The best advice I ever got as I was coming up as a Producer was, “Want a show to happen?  Book a theater.”

There’s nothing better than an opening night to make you make it happen.  It’s the ultimate deadline.

So if you’ve been drafting and redrafting your musical, I’ve got a great deadline for you . . . because it’s the same one that launched my musical producing career.  The New York Musical Theatre Festival is now accepting submissions for their Next Link program!  And their deadline is just 3.5 weeks away!  (You’ve got until November 3rd.)

Whenever I talk to people who are pitching new shows and looking for a place to try them out, my first response is usually, “Have you submitted to NYMF?”

Why?

Well, I always think of festivals like shopping centers for Producers.  We stroll through the aisles, looking to pick up a few nice things to bring home.  And NYMF is like a Madison Avenue boutique.  Specialized, classy, a bit expensive – it’s true, but in my opinion there is no better showcase for an emerging musical or emerging writers.

That’s why it has pumped out so many shows that have gone on to future life, including [title of show], Next to Normal, and my first musical, Altar Boyz.

So if you’ve got a musical, or you’re still putting the finishing touches on one, call your collaborators and make sure it’s done by 11/3.  And then, submit it to NYMF and who knows – your show could be up on a NY stage this coming summer.  (Click here for all the details.)

(Oh, while we’re talking about writers and musicals – I’ve never made this public before, but for the past couple of years I’ve kept a secret list-serv-like database of writers.  And every so often I send out notices about contests and festivals and other tips on writing for the theater to the folks on it.  It’s fun and valuable stuff.  If you’re a writer and want to get on the list, click here.)

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