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NEA Awards Grants to NAMT and Our Members

The National Endowment for the Arts has recently announced that it will award over $30 million in grants to fund artistic projects and research, with $3,505,000 going to companies working in the field of Theater & Musical Theatre. Many NAMT members have been selected to receive grants in this cycle, including $55,000 to NAMT itself, in support of our Festival of New Musicals and Fall Conference. Congratulations to those members receiving grants in this round of NEA funding, including:
The 5th Avenue Theatre
Ars Nova
Atlantic Theater Company
The Lark
Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma
The Old Globe
Playwrights Horizons
Portland Center Stage
TheatreWorks Silicon Valley
Village Theatre
ZACH Theatre
Congratulations to all, and thank you to the NEA for supporting arts organizations throughout the country! For a full list of the recipients, visit the NEA’s website. Watch the NEA’s video above to learn more about their impact on the arts in America.

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Programs Are People: What We Learned At NAMT's First Education Roundtable

Two years ago, as part of our strategic plan goal to engage with more individuals at our NAMT member theatres, we launched a new program of Management Roundtables with a forum in Miami on board development and best practices. Following the model of our successful Writers’ Roundtables and New Works Summits, this program (as the name implies) was designed to focus on topics on the business side of theatre (which may or may not overlap with new work development and production). These smaller events, hosted by our member theatres, would allow us to explore areas that we weren’t able to support a full two-day conference on, but that warranted more discussion — and more face-time — than an online presentation.

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New Work in Progress: TheatreWorks Silicon Valley New Works Festival

This month, we chatted with Giovanna Sardelli, the Director of New Works at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley, about their upcoming New Works Festival, held annually in Palo Alto. Read more about their festival, which this year coincides with NAMT’s Roundtable on Education & Outreach, being held at TWSV. 
Can you tell us a little about the history of TheatreWorks’ New Works Festival and what your goals are for the program?
The Festival began 15 years ago as a way to introduce our audiences to works in development and to get them excited about the process of making theatre. It is our goal to provide the artists we invite to TheatreWorks with a safe environment in which to explore and create – one that supports their vision. As our audiences are an invaluable part of the process, it is our goal to provide them an opportunity to engage with art and artists in a way they might not otherwise be able to do.
How does TWSV select shows for the festival?
Primarily we take submissions from agents. We also reach out to literary managers and artistic directors for suggestions since we all have works we love that we aren’t able to support – in fact I have several right now if anyone wants suggestions! Also we rely upon writers with whom we have a relationship to suggest other artists and shows. They are wonderful advocates for each other.

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2016-2017 National Fund for New Musicals Grants Announced

We are thrilled to announce eleven awards granted from the National Fund for New Musicals, a major funding program to support NAMT member not-for-profit theatres in their collaborations with writers to create, develop and produce new musicals. Now in its eighth year, the Fund will provide grants totaling $43,000 to twelve organizations across the country.
NAMT Executive Director Betsy King Militello stated: “We are honored and excited to support our member theatres as they work with this inspiring group of writers to develop these innovative and provocative new musicals.  With these grants, we have now awarded 88 grants totaling $358,500. These projects will join a growing list of important new musicals added to the canon with support from our National Fund for New Musicals.

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Watch Rehearsal of Triangle

Check out video of the sitzprobe for TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s world premiere production of Triangle (Festival 2012).

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Historical Musical Theatre Sightseeing

TheatreWorks Silicon Valley’s Managing Director (and NAMT Board member) Phil Santora was in New York with his partner Christian, and they paid a visit to the former Triangle Shirtwaist Factory building to take a selfie with the postcard from TheatreWorks’ upcoming world premiere production of Triangle (Festival 2012).

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Festival Show Update: TRIANGLE

This month, we check in with alumni Curtis Moore and Thomas Mizer, as they tell us about the upcoming production of 2012 Festival show, Triangle, at TheatreWorks Silicon Valley.
 
 
Two love stories, set in the same New York City building but a hundred years apart, weave together across the century as long buried secrets are uncovered and ghosts of the past begin to influence the future.
 
