About CreateTheater

Celebrating 10 Years of Developing New Plays and Musicals

Founded in 2016 by Cate Cammarata, CreateTheater is a producer-led organization where each project receives personalized attention, rigorous dramaturgy, and strategic guidance—helping new works move from idea to production in NYC and beyond.
Explore the CreateTheater Pipeline

Our Mission

CreateTheater supports the development of new plays and musicals through personalized dramaturgy, strategic producing insight, and professional pathways to production.

Our History

For over a decade, CreateTheater has been helping writers bring new work to life in New York City. Over the last 10 years, we have:

Developed over [insert number] new musicals and [insert number] new plays

Produced workshops, staged readings, and showcases

Built a professional network connecting writers to directors, actors, and producers

Launched flagship programs like the Musical Development Series, Production-Ready Writers Lab, and Online Writers Groups

2016

CreateTheater is Founded

CreateTheater, founded in 2016 by Off-Broadway producer, director & dramaturg Cate Cammarata, is a theater company whose mission is to develop new plays and musicals regionally and online, and then to produce them in NYC.

2020

Launch of the Monday Night Reading Series

CreateTheater rose to the pandemic challenge and offered 38 free Zoom readings,  raising over $10,000 in total donations for small regional theaters.

2021

The Experts Theater Company (ETC)

In 2021 we formed The Experts Theater Company, our resident theater company, which has now served over 70 writers with dramaturgy, in-person and virtual readings, and hours of classes, workshops and coaching.

2022

The New Works Festival

In 2022 we launched the CreateTheater New Works Festival and with Prism Stage Company co-produced six weeks of new musicals and plays at Theatre Row – during the tail end of the pandemic. We also formed a Professional College Musical Theater Development Partnership with SUNY Cortland to develop new musicals with us upstate. That first collaboration, THE BONE HARP (book & lyrics by Laura Stratford, music by Heidi Joosten) was selected as our first musical residency project.

2025

The New Works Cabaret

CreateTheater Cabaret was formed to promote the musicals we’re developing in-house. It was held as a gala to help us support new plays and musicals in the 2026 New Works Festival.

Also, in 2025 we were able to grant space for 3 new musicals and 5 new plays to be developed  in the 2025 New Works Festival and 5 musicals to be staged in the 2025 New Works Cabaret, through the generousity of our supporters.

2026

Our 10th Anniversary Celebration

For our 10th anniversary CreateTheater has created a Pipeline of Development, where new plays and musicals are offered experienced guidance along a developmental path that makes sense for each individual show, the writer and team.

Meet Our Leadership Team

Our leadership team is composed of seasoned professionals dedicated to nurturing new theatrical works. Each member brings a wealth of experience and a unique perspective to our mission.
Cate Cammarata

Cate Cammarata

Artistic Director

Kevin Halpin

Kevin Halpin

Musical Development

Steve Marsh

Steve Marsh

New Play Development

Michelle Hutter

Michelle Hutter

Membership Manager

Advisory Board

Ken Cerniglia

Bio goes here

Merrie Davis

Bio goes here

Larry Little

Bio goes here

Neal Rubinstein

Bio goes here

Tom Miele

Neal Rubinstein

The CreateTheater Pipeline

The Pipeline is a flexible development framework for new plays and musicals. Each project receives individual attention and is guided toward the right programs, collaborators, and opportunities. Writers can enter at different stages and move back and forth as the work evolves.

What Our Writers Say

“Cate’s Mastermind has been a powerful force in keeping me on track with my numerous projects and just generally encouraging me to believe in what I’ve chosen to do – produce, write, and support theater as a professional. 

Her meetings offer insight and advice from colleagues who are pursuing the same goals from different angles. Cate is organized, a smart and caring listener, and is able to sum up my sometimes rambling thoughts in a way that helps me stay accountable to my goals. 

I’m so glad I joined forces with her!”

Gayla Morgan

Off Broadway Producer and Award-Winning Musical Theater Composer/Lyricist

“Cate Cammarata’s Mastermind groups are the perfect blend of support, accountability, sage advice and authentic cheerleading. She leads quietly but with great certainty. I find myself reaching goals and going beyond. 

