There is a moment in the development of a new play or musical when the writer begins to ask a very understandable question:
When can I get this in front of industry?
Maybe the script has had a few readings. Maybe it has been through a writing group. Maybe the writer has spent months—or years—rewriting it. At some point, the natural impulse is to move outward: invite producers, artistic directors, literary managers, directors, investors.
In other words: showcase it.
But here is something I have become increasingly clear about as a producer:
Not every script is ready for a showcase.
And that is not a judgment on the quality of the writer or even the potential of the work.
It is a question of timing.
A Showcase Creates Expectations
The word showcase can sound deceptively casual.
We sometimes treat it as simply another developmental step: first a reading, then a workshop, then a showcase.
But a showcase is different because the purpose of the room changes.
A developmental reading asks:
What does the piece need?
A showcase begins asking:
What could happen to this piece next?
That distinction matters.
Once you invite industry professionals into the room, you are asking them to begin imagining the work beyond development.
Could this fit our season?
Would I produce this?
Would I direct this?
Could I introduce this writer to someone?
Is there an audience for this?
What would it cost?
That means the work is being evaluated differently.
And you want the script to be strong enough to benefit from that attention.
More Exposure Is Not Always Better
Writers are understandably encouraged to get their work seen.
And yes—new work needs advocates.
But there is a difference between getting the work seen and getting the work seen at the right moment.
Premature exposure can work against you.
If an artistic director sees a script before its central dramatic problem has been solved, they may simply conclude that the script does not work.
They may never know that six months later the writer completely restructured Act Two.
If a producer watches a musical before the score, book, and dramatic architecture are working together, they may remember the weaknesses rather than the potential.
You rarely get to control when someone will encounter your work again.
That is why I do not believe showcases should be consolation prizes, graduation ceremonies, or automatic benefits of belonging to a development program.
They are strategic opportunities.
And strategy requires asking whether the work is actually ready.
So What Does “Ready” Mean?
It does not mean perfect.
There is no such thing as a finished new play or musical that will never change again.
Even productions continue teaching us about the work.
But before I would want to put a piece into an industry-facing showcase, I would want to see several things happening.
The dramatic engine of the piece should be clear.
The audience should understand whose story they are following, what that person wants, and what stands in the way.
The structure should basically hold.
There may still be cuts, rewrites, new songs, scene changes, and discoveries ahead. But the piece should no longer be searching for its fundamental architecture.
The major emotional turns should land.
The writer should have already heard the work aloud—preferably more than once—and made discoveries from actors and audiences.
And perhaps most importantly:
We should know why we are doing the showcase.
“Because I want industry people to see it” is not quite enough.
- Which industry people?
- And what do you want them to do next?
- Are you looking for a producing partner?
- A regional theater?
- A commercial producer?
- A director?
- A developmental residency?
- Investors?
- An artistic home?
The clearer the next objective is, the more useful the showcase becomes.
Sometimes the Best Next Step Is More Development
This is the part writers sometimes find frustrating.
They have worked hard. They are eager to move forward.
And then the producer says:
I think we need another reading.
Or another rewrite.
Or a workshop.
That can feel like standing still – and possibly make you angry.
But development is not standing still when it is answering a specific question.
A table reading might reveal whether the storytelling is clear.
A music rehearsal might expose a structural problem in a musical.
A staged workshop can tell us whether transitions, pacing, physical storytelling, and theatrical moments are functioning.
Each form of development gives us different information.
The goal is not to accumulate development credits.
The goal is to solve the problems that stand between the work and its next opportunity.
This Is How I’m Thinking About CreateTheater’s 2027 Showcases
We are beginning to look toward CreateTheater’s 2027 Showcase productions (as well as our 2027 New Works Reading Festival).
But regarding the showcases, my question is not simply:
Which writers deserve an opportunity?
There are many writers I believe in.
My question is:
Which projects are ready for this particular opportunity?
Those are not the same thing.
One project may be ready for a showcase.
Another may need six more months of focused development.
Another may need a table reading before anyone makes that decision.
Another may actually be ready to move beyond a showcase toward production conversations.
That is the kind of pipeline that CreateTheater has built.
Not a conveyor belt where every project automatically advances to the same next step.
A developmental process in which the opportunity matches the readiness of the work.
Because the goal is not simply to present a script.
The goal is to help that script move forward.
The Better Question
So if you are developing a new play or musical, I would encourage you to replace:
“How do I get a showcase?”
with:
“What does my work need next?”
Sometimes the answer will be a showcase.
Sometimes it will be another reading.
Sometimes it will be a workshop.
Sometimes it will be a serious rewrite.
None of those answers mean you are behind.
They mean you are developing the work strategically.
And when the right opportunity finally arrives, you want the piece to be ready to take advantage of it.
Because in new work development, the opportunity must match the readiness of the work.
(NOTE: Image is from the first day of rehearsal for the next musical LITTLE THINGS by David H. Smith at the Philadelphia Theater Company.)
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