If you’re having trouble keeping up with the weight and urgency of every passing moment these days, well, so am I. It’s a constant nagging to do more, do it faster and hold tightly onto the last bits of light around us. I feel it. I do, and I know you do too. But, what I want you to also know is that from what I can see, we are not alone in this.

True, it has never been easier to have doubt in our institutions. The powers opposing us are palpable, the resources seem too few and the bad news around every corner makes the darkness feel relentless. But, look closely and you’ll find an undeniable momentum of a field that refuses to stand still. Every day, our arts organizations score decisive victories, and we cannot shy away from the recognition and honor in that service to keep the flame burning bright. The fire within our industry is strong in our art, stronger in our collective and strongest yet in our ability to hold audiences close.

And there’s proof of it everywhere right now. It’s in Broadway Cares sending unprecedented funding to meal programs. It’s in the Dramatists Guild speaking up for their artists. It’s in Olney Theatre Center providing free tickets to furloughed federal employees. These are the new models set for us; they are ones we can all take pride in and look toward with hope. What we do is not only built upon the tradition of storytelling, but also of gathering, of motivating those that join us and sheltering them from the dark.

I’ve said before that we theatre people are no strangers to adversity. Yet, without fail, when our systems are strained to their limits, creativity spurs resilience. When imagination, speed and the necessity to do what’s right meet, it builds a sustenance to not only keep the lights on, but to stand up, to show up and to live our mission to its fullest when it is needed the most. We share that, and we show each other how. That is the power of membership, of an artistic community. This newsletter is a testament to that spirit—to the work being done across our field to sustain, protect and uplift.

So, look around you. Breathe in the million rays of light you see. Become a ball of fire yourself. And remember, others will do the same. They will lend you their strength, and you will shine a pathway for them too.

You are in the right place. You are NAMT.

Together, we are an Alliance. 🩵💜

Stay in the loop! Check out announcements from the NAMT Network:

SEMIFINALISTS: Pipeline Arts Foundation announces Semifinalists including many NAMT Festival Alumni, Frank Young Fund Grantees and NAMT-Recommended Writers. Congrats all! 

VISIONARY: 2024 Line Producer Resident Amiah McGinty (Fest '24) introduces Visionary Collective: A New Space for Black Storytellers. Sign-ups and donor drive launched. 

CAMP: Drama Club announces Lineup of 31 New Musicals developing in Maine summer residencies including new projects by Festival Alumni Xander Browne (Fest '24), abs wilson (Fest '24) & Dylan MarcAurele (Fest '24).

RESILIENCE: 2024 Line Producer Resident Mayah Lourdes Burke (Fest '24) joins director May Adrales Off-Broadway on DAKAR 2000 at MTC as SDCF’s Directing Fellow; Opens submissions for he/al: a resilience piece as Creative Director. 

JUMP CUT: Prospect Musicals presents one-night-only concert of 2025 Musical Theater Lab "Jump Cut" at Symphony Space featuring nine musical shorts tonight, Feb 21st @ 7:30pm. 

121 PROJECT: Lucille Lortel Theatre announces 2025 Recipients of 121 Project for Development of New Musicals including Festival Alumni Cheeyang Ng (Fests '20 & '21) and abs wilson & Veronica Mansour (both Fest '24) as well as Frank Young Fund Grantees Kira Stone & Lauren Gunderson (both FYFNM '24) and David Gomez & John-Michael Lyles (both FYFNM '25). 

BROADWAY BOUGH: REDWOOD by Tina Landau, Kate Diaz & Idina Menzel (all FYFNM '23) opens on Broadway. 

OFF-BROADWAY: New Musical WHO IS JIMMY PANTS? with book/lyrics by Jeff Bienstock (Fest '15) to premiere Off-Broadway at York Theatre. 

Kathleen Wrinn:
Intersect? I do wear many hats! I am an educator, a performer, a writer (a lyricist and bookwriter, primarily, but I also compose), and in the past few years, I've also been directing and serving as a story consultant/dramaturg on the various musicals that come through New Works/New Voices at Syracuse. So, the question of how they all intersect: I always try to approach each role with a sense of collaboration. Even when I work with my students, whether one-on-one or in a group studio setting, I encourage us to put our heads together to figure out how we can move the work forward. I'm also big on peer-to-peer feedback, framing each class as a conversation and asking the questions: What is the artist trying to achieve? What is the audience receiving? How could the storytelling be made clearer or more impactful? So, when I think about how I approach my work in musical theatre, the short answer is, I always work with other people. That’s the common thread. I try to put myself in spaces where I get to bounce my own ideas off other passionate, creative, brilliant people. Even with the book that I'm writing, that's how I work. It’s rarely just me, and I love that. (Read more)

🔵 American Music Theatre Project at Northwestern University (Chicago, IL) for Desaparecidas by Jaime Lozano, Florencia Cuenca & Georgina Escobar

🔵 Ars Nova (New York, NY) for Where We Meet by Kate Eberstadt

🔵 Goodspeed Musicals (East Haddam, CT) for Legendary by Cheeyang Ng

🔵 Montclair State University (Montclair, NJ) for King of Harlem by David Gomez & John-Michael Lyles

🔵 New York Theatre Barn (New York, NY) for The Phoenix by Cheeyang Ng, Eric Sorrels & Desdemona Chiang

🔵 Olney Theatre Center (Olney, MD) for Okuni by Naomi Iizuka & Paul Hodge

🔵 Prospect Musicals (New York, NY) for YUKON HO by Adrian Blake Enscoe, Sydney Shepard & Regina Strayhorn

🔵 Theater Latté Da (Minneapolis, MN) for Yoko’s Husband’s Killer’s Japanese Wife, Gloria by Brandy Hoang Collier, Clare Fuyuko Bierman & Erika Ji

🔵 Theatre Now New York (New York, NY) for Kusama by Yuriko Shibata & Andrew Strano

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 2024/2025 New Works Committee was co-chaired by Eric Keen-Louie of La Jolla Playhouse (CA), Hattie Andres, formerly of Seattle Rep (WA), Justin Lucero of Theater Latté Da (MN) and Ray Hogg of Prime Mover Theater Company (TO). Committee members include Joe Barros of New York Theatre Barn (NY); Jaime Bartolett of Shea Theatricals (NY); Bill Berry of The 5th Avenue Theatre (WA); Cat Brindisi of Asolo Rep (FL); Victoria Bussert of Baldwin Wallace University Conservatory of Music (OH); Kate Galvin of Constellation Stage & Screen (IN); Marguerite Hannah of Horizon Theatre (GA); Elizabeth Kensek, formerly of WaterTower Theatre (TX); Tom Morrissey of Theatre Now New York (NY); Alan Paul of Barrington Stage Company (MA); Laura Peete of Theatre Under The Stars (TX); Damaso Rodriguez of Seattle Rep (WA); Amber Wallace of Ogunquit Playhouse (ME); and Adam Yankowy of Michigan State University (MI). (Read more)

Pearl Studios is the official rehearsal studio for the NAMT Festival of New Musicals. 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.