It's a new kind of The Table Read this year! Spring is upon us and this season is action-packed! Meet Amanda Freedman, NAMT's newest staff member in an update on the Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge for High School Students. Irvin Mason Jr. checks in after nearly two years spanning The Muny to The Wiz on Broadway. Plus, check out the latest awards announcement for NAMT Writers Residency Grants! Don't forget, submission listings and rehearsal space from Pearl Studios below. This is your one-stop-shop for NAMT New Works Department Updates!
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Welcoming Student Songwriters & A New NAMT Staff Member: Meet Amanda Freedman
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NAMT Project Coordinator Amanda Freedman here, writing to you in the middle of our “Writing is Rewriting” Campaign for the Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge for High School Students. An initiative of the National Endowment for the Arts and in partnership with Concord Theatricals, Disney Theatrical Productions & the NMPA S.O.N.G.S. Foundation, the Songwriting Challenge is an interactive program for high school students across the country to submit original songs that could be part of a musical, and receive feedback from industry professionals. Once students re-submit their songs, a group of winners will be chosen to attend a full weekend of programming in NYC with mentors from the industry, ending with a concert of their songs.
This year, we received 117 songs from 139 songwriters across 34 different states! Screening the submissions showed us the minds, hearts and talents of this group of students, and we were blown away by their imaginations, unique perspectives and stories. The subjects of their songs range from a duet between brothers who run into each other on a train platform during World War II, to an English major examining the slightly problematic romantic hero (but still wants to find one for herself), to a personified cardigan singing to their owner (this song ends with the cardigan saying, “Tell your Christmas sweater I say hello.” Mic drop). They wrote about themes of family, friendship, young love, old love, queer love, dystopian worlds, historical figures and re-imagined myths (Hamilton and Hadestown influences noted).
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Meet Amanda Freedman, NAMT's new Project Coordinator. Photos courtesy of the artist.
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This young group is inspired by artists across the board, from Sara Bareilles to Cody Fry to the MT Household Names, including many NAMT Festival & Grantee Alumni Writers, or as one student put it, “I feel legally obligated to say Stephen Sondheim.” When asked what they hope to get out of the Songwriting Challenge, a participant wrote, “If this song can inspire even just one person to be there for another, then this song will have accomplished its goal.” These students are passionate, curious and excited to be a part of a community of songwriters. Join us in welcoming them!
We have spent this past month offering programming, learning modules, songwriting tips and more to students through the Writing is Rewriting Center at namt.org/rewriting. We have seen many students in our online events who gather input and learn from NAMT Artists, but also each other. We have had so much fun, we’re inspired by these young writers, and we hope you are, too. Keep an eye out for the Songwriting Challenge Winners Weekend Concert announcement soon! We can’t wait to share this with you.
Happy writing, and happy rewriting!
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Amanda Freedman
NAMT Project Coordinator
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Stay in the loop! Check out a few updates from the NAMT Network:
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Irvin Mason Jr.; Photo courtesy of the artist.
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NAMT:
Hello! Why don’t you introduce yourself and tell us about how you’ve gotten here so far.
Irvin Mason Jr.:
Hey y’all, I’m Irvin Mason Jr. I was born and raised in the United States Virgin Islands—St. Thomas to be exact. I’m an island boy, through and through, and that’s where I started doing theatre. I always had a love for performance. In the third or fourth grade, I directed my entire class in High School Musical, and my mom printed out a giant banner for them to run through at lunch. Then, I begged her to be in our community theater’s musical summer camp, which is where I did my first show, The Wiz, and I played the Tin Man. It was everything! I knew then that this was what I wanted to do for the rest of my life.
I was going to be a performer. I would go to auditions and get called back but wasn’t getting the parts I wanted. After about three years, I finally asked Erica Sutherlin, the director of our summer camps who would eventually become my mentor, why I wasn’t getting the lead and she told me… I couldn’t sing. That’s a big, big, big downer for someone that loves musical theatre! But she was right, I couldn’t sing for sure. However, she also said, “You do have an eye for leadership and direction.” So, from then on and for every year that I came back, she would let me do something more than just perform. Read More.
