Selection Criteria
All creative artists aged 21 and over are welcome to submit. Priority will be given to emerging and mid-career musical theatre artists. We accept submissions from individuals and teams, but, to maintain fairness, and to accommodate submissions from the largest possible pool of work, we only accept one submission per person, in any capacity. For example, if you submit a show where you are credited as the bookwriter, you may not submit (or be part of a team where someone else submits) another show where you are credited in any capacity (please communicate with all of your writing teams, as you may be disqualified for multiple submissions).
Unproduced, full length musical theatre works are eligible. Works derived from sources other than the creative team (books, TV, movies, plays, songs) must document appropriate permissions / rights to use any materials not in the public domain. Adaptations will be accepted as long as they have been significantly reimagined in new and exciting ways, however, priority will be given to original works.
What we're looking for:
Shows that embody innovation, creativity and originality. We’re looking for engaging shows that make us think, feel, laugh, gasp, and examine our own humanity.
Timeline
OCTOBER 27, 2025
SUBMISSION WINDOW OPENS. A maximum of 300 submissions will be accepted OR the window will close on February 1, 2026, whichever comes first.
FEBRUARY 15, 2026
SEMIFINAL round.
A maximum of 15% of the total submissions (up to 45) will be selected and will be notified on a rolling basis. Semifinalists will have 72 hours from time of e-mail or phone notification to provide a full libretto (as a .pdf) and links to all musical elements to the selection committee via e-mail or a Dropbox link.
APRIL 15, 2026
FINAL round begins.
Finalists will be invited to interview with the selection committee.
June 30, 2026
Prizewinners will be announced (including a results e-mail to all applicants).
United States citizenship is not a requirement to receive the grant, but you must be eligible to work in the U.S. and reside/work in the U.S. for a majority of any given year. Due to program constraints, we are unable to provide feedback on entries.
There is no fee to apply.
Pipeline utilizes a BLIND submission process. Please remove ALL creative team information from PART 2 BEFORE you submit, including names on recordings, synopses, character breakdowns, title pages, headers, footers, etc. Incomplete submissions will not be considered.
Part 1
Submit the APPLICATION FORM.
You'll get an e-mail confirmation of Part 1 submission.
Part 2
Submit the following materials:
Libretto Excerpt: Please submit 20- 25 pages (from one continuous section) in .pdf format.
Music Files: Please submit 5 songs that you feel best represent your show. 3 of the 5 songs submitted must be within the script excerpt.
Character Breakdown in .pdf format.
Synopsis – 250 words maximum.
You'll get an on-screen confirmation of Part 2 submission that looks like this:
