Theater is hard right now.

Have you noticed?

It is hard to get produced.
It is hard to get attention.
It is hard to build an audience.
It is hard to raise money.
It is hard to know which opportunity is actually worth your time and which one is just another application fee, another deadline, another “we loved your work but…” email.

And if you are writing a new play or musical, it can feel like you are carrying the whole thing alone.

The script.
The rewrites.
The submissions.
The readings.
The networking.
The hope.
The disappointment.
The question underneath all of it:

How does this piece actually move forward?

That question is exactly why developmental theater companies matter.

And honestly?

They matter now more than ever.

 

New Work Needs Infrastructure

A play or musical does not move from the writer’s desk to the professional stage by magic.

(I know we love theatrical magic. I believe in it. I have spent my life chasing it.)

But behind that magic is structure.

There is development.
There is dramaturgy.
There is producing strategy.
There is audience response.
There is rewriting.
There is positioning.
There is the hard, sometimes unglamorous work of asking:

• What is this piece?
• Who is it for?
• Why does it matter now?
• What kind of production is it asking for?
• What still needs to be solved before anyone can responsibly produce it?

That is not busywork.

That is the work.

And it is the work that too many writers are being asked to figure out by themselves.

A developmental theater company exists to create infrastructure around new work before it is ready for full production. It gives the artist a room, a process, collaborators, professional perspective, and a pathway forward.

Because here’s the truth:

Development is not a luxury. Development is what makes production possible.

 

 

New Plays and Musicals Should Not Be Judged Too Early

One of the biggest problems in theater right now is that new work is often expected to behave like a finished product before it has had the chance to become one.

A script gets one reading.

Maybe two.

A few people give notes.

Then suddenly the writer feels pressured to submit it everywhere, pitch it to producers, send it to theaters, raise money, or mount a production before the piece has actually been tested.

That is dangerous.

Not because the writer lacks talent. (Usually, talent is not the problem.)

The problem is that the work has not yet had the developmental support it needs to become theatrically viable – or theatrically exciting.

There is a fragile space between the first strong draft and the production-ready script.

That space matters.

It is where the writer discovers what the story is really about.
It is where the structure either holds or reveals its cracks.
It is where characters deepen.
It is where songs earn their place – or are replaced (or changed).
It is where the audience teaches you what the script is actually doing in the room.
It is where a producer can begin to see the path toward a reading, workshop, showcase, or production.

Developmental theater companies protect that space.

They do not rush past it.

They do not pretend it does not exist.

They honor it.

Because when new work is judged too early, we lose stories that might have become extraordinary with the right support.

 

 

Theater Makes Us More Human

I teach college students at Baruch, and one of the things I notice again and again is how accustomed they are to consuming stories on screens.

Film.
Television.
YouTube.
TikTok.
Streaming platforms.
Short clips.
Fast edits.
Endless content.

That is the storytelling world they live in.

So when they come into a theater and experience a live performance — sometimes for the first time in a serious way — they experience storytelling in a different way.

They are watching actual human beings breathe in the same room.

They are sitting with strangers.

They cannot pause it.
They cannot scroll past it.
They cannot double-speed it.
They cannot look away without feeling the weight of their own attention.

And it excites them.

Live theater asks something different of us.

It asks us to be present.

And new work asks something even more urgent. It says:

• This story is being made now.
• This conversation belongs to this moment.
• This room matters.
• These people matter.
• This audience matters.

In a digital culture, live theater reminds us that human presence still matters.

And – I deeply believe that seeing theater makes people more human.

Not softer. Not nicer. Not magically transformed by curtain call.

But more aware.

More empathetic.

More awake to the lives of others.

And right now, we need that.

 

We Need New Stories That Reflect the World We Are Living

Theater has always held a mirror up to society.

But that mirror has to be current.

It has to reflect the people in the room, the questions we are asking now, the communities we live in, the anxieties we are carrying, the joy we are trying to protect, and the human contradictions we are all trying to survive.

That is why new work matters.

And yes, regional theaters are doing important work telling stories rooted in their own communities. They should. That local connection is essential.

But Off-Broadway has historically been one of the great launching platforms for new American theater. It remains a place where new work can gather attention, collaborators, credibility, and momentum before moving into regional productions, commercial opportunities, or other future lives.

New York does not need to be the only place where new work is validated.

But it is still one of the most powerful places where new work can be developed, tested, seen, and taken seriously.

That is part of why CreateTheater exists.

We are here to help new plays and musicals become ready for the rooms they are trying to enter.

