BMI Theater Workshop Applications

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Deadlines
Composers/Lyricists: August 1, 2017.
Librettists: June 1, 2017.
Applicants will be notified by August 21, 2017.
Application Materials
Composer: Three contrasting compositions - uptempo, comedy song, ballad. Please include copy of score which includes lyrics.
Lyricist: Three contrasting lyrics in PDF format - uptempo, comedy song, ballad.
Composer/Lyricist: Three contrasting songs - uptempo, comedy song, ballad. Please include copy of score which includes lyrics.
Librettist: A script sample of at least ten consecutive pages. Material written for the stage is preferred, but screenplays or teleplays are acceptable. Material need not include songs. Please include a sample of comedy writing.

Note that if you apply as a composer and a lyricist, you will be accepted as one or the other (that is, as either a composer or a lyricist) and you will be assigned different collaborators over the course of the year. If you apply as both a composer/lyricist and a librettist and are accepted as both, you will spend your first year as a composer/lyricist only, as the two groups meet at the same time.
Auditions

Select applicants will be invited to audition in early September. Librettist are accepted on the basis of their written materials and are not required to audition.

At the auditions, composers and composer/lyricists will be asked to perform at least two contrasting theatrical compositions; lyricists will be asked to recite samples of their theatrical lyrics. All auditions must be done live, using a piano.
Program upon Acceptance

The Workshop runs September through May in New York City. Prospective members must make their own living arrangements in the city or be able to commute weekly.

During the first year, composers and lyricists are paired off and are asked to create appropriate songs based on scenes from various sources. The writers perform their assignments, which are then discussed by the other writers and the moderators. There are analyses and discussions of current and past musicals, with an eye to understanding form and structure. Every effort is made to insure that each writer retains his or her individual style.

In the Workshop’s final phase (Second Year), teams work on a musical. The Workshop functions as a forum and a sounding board for works in progress, as music and lyrics are critically evaluated and open dialogue is encouraged.

At the end of each Second Year, the Workshop Committee determines which writers from the group are invited to join the Advanced Workshop. Not everyone is asked. This Workshop is intended for writers of professional caliber who are expected to contribute to the vitality of the musical theatre scene.

The Librettist Workshop reads and critiques its members’ work in a moderated roundtable discussion format, with material going through various drafts from on-one synopses to fully scripted scenes. There are occasional cold readings of an entire project.
Schedule & Fees

The First Year Workshop meets Monday at 6:15 p.m. The Second Year Workshop meets Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. The Advanced Workshop meets Monday at 4:00 p.m.

There is no fee to apply for or participate in the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop.