit organization, and is supported in part by a generous award from the National Endowment for the Arts and with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, celebrating 50 years of building strong, creative communities in New York State's 62 counties.

For more information about the Festival of New Musicals, please contact Branden Huldeen at branden@namt.org or 212-714-6668 x14.

National Alliance For Musical Theatre (NAMT)

Executive Director, Kathy Evans

Founded in 1985, the National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT) is a national service organization dedicated exclusively to musical theatre. NAMT's mission is to nurture the creation, development, and production of new musicals and to provide a forum for musical theatre professionals to share resources. Our 150+ members, located throughout 35 states and abroad, are some of the leading producers of musical theatre in the world and include theatres, developmental organizations, higher education groups, presenting companies, and independent producers. Last season, NAMT members cumulatively staged over 15,000 performances attended by 11 million people. NAMT has presented its annual FESTIVAL OF NEW MUSICALS since 1989. The Festival makes "a major impact on the world of musical theatre," according to American Theater Magazine, bringing together leading theatre producers and musical theatre writers. NAMT's other programs include conferences, new works summits, and a granting initiative, the National Fund for New Musicals, which supports the development and production of new musicals. For more information, visit www.namt.org.