NAMT's 2014 Songwriters Showcase to Feature Kristen Anderson-Lopez, PigPen Theatre Company & More

The National Alliance For Musical Theatre (NAMT) has announced additional concerts and events for the 26th Annual Festival of New Musicals. On October 22nd the Festival kicks off with The 46th Minute, a concert featuring cut songs and new material from all eight 26th Annual Festival of New Musicals selections, followed by The Songwriters Showcase on October 23rd and The Songwriters Sessions on October 23rd and 24th, all at New World Stages (340 West 50th Street).

THE 46th MINUTE
OCTOBER 22, 2014 at 6PM
AT NEW WORLD STAGES
DIRECTED BY VICTORIA BUSSERT (Five-time Director for the NAMT Festival)

For many years, NAMT's Annual Festival of New Musicals' jam-packed schedule has required a compact 45-minute cut of each selected show, causing great songs to fall victim to the stopwatch. To kick off this year's Festival, the writers behind the 26th Festival of New Musicals selections will share some of those amazing songs that will not be heard at the Festival this year. Part preview, part therapy...all new music. The 46th Minute is open to the public, with tickets starting at $25 and available for purchase at www.namt.org/46minute or telecharge.com.

2014 SONGWRITERS SHOWCASE
OCTOBER 23, 2014 at 2PM
AT NEW WORLD STAGES
DIRECTED BY BRANDEN HULDEEN (Festival Producing Director)

The 2014 Songwriters Showcase will highlight four exciting new musicals at varying stages of development. Each writing team will present two new songs and talk a bit about the project. The lineup for the showcase includes:

THE COST OF LIVING
BY TIMOTHY HUANG
(THE VIEW FROM HERE)

THE HUNTER AND THE BEAR
BY PIGPEN THEATRE COMPANY
(THE OLD MAN AND THE OLD MOON)

OCTOBER SKY
BY MICHAEL MAHLER
(FEST '09- HOW CAN YOU RUN WITH A SHELL ON YOUR BACK?)

AARON THIELEN
(FEST '10- THE BOWERY BOYS)

STORYVILLE
BY LISA DE SPAIN
(NEA JAZZ FELLOWSHIP, AARON COPLAND FELLOWSHIP)

KRISTEN ANDERSON-LOPEZ
(ACADEMY AWARD - FROZEN)

JULIA JORDAN
(FEST '03- SARAH, PLAIN AND TALL; FEST '11- BERNICE BOBS HER HAIR)

The 2014 Songwriters Showcase is part of the 26th Festival of New Musicals and is open to the public via a standby line. For more information, visit www.namt.org/festival.

THE SONGWRITERS SESSIONS
OCTOBER 23-24, 2014 (Times Vary)
AT NEW WORLD STAGES
DIRECTED BY BRANDON IVIE (JASPER IN DEADLAND)

The Songwriters Sessions will feature four different songwriting teams presenting new material from their various projects in the intimate Green Room Lounge at New World Stages. The lineup and schedule includes:

OCTOBER 23, 2014
MICHELLE ELLIOTT AND DANNY LARSEN
(NAMT Fest '08- The Yellow Wood)

ROB ROKICKI
(The Lightning Thief)

OCTOBER 24, 2014
WILL ARONSON
(NAMT Fest '10- The Trouble With Doug)

DOUGLAS LYONS AND ETHAN PAKCHAR
("#Love(Live)")

The Songwriters Sessions are open only to Festival Pass holders. For more information visit www.namt.org/festival.

The previously announced lineup for the 26th Annual Festival of New Musicals includes eight new musicals: Beautiful Poison, Cubamor, Great Wall, How To Break, Mary Marie, The Noteworthy Life of Howard Barnes, String and Stu For Silverton. The 26th Annual Festival of New Musicals will take place on Thursday, October 23, 2014 and Friday, October 24, 2014 at New World Stages.

The Festival of New Musicals attracts theatre producers from around the world for this industry-only event to discover eight new musicals presented in 45-minute reading presentation over two days. All production costs are underwritten by NAMT, at no cost to the writing teams. As a non-profit organization, NAMT funds the Festival entirely through donations, sponsorships and contributions.

For the 11th consecutive year, NAMT's Festival of New Musicals will be presented at the premiere Off Broadway facility New World Stages, located at 340 West 50th Street. A limited number of free seats will be available to the public on a standby basis. The public can also receive passes to the Festival through a donation to NAMT. Registration for Industry members is free and now open at www.namt.org/festival.

The 26th Annual Festival of New Musicals is overseen by NAMT New Works Director and Festival Producing Director Branden Huldeen and Festival General Manager Lisa Dozier King.

Photo by Walter McBride