Dec. 15 is deadline for Search for New Voices in Musical Theatre

Monday, December 15th is the submission deadline for the 2009 Search for New Voices in Musical Theatre, co-sponsored by the Academy for New Musical Theatre (ANMT) and the Los Angeles-based Festival of New American Musicals.

The winner of the Search will receive a workshop with the Academy Repertory Company (ARC) during the 2009 Festival of New American Musicals, detailed feedback from the ANMT staff, and a concert reading in Los Angeles during the 2009-10 ANMT season.

There is a $100 fee for submitting to the Search, in return for which each entry will receive a 3-5 page script evaluation from an ANMT staff dramaturg.

'I've never received a more cogent and useable evaluation before,' wrote 2008 applicant Elliott Baker (author of The Tooth Fairy's Daughter). 'I'm very comfortable with the critique process but I have never finished reading a critique/evaluation with as much desire and energy to go to work on and polish a piece.'

'The evaluation was far more in-depth than I expected and seemed to cover all the key aspects of the show. Frankly, I found it more helpful than a staged reading would have been,' stated Search participant Barbara Campbell (bookwriter/lyricist of The Awakening). 'This critique offered me far more in-depth comments into the basic nuts and bolts than I have ever received to date.'

Writers can submit their shows electronically via ANMT's website, or submit materials by mail after completing an online submission form.

ANMT Staff then narrows the submissions to a short stack of finalists, and then asks finalists to submit a complete piano-vocal score before making a final decision. Festival Co-Executive Producer, Linda Shusett, will work with ANMT to select final winners.

ANMT has a development process which has been around for four decades, nurturing musicals through a number of stages, including outlines, rough drafts, table readings and concert readings.

For more information on the Festival of New American Musicals, visit www.lafestival.org.

Information on submitting to the Search is available online via ANMT's website: www.anmt.org. ANMT is located at 5628 Vineland Avenue in North Hollywood, California (91601).