This group has been invaluable to my progress as a writer and as a creative.”

Delta Donohue

Playwright, Author, Poet and Professional Speaker

“Cate leads her Mastermind group with attentiveness and skill. Her observations are insightful and she asks the right questions, bringing everyone together to share constructive feedback. Each person gains clarity as well as new ideas, goals and ways to tackle problems.  

The evening always ends on an up-note, everyone energized, confident, ready and prepared to take on the world!”

Kari Floren

Playwright, Producer

“Casting and producing a play from Los Angeles was very challenging. Luckily the festival sent us a list of artists in all areas of production who had signed up as wanting to be a part of the festival. I took some serious time doing research on a few different directors and decided on Cate Cammarata, who literally saved my life.

She attended the auditions and has had constant communication with me about the process. With her guidance we were able to cast the play with a group of actors that I am very excited to see on stage telling this story. The rehearsal process thus far has been a lot of work, with myself and the director making sure that the story is solid and that we understand the vision. It’s been great, and I can’t wait to keep going.”

Kristy Thomas

Memories of the Game, SHE NYC Festival

“We have had the great pleasure of working with Cate Cammarata as a dramaturg on our original musical.

Cate is extremely thoughtful and thorough in her process and we were highly impressed and grateful for the amount of time and care she took in evaluating our work. Her astute questions about the script have lead us to a more defined story arc, featuring characters who are now properly fleshed out.  

The experience has made us realize that when you’re so close to the material it is sometimes difficult to see where problems exist. Bringing in an outside voice as insightful and experienced as Cate helped us discover where more chances should be taken and where clarification was needed. We left each session feeling confident and excited to dig further into the script to create the best show possible.”

Caryn Robbins

Book writer for Dear Prospective Student

“Cate Cammarata provided insightful, detailed notes on my new, original, modern musical. Her mastery of classical drama enables her to reinforce foundational truths about theatre and story, all the while proffering notes and choices which easily reflect the attitudes of today’s audiences.

Highly recommended! Thank you, Cate!“

Cle’
Multi-Hyphenate Playwright and Producer

“Was looking for a safe community of other theatre artists who could offer helpful feedback for my work, who experience live performances on a regular basis, who are committed to advancing their creative abilities and found it with Cate Cammarata’s ETC! Whether it’s writing groups or readings or workshops, ETC has been a great benefit to me as a theatre artist. Grateful to Cate and everyone who’s a part of this community!“

Gary Powers
Revolution Stage Company
Palm Springs, California

“I’ve found the producing and writing groups extremely valuable.  It is like a community of people helping one another. And Cates insights on musical theatre writing, analyzing different musicals is a highlight.“

Eric Sirota

“I met Cate at the start of the pandemic when I joined her group for musical writers.  I was struggling to prioritize my writing and had lost all passion. Cate understands writers and their need for community, support, and opportunities.  I was inspired by her insight and encouragement.  My passion and creativity ignited.  Four years later, I’m well into my fourth full-length script!

Cate has built an incredible theatre community of phenomenal playwrights that range from Page-One Beginners to Prolific Award Winners.  She believes in playwrights and pours out her resources and expertise to get the story on the page and the script on the stage.  I’m honored to be part of this movement to revive theatre through the birth of new works.”

Pam C. Dudley
Playwright & Psychotherapist

“Cate is a visionary and dedicated leader who has created a thriving theatre community in a very short period of time. A triple hyphenate (producer-director-dramaturg), she fosters a dynamic, nurturing environment in which writers can write, mount their work, learn and grow. Two of my plays have already had staged readings via Zoom that have advanced my work.“

Barbara Kelly

“Cate and ETC have really helped my musical get to the best version possible through detailed feedback, live readings and development. Our small group of musical creators meets weekly to provide support and encouragement to help all our musicals get to the next stage of development. Cate makes herself available for discussions or questions which has been very helpful. I am so grateful for the experiences and relationships I’ve been able to forge while a member of ETC. Thank you!“

Marty Jagodzinski

Ready to Bring Your Work to Life?

Join the writers, composers, and creators who trust CreateTheater for strategic, professional development of new plays and musicals.

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