Last time we checked in with Triangle, you were preparing for your first on-its-feet production at Lyric Theatre of Oklahoma City. How was that experience, working with the team in OKC?  
The workshop production at Lyric was a dream come true. Truly. Their technical facilities are first-rate, and the staff and actors were passionate advocates for the piece. It was the theater’s first experience working on a new musical so we were all learning and growing together. They, and the city as whole, embraced the show with a dedication that was inspiring. Even walking into a local store, people would find out why we were in town and they’d know about the show and be excited and proud that OKC was creating something. Some people would say they were coming again and bringing friends because they loved it so much. How special is that to feel like an entire community wants to collaborate on a new musical! (And believe us, the clerk at the OKC wine store definitely had an important role in the development of the show.)

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FROM THE ROAD: A Coast to Coast Summer

One of my favorite parts of my job is getting the chance to visit our members around the country.  There is no better way to take the pulse of the industry and help discover new ways for us to serve our members than to meet them on their home turf, see their shows and meet their staffs.  Summer is the busiest travel time for the NAMT staff because it is when the number of shows skyrocket in our member theatres.  My summer was filled with 10 productions (7 of them premieres),  2 workshops and 6 readings from New York to California, from Vermont to Tennessee.  We a few Festival shows and National Fund for New Musicals (NFNM) grant recipients along the way.

Here is the quick rundown (NAMT member theatres and Festival shows are bolded blue):

MAY

Los Angeles, CA- World premiere of Los Otros at Center Theatre Group 
San Diego, CA- World premiere of Nobody Loves You (NAMT Fest ’12, past NFNM Project Development Grant) and Scottsboro Boys at The Old Globe, world premiere of Hands on a Hardbody at La Jolla Playhouse, and the chance to sit in on a rehearsal for Harmony, Kansas (NFNM Production Grant, past Writers Residency Grant) at Diversionary Theatre.
New York, NY- World premiere of February House (past NFNM Project Development Grant) at The Public Theater, reading of Suprema (NFNM Writers Residency Grant) at Ars Nova and Speargrove Presents (NFNM Writers Residency Grant) at New York Theatre Barn

JUNE
Connecticut- Readings of When We Met and String at The O’Neill Theatre Center, production of Mame at Goodspeed Musicals

JULY
New York, NY- Production of Triassic Parq (by Festival alumnus Marshall Pailet) produced by Amas Musical Theatre and New Musical Development Foundation at SoHo Rep  
East Haddam, CT- Final dress of Carousel at Goodspeed Musicals
Poughkeepsie, NY- Workshop of Murder Ballad (by Fest alumna Julia Jordan) at Vassar Powerhouse

AUGUST
Rhinebeck, NY- Reception for Beatsville (NAMT Fest ’08) at Rhinebeck Writers Retreat
Palo Alto, CA- TheatreWorks Festival of New Works with readings of Being Earnest and Triangle (NAMT Fest ’12) and a developmental production of The Trouble With Doug (NAMT Fest ’10)

SEPTEMBER

New York, NY- Reading of notes to MariAnne (NAMT Fest ’11) at New York Theatre Workshop
Weston, VT- World premiere of Pregnancy Pact (NAMT Fest ’11) at Weston Playhouse Theatre Co.  
Crossville, TN- Regional premiere of Golden Boy of the Blue Ridge (NAMT Fest ’11) at Cumberland County Playhouse
New York, NY- Broadway Bound concert at Merkin Hall featuring songs from Watt?!? and The Dogs of Pripyat, both from the 2011 Festival 

And I am pretty sure I am missing a few.

I got a lot more out of these trips than a wallet full of receipts and slight confusion as to my time zone.  I was fortified in my belief that our members and alumni are creating, producing and exploring the best musical theatre in the country.  They are continually engaging, challenging and building audiences through their great work.  They are not resting on their laurels but pushing forward.

It is very hard to find a show today that does not have the NAMT stamp somewhere on it…and that makes me very proud to be just a small part of any show that adds to the crazy tapestry of musicals across the country.  The great work continues all over the country, and I’m the lucky one who gets to take in at least a fraction of it.

Branden Huldeen
New Works Director

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New Works in Progress: THE TROUBLE WITH DOUG at TheatreWorks

An interview with TheatreWorks’ Director of New Works, Meredith McDonough, about their upcoming developmental production of 2010 NAMT Festival show The Trouble with Doug, by Will Aronson and Daniel Maté, as part of the New Works Festival this August.

