CREATETHEATER and SUNY CORTLAND PERFORMING ARTS Announce New Professional College Musical Theatre Partnership

CreateTheater's Executive Producer Cate Cammarata and Kevin Halpin, Chair of SUNY Cortland's Musical Theater Department, have announced a new College Musical Theater Partnership in order to develop new musicals in Cortland's professional-oriented B.F.A. program.

The new CreateTheater/SUNY Cortland partnership will begin accepting submissions of new musicals from now until July 17th, 2022. To submit, go to https://createtheater.com/college-theater-development-partnership/

Cammarata, an Off-Broadway producer and founder of CreateTheater, and Halpin, Chair of the Performing Arts Department at SUNY Cortland, went to college together and majored in theater years ago at Syracuse University Drama. "I can't say enough about the B.F.A. in Musical Theatre program Kevin created at Cortland," she said. "It is truly one of the best professional programs I've seen. This Musical Development Partnership will give students a chance to understand how professional work is developed and give musical theater teams a professional residency to hear their work performed by a talented and engaged student body."

The new program will produce one staged reading each year, with submissions managed by CreateTheater and the final project selected by the college faculty. It is seeking new musicals in development with no previous production history, centered around young people's voices and perspectives about current issues.

"I am so happy to be working with my long-time friend and colleague, Cate Cammarata, to start this exciting program," said Halpin. "This is an exceptional opportunity for our students to be involved in the creation of a musical as active participants at the beginning of the process. I am also thrilled to be able to provide the opportunity for new work and new voices to begin their journey. Musical theatre, and the development of young performers, has comprised the bulk of my life's work. Although we have had isolated opportunities to bring new musicals to life in the past, this focused program is both a great step forward for our program and a personal dream realized."

SUNY Cortland's Musical Theatre department has been recently named a "hidden gem" in an article by OnStageBlog.com that lauds the College for its contemporary training standards, activities and past performance. https://www2.cortland.edu/news/detail.dot?id=0a17d75c-2176-4519-8cf3-4a81f1e373f9

For more information and submission details, go to https://createtheater.com/college-theater-development-partnership/

KEVIN T. HALPIN has worked for over 40 years as a performer, director and choreographer across the US and internationally. Throughout his career he has directed and choreographed over 100 productions. In 1999 he moved to Cortland, NY to establish and develop the Musical Theatre Program at SUNY Cortland. The new BFA program is focused on providing every young artist the opportunity to reach their full potential in all aspects of musical theatre performance.

Cate Cammarata is an Off-Broadway producer, director, and dramaturg in NYC, dedicated to the development of new plays and musicals. She is the Founder and Executive Producer of CreateTheater's New Works Festival. Off-Broadway: The Assignment, My Father's Daughter. Regional: My Life Is a Musical (Bay Street Theater), Bran Castle (Porchlight Theater, Chicago). Cate is an Associate Professor of Theatre Arts at CUNY Baruch College and has an MFA in Dramaturgy from SUNY Stony Brook. Her company, CreateTheater, has been helping writers develop and produce their work since the company was launched in 2016. Theater Resources Unlimited (TRU) honored her with the TRU Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2022. www.CreateTheater.com

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