At least one member of the creative team (concept, book, music, lyrics) must be, at the time of submission: (a) a U.S. citizen or U.S. permanent resident, enrolled student with a valid and current U.S. student visa or hold a valid U.S. visa. (b) A musical theatre artist in the early to middle stages of their career; (c) At least 21 years of age. Contact us if you have further questions about eligibility.
Ultimately, early- to mid-career is in the eye of the beholder. Generally speaking, creators with work on Broadway or the West End would not be considered eligible, though we welcome submissions from anyone who believes they fit the criteria.
Not at this time. While we recognize and appreciate the many prolific creators in the field, to maintain fairness, we limit submissions to one per PERSON. If you are part of a number of different creative teams, please consult with each of them to be certain that work where you are credited is only submitted once.
Pipeline defines unproduced by the Dramatists Guild definition: “Readings, staged readings, AEA workshops, developmental productions, amateur productions, concert versions, etc., are not professional productions“, thus, are considered unproduced.
Yes. We accept adaptations, as long as you have written documentation proving your right to use the intellectual property of the grantor (or the original work is in the public domain).
No. Musical numbers must be original and written expressly for the piece by the credited creative team.
Some of Pipeline’s past winners include TYA shows. We have readers as young as 9 who evaluate these works alongside adult assessors.
Please see our AI Statement.
Please limit your synopsis to 250 words maximum. A paragraph or two about the major arcs of the show will suffice. Complete synopses (including the ending) preferred.
Feel free to use the Dramatists Guild template, Standard Playwriting Format or other convention – as long as readers can differentiate between dialogue, stage directions, and lyrics. For submission, we are only able to accept libretto excerpts in PDF format.
Songs where the lyrics are sung are highly preferable to overtures or instrumental numbers. We and our readers understand that pieces are all in different stages of development, and that there are varying levels of audio quality in demos. As such, we emphasize the importance of assessing a piece by its creative content, as opposed to slickness of production. Clarity of lyrics and melody are most important.
We are not able to distribute video recordings for assessment at this time.
No. Our system does not assign numbers or distribute submissions to readers until both parts have been received. It is best to submit both parts close together so you don’t run the risk of submitting only one part before the submission window closes. Only complete applications are eligible for consideration.
You’ll receive an e-mail confirmation when you successfully submit PART ONE of the application. You’ll receive an ON SCREEN confirmation when you successfully submit PART TWO that looks like this: (IMAGE INCLUDED IN THE DROPDOWN)
We emphasize flexibility, and we do not envision a fixed number of winners or prize amounts every year. Our minimum award is $10,000 per work.
Our reading team is comprised of actors, writers, professors, composers, dramaturgs, directors, producers, and past recipients. Our youngest reader is 9 years old and a working performer, our oldest is 87.
At this time, we are unable to offer reader notes or feedback.
If you have any other questions, please email us hello@pipelinearts.org.
