New Works Submissions

Pittsburgh CLO is an incubator and launching pad for new musicals.

Our New Musicals Initiative supports writers and composers at every step of the creative process, from first read to production. Submission opportunities for writing teams include the SPARK festival and New Musicals Weekend.

Submissions for our SPARK festival and New Musicals Weekend are currently CLOSED, but info on the program structure and submission process is provided for reference below.
 

Pittsburgh CLO's SPARK and New Musicals Weekend Overview:


SPARK and New Musicals Weekend are Pittsburgh-based developmental homes for new musicals.

The SPARK festival provides up to five development opportunities for new musical artists, including readings, workshops, and residencies. Writing teams spend the entire residency or rehearsal period (2-3 weeks) in residence in Pittsburgh.

New Musicals Weekend provides up to five development opportunities for new musical artists, including readings and residencies. Writing teams spend the entire residency or rehearsal period (1 week) in residence in Pittsburgh.

Artists selected for readings or workshops receive rehearsal time with a dedicated creative team and cast as well as dramaturgical support. Each reading and workshop process culminates in one or more public presentations. Artists selected for residencies receive open-use studio time as well as dramaturgical support. Residencies typically culminate in completion of a new draft but no public presentation. 

Once shows are selected, Pittsburgh CLO consults with the writing teams to build a creative team (Director and Music Director/Accompanist), cast, and rehearsal-room staff (Stage Manager, Production Assistant, and Music Assistant) for each show. Pittsburgh has a rich artistic community, and we actively seek to support that community by hiring Pittsburgh-based artists wherever possible. Our casting pool is typically made up of professional AEA actors and seniors in Carnegie Mellon University’s BFA Music Theatre program.

In addition to hiring show-specific creatives, staff, and cast, Pittsburgh CLO engages a seasonal staff (including a Festival Manager, Artistic Assistant, and Production Coordinator) to support each SPARK and NMW process. Teams also have the resources of the organization’s full-time staff.

Our processes are writer-centric, and we strive to create rehearsal and performance environments that welcome experimentation and discovery. We also see SPARK and New Musicals Weekend as relationship-building opportunities for both artists and audience members; for that reason, in addition to readings and workshops, our programming also includes artist-only forums, public discussions, and a happy hour or two. For information on recent festivals, please visit: 2018 SPARK festival and 2019 New Musicals Weekend.
 

Submission Info:


All submissions are accepted via an online form. Please note that submissions are currently CLOSED. When the submissions period opens, you will be asked to provide:

  • A brief bio.
  • A brief writers' statement (written, video, and audio statements are welcome).
  • A PDF of the libretto/script including a cast breakdown and notation of any doubling.
  • A link to a Dropbox or Google Drive of song demos.
  • Info on your preferred type of development (reading, workshop, residency).
  • Info on creative or staffing needs.
  • Info on instrumentation and music notation needs.
  • Optional demographic info.

Questions about our policies? Email ooconnor@pittsburghclo.org.

FAQs

Is this a paid development opportunity?

Yes. We believe in paying all of our artists and staff a fair wage. Our agreements may shift from year to year, but we are committed to the following minimums for all SPARK and New Musicals Weekend artists:

  • Writer and Composer Minimum: $1000 per week
  • Director and Music Director/Accompanist Minimum: $1000 per week
  • Stage Manager Minimum: $600 per week
  • Actor Minimum: $500 per week
  • Music Assistant Minimum: $500 per week
  • Production Assistant Minimum: $400 per week

In addition, Pittsburgh CLO provides a per diem as well as travel and housing (including reimbursement for ground transportation) for all Writers, Composers, Directors, Music Directors, and Actors not based in Pittsburgh.

 

What kind of work are you looking for?

Pittsburgh CLO’s New Musicals Initiative is dedicated to fostering the next generation of musical theater. We are open to reading work of every style and genre, including pieces that seek to reimagine or disrupt traditional musical theater form.

We recognize that musical theater, both historically and currently, is a field whose writers and composers are predominantly cisgender, white, and male. We are committed to expanding the demographic representation of our field and encourage artists who identify as Black, Indigenous, Latinx, Asian, Pacific Islander, Middle Eastern and North African, or otherwise as a person of color to apply. We also encourage women, trans and non-binary folx, and gender non-conforming artists to apply.

We are actively looking to develop musicals that may someday be a fit for the 250-seat CLO Cabaret. As a result, most of the musicals we develop have casts of FIVE actors or fewer.

We find that the most successful musical submissions are of shows that are actively “in process,” with clearly defined goals for revision.

 

Can I submit a partially finished draft or a commission pitch?

While we encourage writing teams to revise their work before and during SPARK and New Musicals Weekend, we cannot accept partially finished drafts, outlines, or pitches. You must submit a complete draft.

We typically commission artists with whom we have an existing relationship. The best way to build a relationship with CLO is to submit to SPARK or New Musicals Weekend.

 

I'm not a writer or composer. Can I share my directing/music directing/dramaturgy resume?

Yes! When submissions open, we will also be opening an Interest Form for artists and administrators to express interest in joining the festival's creative teams and/or staff. Please stay tuned.

 

Who is reading my script?

All scripts submitted for SPARK and New Musicals Weekend are read by two members of our Literary Team (please see "Literary Team Bios" below). Shows that move into the Finalist round of consideration are read by the entire Literary Team, as well as Executive Producer Mark Fleischer.

 

When will I hear back?

The reading and evaluation process may take several months; we will share a more detailed timeline once the submission period is open. ALL submissions will receive a response. Please DO NOT CALL regarding the status of your script.

