The American Musical and Dramatic Academy (AMDA) is accepting submissions of new plays and musicals for the AMDA Plus Staged Readings happening in New York City August-September 2021.
Similar to a 29-hour reading format, this two-week program will function as a professional opportunity for writers to workshop new material as well as an educational opportunity for students to experience the development process. Over the course of the readings, writers will be encouraged to create new scenes and songs as they explore their piece in collaboration with the student performers, a professional director, and a professional music director.
The submission deadline for new plays and musicals is Friday June 25, 2021 at 11:59p Eastern.
● Musicals will workshop August 23 - September 3 evenings; presentations on September 4.
● Plays will workshop September 6 - September 17 evenings; presentations on September 18.
NOTE: We are following local and state COVID protocols for live performances. As of printing, audiences will be limited to the student body, the creative team, and the AMDA Plus faculty.
Submission guidelines
Submissions will be accepted via this Google Form through Friday June 25, 2021 at 11:59p Eastern. Please submit:
- Show information (Title, writers, length, proof of rights)
- Synopsis (500 words)
- Detailed cast and character breakdown, including gender, vocal requirements, potential doubling, and other pertinent identifying information
- 10-page script sample
- For musicals, three (3) song samples (audio & score)
- Creative team bios
- Development history and goals for the workshop
- Authors must be local to New York City in order to fully participate in person
- Authors are expected to actively rewrite during the workshop, so works with previous full-staged productions are ineligible
- Authors from underrepresented communities are encouraged to submit
- Only complete drafts will be accepted
- For musicals, a notated piano score must be provided
Compensation:
- Musical writers will receive a flat rate compensation of $1000 per team
- Playwrights will receive a flat rate compensation of $750 per team
- Pursuant to Dramatist Guild Guidelines, AMDA will retain no copyright, royalty, or any claim of ownership over the material. Any work devised during the AMDA Plus Staged
- Readings Workshops will stay the property of the authors.
- MDA will video record the presentations for archival purposes and student reels.
- AMDA will include the AMDA Plus Staged Readings materials into our student library for potential scene study class work in the future.
Calendar of events:
June 25, 2021 — Submission Deadline
July 16, 2021 — Notification of Acceptance
August 23 - September 3 — Musicals workshops
September 4 — Musicals presentations
September 6 - 17 — Plays workshops
September 18 — Plays presentations
If you have any additional questions, please contact Bryan Blaskie, Creative Producer, at bblaskie@amda.edu.