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Photos courtesy of the artist.
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The National Alliance for Musical Theatre has announced the NAMT Member Theatre and Writer Recipients for the 2023/2024 Writers Residency Grants, part of the Frank Young Fund for New Musicals. The Frank Young Fund is a major funding program to support the development and production of new musicals. Writers Residency Grants encourage collaborations between NAMT Member theatres and writers at the earliest stages of a project.
“We are pleased to announce the latest round of Writers Residency funding for NAMT Member Organizations in recognition of their steadfast dedication to enhancing the whole musical theatre field by cultivating writers and fostering growth of new musicals,” says Betsy King Militello. “Witnessing our Members’ tenacious commitment to supporting artists and providing vibrant homes for creative development reinforces our determination to continue investing in their efforts.” Read more.
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The Frank Young Fund for New Musicals has awarded each of the following member organizations $500 to $2,000 for Writers Residency Grants for the 2023/2024 Cycles:
The 5th Avenue Theatre (Seattle, WA) for Emerald Jett by SassyBlack
Ars Nova (New York, NY) for Elsewhere by Wesley Olivier AKA Klondyke
La Jolla Playhouse (La Jolla, CA) for UNTITLED MILCK PROJECT by Sam Chanse, MILCK (Connie K. Lim) & Adrianne Gonzalez
Live & In Color (New York, NY) for We Start in Manhattan: A New Queer Musical by Sav Souza & Ariella Serur
The Morrison Center (Boise, ID) for Take Two [Working Title] by Leta Harris Neustaedter
New York Theatre Barn (New York, NY) for SKYWARD: An Ending Elegy by Truth Future Bachman
Olney Theatre Center for the Arts (Olney, MD) for Built for This by Kira Stone & Lauren Gunderson
Playwrights Horizons (New York, NY) for Mother, Tree by Kuhoo Verma
ZACH Theatre (Austin, TX) for Zapata: A Superhero Folklórico Musical by Jesse J. Sanchez
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The Frank Young Fund for New Musicals is overseen by NAMT New Works Director Frankie Dailey, and the recommended Grant Recipients for the Writers Residency Grants are selected by the New Works Committee, a distinguished panel of industry leaders from across the country. The 2023/2024 New Works Committee was co-chaired by Eric Keen-Louie of La Jolla Playhouse (CA), Aislinn Frantz of Chicago Shakespeare Theater (IL) and Hattie Andres of Seattle Rep (WA). Committee members include Margot Astrachan of Margot Astrachan Production (NY); Jaime Bartolett of Shea Theatricals (NY); Bill Berry of The 5th Avenue Theatre (WA); Victoria Bussert, Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music (OH); Snehal Desai of Center Theatre Group (CA); Kate Galvin of Constellation Stage & Screen (IN); Marguerite Hannah of Horizon Theatre (GA); Ray Hogg of The Musical Stage Company (ON); Brandon Ivie of Village Theatre (WA); Elizabeth Kensek, WaterTower Theatre (TX); Justin Lucero of Theater Latté Da (MN); Tom Morrissey of Theatre Now New York (NY); Alan Paul of Barrington Stage Company (MA); Aaron Thielen of Broadway Across Borders (IL); Amber Wallace of Ogunquit Playhouse (ME); and Adam Yankowy of Michigan State University (MI). Read more.
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The Call Board is brought to you in partnership with NAMT Member New Musicals Inc. Create a free account at NMI's Musical Theatre Resource Center and check out more contests, submission opportunities and professional development resources. Look below for a selection of their upcoming submission deadlines.
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Want to add to this listing? Spot an error or old info? Reach out to us at newworks@namt.org.
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Pearl Studios is the official rehearsal studio for the NAMT Festival of New Musicals, and we're excited to partner with them again this year for our 36th Anniversary. Pearl Studios is conveniently located in Midtown Manhattan on 8th Avenue between 35th & 36th Streets, and offers two floors of clean, bright and flexible rooms fit for all your rehearsal needs. For bookings, call 212-904-1850 or email contactus@pearlstudiosnyc.com.
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