Not theoretically ready.

Actually ready.

 

 

Writers Should Not Have to Develop Theatrical Work Alone

Let me be very clear about something.

Writing a play or musical is not the same as writing a novel.

A script is not a literary artifact meant to sit beautifully on a page.

It is a blueprint for a live event.

That means at some point, the work has to be tested in the bodies, voices, timing, energy, and presence of actual performers in front of actual people.

A writer can only do so much alone.

At some point, the script needs a room.

It needs ears.
It needs bodies.
It needs pressure.
It needs questions.
It needs an audience.
It needs someone who understands not only story, but production.

That is the difference between writing endlessly and developing intentionally.

A developmental theater company gives writers a place to stop guessing.

Not because anyone can guarantee production.

But because the process can become clearer, smarter, and more strategic.

At CreateTheater, we are not interested in development for the sake of development.

We are interested in development that leads somewhere – that leads to seeing the work on stage, where it belongs.

That is why I use the “Develop-to-Produce” method in my Production-Ready Writers™ writing groups.

Because the goal is not to endlessly workshop your play or musical until everyone is exhausted.

The goal is to understand what the work needs next — and then to prepare it for that next step with intention.

 

 

Development Also Builds Audiences

Development is not only for writers.

It is also for audiences.

A developmental theater company can invite people into the process of discovering new work. It can help audiences understand that a reading, workshop, or showcase is not a lesser version of theater.

It is a front-row seat to the birth of something.

That is exciting.

It is especially important for students and emerging theatergoers, who may not be able to afford expensive tickets but can still experience the energy of new work in development.

A developmental showcase can become an entry point.

A reading can become a first encounter.

A new play can become the moment someone realizes theater is not dead, dusty, or irrelevant.

It is alive.

It is happening now.

It is speaking to them.

That is part of the cultural value of a company like CreateTheater.

We are not just developing scripts.

We are developing artists, audiences, and future possibilities for the work.

 

CreateTheater Is Moving Toward Nonprofit Status

This is also why I am working on turning CreateTheater into a nonprofit.

Because if we believe new work matters, then we have to build structures that support it.

Grants and donors can help make space for new plays and musicals that are not yet commercially obvious, but are artistically and culturally necessary.

They can help us provide developmental opportunities, readings, showcases, student access, artist support, and public programming.

They can help us put quality new work in front of audiences in New York and help regional productions happen.

They can help us create a stronger bridge between the writer’s desk and a story being told onstage.

That bridge is desperately needed.

Because if fewer institutions support new stories, we all lose.

Writers lose.
Audiences lose.
Students lose.
Producers lose.
Theater loses.
The culture loses.

A healthy theater ecosystem needs more than finished productions.

It needs places where new work can grow.

 

 

So Where Does Your Work Fit Into This?

If you are a playwright or musical theater writer, this is the question I want you to sit with:

• Are you still writing in isolation?
• Are you still submitting the same draft everywhere and hoping someone else will see something special in it?
• Are you still wondering whether your script is actually ready for a reading, workshop, showcase, or production?
• Are you still getting feedback but not a real path forward?

Then you may not need another random note session.

You may need a developmental process.

I created the Production-Ready Writers™ 6-Month Writing Groups to help develop plays to get onstage.

This 6-month session is for playwrights who are ready to look at their plays not just as scripts, but as future productions.

We will work on the craft, yes.

But we will also look at the bigger questions:

• What is the piece becoming?
• Where does it belong?
• What kind of audience is it trying to reach?
• What still needs to be developed before it can move forward?
• What would make this script more producible?
• What is the next realistic step?
• How can I help it get there?

Because the goal is not just to write (and rewrite) pages.

The goal is to build a piece that can live.

Onstage.

In front of people.

With impact.

 

Why This Matters Now

Theater is tough right now.

No argument.

But that is not a reason to stop making it.

We must get more intentional.

We must build better pathways.

We need to support new work before it disappears in the gap between an artist’s idea and a culture’s next important story.

That is what developmental theater companies do.

That is what CreateTheater is here to do – to help new plays and musicals move from idea to structure, from draft to room, from private hope to public possibility.

Because theater still matters.

Live storytelling still matters.

New work still matters.

If your play or musical has something urgent to say, then it deserves more than wishful thinking.

It deserves development with direction.

The Production-Ready Writers™ 6-Month Play Writing Groups begin in July. (Musical Writing Groups will begin in January.)

If you are ready to stop guessing and start building your work toward its next real step, join us.