 

Will I receive feedback on my submission?

No. We do not give feedback on submissions unless we are planning to move forward with development. We find that the most productive notes are given in a dialogue that takes the writing team’s own goals into account.

Literary Team Bios

2022 Pittsburgh CLO Literary Team

image descriptionJay Geever DeSantis (they/them) is a director from Pittsburgh, PA. They spent the 2018-2019 season at City Theatre as the Education and Accessibility Intern while studying directing at the University of Pittsburgh. During the 2019 summer season, Jay was a Directing Apprentice with the Powerhouse Theater Training Program where they directed multiple projects for the Training Company and held observerships on new works by Rachel Chavkin and Martyna Majok. In Pittsburgh, Jay assistant directed City Theatre’s 2019 EQT Young Playwrights Festival and the world premiere of Quentin Crisp: The Last Word, as well as readings and workshops at City Theatre and Pittsburgh CLO. A graduate of Vassar College, Jay holds a B.A. in English with a focus in creative writing.

 

image descriptionRick Edinger is an accomplished music director, vocal coach, pianist, and actor. Currently, he serves as Associate Professor of Musical Theater/Vocal Coach/ Music Director at Carnegie Mellon University School of Drama. For the School of Drama, Edinger has served as Music Director on Elegies for Angels, Punks, and Raging Queens, Cabaret, and Into the Woods, as well as Vocal Coach/ Music Advisor for A/B Machines and Desdemona’s Child. Edinger also proudly co-chairs the CMU School of Drama’s Diversity & Inclusion committee with colleague, Tomé Cousin, and recently implemented an Anti-Racist Action Plan which developed a new (and required) Anti-Racist Theatre course in collaboration with Nicole Brewer. For the National Alliance for Musical Theatre’s annual Festival of New Musicals, Edinger has served on the Festival Selection Committee for three years and consulted on The River Is Me by Troy Anthony and Sukari Jones, Interstate by Melissa Li and Kit Yan, and Hart Island by Daniel Larsen and Michelle Elliott. Locally, Edinger has also served on the New Hazlett Theater’s Community Supported Arts (CSA) Performance Project Selection Committee for the 2020-2021 season. Edinger began his career as an actor, appearing in the 2004 Tony nominated Broadway revival of Pacific Overtures and the Broadway benefit concert production of Children and Art: A Tribute to Stephen Sondheim on the Eve of his 75th Birthday. He has served as music director, vocal coach, faculty, consultant, and/or accompanist for numerous projects at institutions across the US and Europe. www.rickedinger.com
 

image descriptionMora V. Harris (she/her) is a playwright and screenwriter based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Notable productions include Garden Theatre Company, The Weird Sisters Theatre Project, The Women’s Theatre Festival, 5th Wall Productions, and Pittsburgh Opera, in addition to multiple productions at high schools and colleges. Her work has received development through City Theatre Company, The Hangar Theatre, Alliance/Kendeda, the Sewanee Writers’ Conference, and the Kennedy Center’s Eugene O'Neill Theatre Center Fellowship. She was a two-time National Finalist for the Kennedy Center's John Cauble Award for Outstanding Short Play, and a Second Place winner of the Alfred P. Sloan Script Competition. Her work has been published through Playscripts, Inc. and Smith & Kraus. She holds a B.A. in Creative Writing and Theater from Oberlin College and an M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing from Carnegie Mellon University. She is Pittsburgh's Regional Co-Representative for the Dramatist Guild. www.moravharris.com
 

image descriptionAmber Holder (she/her) Since moving to Pittsburgh in January of 2019, Amber has had the privilege of working as an Artistic Intern and later Artistic Fellow at City Theatre Company, Artistic Assistant for Pittsburgh CLO's New Musicals Weekend, Administrative Assistant for demaskus Theater Collective, and Program and Event Sales Manager at the New Hazlett Theater. Amber is deeply committed to changing the theatre through radical programming, staffing and casting diversification, inquiry, authenticity and laughter. She believes most strongly in the interdisciplinary potential of the arts. Amber holds a Bachelor of Arts in Music and a Master of Arts in Musicology from the Pennsylvania State University.

 

image descriptionOlivia O’Connor (she/her) is a dramaturg and writer based in Pittsburgh, PA. She’s currently the Manager of New Work Development at Pittsburgh CLO and previously served as the Artistic Associate at Roundabout Theatre Company. Dramaturgy work includes projects at Pittsburgh Public Theater, Bricolage Production Company, Third Space, and The Flea, as well as selection committees for the National Alliance for Musical Theatre’s Festival of New Musicals and the 5th Avenue Theatre’s First Draft Story Summit. Proud graduate of Carnegie Mellon University and LMDA member. oliviaannoconnor.com 

 

 

image descriptionBrian Pope (he/him) is a Philadelphia-born and Pittsburgh-based playwright, producer, and theater critic. Currently, he serves as Artistic Manager at Pittsburgh Public Theater. His plays have been read or produced at Pittsburgh Public Theater, Non-State Actors, City Theatre, Throughline Theatre Company, Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Yinz Like Plays?!, and Pittsburgh Playwrights Theater Company. Other credits include: Yinzer Yuletide (Associate Producer, Pittsburgh Public Theater), Red in the City (Dramaturg, City Theatre), and Crave (Stage Manager, Alarum Theater). His coverage of the local arts scene has been published by Pittsburgh in the Round (pghintheround.com). Instagram: @popeupvideo