DISCOVER: New Musicals -- Staged Readings

May 23, 2011

Submissions of One-Act Musicals Accepted through March 25

All writers are encouraged to apply! Click here to download application materials.

One-act musical submissions are now being accepted for National Asian Artists Project’s DISCOVER:New Musicals, a series of staged readings of new one-act musicals to be presented on May 23, 2011.  There is no fee for either submission or production.  Writers need not be of Asian heritage, and musical need not be Asian-centric or themed, it only must be able to be explored and brought to life by a cast predominantly comprised of Asian actors.

Musicals need not be Asian-centric in theme; projects do need to be able to be explored and realized by a professional cast of predominantly Asian/Asian-American (for example, our reading of Oklahoma!, cast with professional actors of Asian heritage).  Musical can be in any style. Only one-act musicals will be considered for production, not longer than 30 minutes in length.  The musical may be excerpted from a longer musical, but excerpt must feel complete in itself. The project must not have yet been produced in the northeast U.S.  It is not required for the writers to have been produced in the past, and it is NOT necessary for the writers to be of Asian heritage.

Three or four musicals, depending on length, will be selected by a panel of industry professionals led by Baayork Lee, Executive Artistic Director of NAAP, for presentation in New York on May 23, 2011, in celebration of Asian-Pacific American Heritage month. Professional actors will be cast through open auditions with a professional casting director.

There will be no production cost for any participating musicals.   Musical can be in any style. Only one-act musicals will be considered for production, not longer than 30 minutes in length.  The musical may be excerpted from a longer musical, but excerpt must feel complete in itself. The project must not have yet been produced in the northeast U.S.

For details on evaluative criteria and submission process, please visit NAAProject.org.   Submission deadline is March 25, 2011.  For information, please email Discover@NAAProject.org.

NAAP’s mission is to provide professional opportunities to artists of Asian heritage and other underrepresented ethnicities; engage children of these communities in performing and visual arts to encourage presentation and literacy skills and foster creativity; to broaden the public’s thinking of and exposure to Asian artists and artists of other ethnicities.  Current and recent projects include the REDISCOVER series, public staged readings of well-known musicals (Oklahoma!  in NY, The King and I  in Atlanta) cast with predominantly Asian and ethnic professional actors; Theatre Afterschool, an education program preparing students at P.S. 124 in NY’s Chinatown for the National Junior Theatre Conference, and low-cost professional workshops in  2009 and 2010.

Baayork Lee, NAAP’s Executive Artistic Director, has performed in a dozen Broadway shows and created the role of Connie in A Chorus Line.  As Michael Bennett’s assistant choreographer on A Chorus Line, she has directed many national and international companies.  Her directing credits include The King and I and Bombay Dreams (national tours), R&H’s Cinderella (NYC Opera), Barnum (Australia), Carmen Jones (Kennedy Center), Porgy and Bess and Jesus Christ Superstar (European tours), Gypsy and A New Brain. She has choreographed shows including Mack and Mabel (Shaw Festival); Cocoanuts, Camelot, Damn Yankees, Helen Hayes nomination for Animal Crackers and South Pacific (all at Arena Stage); and Goya, Sly and The Merry Widow (Kennedy Center). Co-author of "On the Line: The Creation of A Chorus Line" and recipient of 2003 Asian Woman Warrior Award for Lifetime Achievement from Columbia College. 

The DISCOVER: New Musicals series is supported in part by Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s 2011 Manhattan Community Arts Fund, Lower Manhattan Cultural Council’s 2011 Fund for Creative Communities, and many generous individual supporters.