The Trouble with Doug is a contemporary comedic reimagining of Kafka’s Metamorphosis. Thrust together awkwardly under the same roof, Doug, his family and his fiancée all struggle to understand and respond to Doug’s transformation into a giant talking slug.


What drew TheatreWorks to The Trouble with Doug? 
When we saw the presentation in the NAMT Festival two years ago, our whole artistic team was crying with laughter.  I couldn’t wait to read the full script and was so pleased to see how moving the second act is.  It’s that balance of humor and heart that I am always looking for in new work.


Why are you presenting the show as a developmental production vs. a reading?We had offered them a slot in last summer’s New Works Festival, but they had such an exciting opportunity to work on the piece in the United Kingdom with [NAMT member] Royal & Derngate.  When I read the new draft following that reading, I could clearly see that the writers were ready to see the piece on its feet and not behind music stands again!


What is the team hoping to work on during the process?

I won’t speak for them, but we have talked about their continuing interest in finding the right balance between the humor and the depth of this family’s drama.


What are you most excited about for The Trouble with Doug?
I just can’t wait to see the slug transformation live onstage!!  It’s really going to happen!!


Why should people head west and catch The Trouble with Doug and your festival this year?
This summer’s festival has a fantastic lineup. Alongside the Doug team, we are also hosting Paul Gordon (Fest ’06–Emma) and Jay Gruska, as well as Curtis Moore and Tom Mizer (both, Fest ’08–The Legend of Stagecoach Mary).  If you come to our Festival Industry Weekend (Aug. 10-12), you can see all three musicals, our world premiere of Laura Schellhardt’s Upright Grand, and two new play readings, and finish the weekend off with our Meet the Festival Artists panel, where you can hear the teams talk about their processes.  Before and after every reading you’re invited to join the artists in our wine lounge, and really, summer in Palo Alto—it doesn’t get any better!!


For more information, please visit www.theatreworks.org.  

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National Fund for New Musicals recipients announced!

Congratulations to the 7 member theatres selected to receive grants from 
our National Fund for New Musicals this year. In the last 4 years, the Fund has given out 45 grants totaling $197,000. 

Production Grants of $10,000 have been awarded to:
Diversionary Theatre(CA) for Harmony, Kansasby Bill Nelson & Anna K. Jacobs
Playwrights Horizons (NY) for Far From Heavenby Scott Frankel, Richard Greenberg & Michael Korie (’89–Blanco)
TheatreWorks (CA) for Wheelhouseby Gene Lewin, Brendan Milburn (’04–Striking 12, ’11–Watt?!?) & Valerie Vigoda (’04–Strking 12).
Project Development Grants between $2,000-$3,000 have been awarded to:
American Musical Theatre Project at Northwestern University (IL) for The Verona Project by Amanda Dehnert.
Center Theatre Group (CA) for a new musical about urban superheroes by Matt Sax.
Dallas Theatre Center (TX) for Stagger Lee by Justin Ellington, Will Power & Daryl Waters.
Weitzenhoffer School of Musical Theatre at University of Oklahoma for Something Wicked This Way Comes by Neil Bartram and Brian Hill (both, ’07–The Story of My Life).
A special thanks to all of our National Fund for New Musicals donors including Stacey Mindich Productions, The Alhadeff Family Charitable Foundation, The ASCAP Foundation Irving Caesar Fund and everyone who contributed in honor of our former Executive Director Kathy Evans.
If you are interested in contributing to the National Fund, please contact Executive Director Betsy King Militello. Donations of all sizes help grow the Fund and provide more grants to new musicals across the country.

Congratulations to all of the members and artists involved in these exciting projects! 

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Theatreworks Hosts THE NATIONAL ALLIANCE FOR MUSICAL THEATER SUMMIT

These industry insiders gathered at TheatreWorks’ rehearsal halls on Friday to discuss the process of producing a musical on the West Coast and to learn the TheatreWorks model for developing and nurturing new works from infancy to main stage premieres. Additionally, they explored the role creative producers play in bringing a new musical to the stage in a discussion lead by Greg Schaffert of 321 Theatrical Management and Tony Award-winning playwright David Henry Hwang about their efforts on Great Wall, one of the musicals in development at TheatreWorks’ New Works Festival. Additionally, artists, producers, and theater representatives had the opportunity to mix, mingle, and network at a wine reception Friday evening.

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