Atlanta Musical Theatre Festival to be Held in August

Founder and Executive Artistic Director Benjamin Davis is thrilled to announce the launch of the inaugural Atlanta Musical Theatre Festival (AMTF), to be held August 1 and 2, 2016, at Actor's Express. The AMTF will be two days and nights of original musical theatre performances by local artists, as well as showcase performances of professional productions and educational groups. Performances will be open to the artistic community, the public, and the press. Submissions are being accepted now for work to be presented at the festival (details below). Tickets to the Festival will go on sale later in the spring. A fundraising campaign will be launched March 15 with support from the Festival's fiscal sponsor, C4 Atlanta.

Actor's Express is an AMTF partner organization and is located at 887 W. Marietta Street, Suite J-107, Atlanta GA 30318.

ABOUT THE ATLANTA MUSICAL THEATRE FESTIVAL

The Atlanta Musical Theatre Festival was born out of a desire to motivate local artists to continue to write musical theatre. Benjamin Davis, Founder and Executive Artistic Director, is an actor and producer. After participating in the New York Musical Theatre Festival in 2015 as a producer, Ben saw an opportunity in the Atlanta community to nurture the writing population. The AMTF is designed to take new work a few paces further, via work with the Festival's Artistic Advisors, to its presentation point at the Festival. The goals are many: that the piece will grow and evolve in this process; that the artist might learn a new part of the creative process; that a producing theatre or director might become interested in the piece, or the playwright, or an actor; that there are new connections and networks formed. The mission of the AMTF is to "cultivate the next generation of theatre artists by mentoring talent, propelling new musicals forward, and celebrating the community in a supportive, nurturing, and creative environment."

"We are very excited about creating a safe space for Atlanta artists to develop new work. We also want to make sure we provide an opportunity for emerging directors, choreographers, musicians, and all theatre artists to hone their crafts," said Davis, Founder and Executive Artistic Director. "We want to encourage artists to make their art, and to support and learn from each other."

The Festival is currently programmed for its evening events at Actor's Express. Daytime programming and more partner venues will be announced soon.

The Festival will launch a fundraising campaign through C4 Atlanta as its fiscal sponsor, on March 15. All donations will be tax-deductible, and various levels of sponsorships and coordinating benefits will be available. Details on sponsorship levels are available at www.TheAMTF.com and www.C4Atlanta.org .

SUBMISSIONS & SELECTIONS

Submissions at any stage in development will be considered for the festival. Acceptance ensures further development of the submission. Whether an artist has a few songs written and desires to start developing the libretto, or has a fully realized new musical, the AMTF will provide a nurturing home for the show to grow in the area in which it needs support. This happens in the time between submission/acceptance and the performance in August. At this time, the Artistic Advisors expect to have 8 weeks to work with each production.

Submissions deadline is May 1, 2016, and selections will be announced May 21, 2016. Format requirements for submissions, and more information, can be found on the AMTF website: www.TheAMTF.com; select "Submissions & Selections".

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