If you’re under the age of 26, and you’re writing for musical theatre, Walt Disney Imagineering and New Musicals Inc. would love to hear from you.

New Musicals Inc. in Los Angeles is sponsoring its sixth annual New Voices Project, in which young playwrights, composers and lyricists receive workshops and concerts of their work, with feedback sessions from executives from Walt Disney Imagineering Creative Entertainment and New Musicals Inc.

Selected finalists will have their work presented at an in-house concert at NMI in April and will receive critical feedback from industry professionals. After an opportunity to revise their work, selections by finalists will be presented in concert in Los Angeles in May.

Writers are encouraged to submit up to three selections, either from a single work, or separate works, for a total of 20 minutes of material. The staff of New Musicals Inc. will select up to six teams of writers for presentation and critique.

“We’re looking for writers in whom we see potential,” says NMI’s Executive Director Scott Guy. “We’re not pigeon-holing that potential: that is, we’re not looking for ‘Broadway musical’ writers per se, or ‘ground-breaking’ or ‘commercial’ or ‘avant-garde’. We’re looking for writers who are exploring their voices through the blend of music and voice. The stronger your voice and vision are, the more likely we’re going to respond to your work.”

Previous New Voices Project were: Anderson Cook, Amanda D’Archangelis, Luke Davidson, David Gomez, Cristian Guerrero, Edison Hong, Jonathan Horn, Oliver Houser, Oscar Jacques, David Lancelle, Ariel Mitchell, Andrew Moorhead, Jude Obermüller, Eliot Rhys, Steven Schmidt, Jackson Teeley, Rebekah Allen, Ben Boecker, Benedict Braxton-Smith, Claire McKenzie and Scott Gilmour, Blake Dylan Pilger, Alex Ratner and Laurel Durning-Hammond, Marina Toft and Benji Goldsmith, Zach Spound, Jacob Combs & Madeline Myers, Bill Nelson and Joseph Trefler, Michael Finke, Mark Sonnenblick, Andre Catrini, Sam Chanse and Bob Kelly, Ben Boecker, Danny K. Bernstein, Santino De Angelo, Zach Zadek, Amar Benkhoukha, Ion Constantine, Nick Jester, Christopher Byron Pratt, and Noah Reece.

“We have been continually impressed with the level of talent of the young writers who have submitted to the New Voices Project in the past,” says Artistic Director Elise Dewsberry. “Just last year, one of our finalist teams – made up of Cristian Guerrero, Andrew Moorehead, and Steven Schmidt, went on to win our annual Search for New Musicals and will be receiving a concert reading of their full-length new musical Bravo this coming summer.”

Writers may apply online at http://nmi.org/develop/new-voices-project/

Timeline:
Open for Submissions: January 1, 2018
Deadline for Submissions: February 15, 2018
Winners Announced: March 1, 2018

There is no application fee. For finalists who are not Los Angeles locals, participation will be available via video conferencing.