Your story deserves a room. It deserves support.

And maybe, just maybe, the culture needs the story only you can tell.

One of the biggest mistakes I see many playwrights and musical theatre writers make is believing producers are looking for “good writing.”

Of course they are.

But, after years of producing, directing, dramaturging, and sitting through countless readings, festivals, workshops, and development processes, I can tell you that “good writing” is not the whole conversation.

I’ve seen beautifully written plays stall for years.

I’ve also seen less-than-perfect scripts move forward really quickly (to my surprise).

Why?

Because producers never evaluate scripts in isolation.

Instead, they evaluate projects – and how current audiences would receive them.

That’s a very different thing.

When writers send out a script, they want to know:

“Is this good? What do you think?”

But producers are asking themselves a whole different set of questions.

• Can I build a team around this?
• Does it have an audience?
• Would a regional theatre want it?
• Can I see a path from where it is now to a complete production?

The longer I work in theatre, the more I realize that many writers have simply never been taught how the industry evaluates new work.

So – let’s pull back the curtain a little.

Below are some of the things I know many producers pay attention to.

Producers Look for Projects They Can Get Behind

That may sound obvious, but hear me out.

Producers don’t wake up in the morning wondering how many scripts they’re going to reject that day.

They look for projects they can say yes to. Something they can get excited about.

It’s true – everyone’s looking for the next Hamilton.

We dream of finding a script we can spend the next several years of their life fighting for.

The question isn’t just:

“Is this script good?”

It’s:

“Am I passionate about this project? Do I love it?”

Because producing is a lot of fighting.

• Fighting for funding.
• Fighting for attention.
• Fighting for audiences.
• Fighting for opportunities.

The projects that actually move forward are often the ones that inspire people to advocate for them, for the long term.

 

We Look for an Audience

This is the place where many writers get uncomfortable.

The moment someone mentions “audience,” some artists hear the word “commercial.”

That’s not what I’m talking about.

Every successful production has an audience.

Even the most experimental play downtown has an audience.

The question is whether anyone knows who that audience is.

Some writers spend years refining a script without ever thinking about who would actually buy a ticket.

Eventually somebody has to ask that question.

Usually it’s the producer.

Submit your script accordingly.

 

Producers Look for a Story That Generates Momentum

A lot of scripts have interesting ideas, and compelling themes.

A lot of librettos have beautiful, well-produced demos.

What they don’t always have is momentum.

What keeps the audience leaning forward?

What creates anticipation?

What makes us eager to know what happens next? Or care?

I’ve sat through readings where everyone thought a script had good things going on, but nobody could figure out where the action was actually going. Or maybe scenes were overwritten, or there was too much “dead space” where the audience disconnected.

That’s a development issue.

And that’s also a reason projects stall.

 

We Look for Characters We Want to Spend Time With

I don’t necessarily mean likable characters.

I mean compelling characters.

When actors get excited about a project, it’s usually because they see a role they can’t wait to play.

When directors get excited, it’s often because they see relationships they want to explore.

When audiences connect, it’s because they recognize something human.

Strong characters create advocates.

Advocates create momentum.

Momentum creates opportunities.

 

We Look for Writers Who Can Develop Work

This is a big one.

Sometimes the question isn’t whether the script is ready.

It’s whether the writer is ready.

You see, theatre is the most collaborative art.

Development is collaborative.

Productions are collaborative.

The writers who move forward are not necessarily the writers who get every note right.

They’re the writers who know how to engage in the process.

They listen.

They evaluate.

They experiment.

They revise.

They don’t necessarily take every note, but they keep an open mind and are willing to try things.

They understand that a reading isn’t the finish line.

It’s information.

The script is no longer just their baby – it’s the team’s.

 

Producers Look for a Path Forward

More than anything else, what I’ve learned from years of working in New York is that projects rarely move forward because someone suddenly “discovers” them.

Most projects move forward because someone can see the next step. And the next one after that.

• Maybe it’s a reading.
• Maybe it’s a workshop.
• Maybe it’s a development lab.
• Maybe it’s a festival.
• Maybe it’s a producing partner.

The question isn’t always:

“Can this be produced tomorrow?”

The question is:

“Can I see what the next step is?”

The projects that generate momentum usually have a visible path forward.

 

The Real Question

When writers ask me what producers are looking for, I think they’re often just asking the wrong question.

A better question is:

“What makes someone want to champion my work?”

Because that’s what ultimately moves projects forward.

Not perfection.

Not credentials.

Not winning lots of awards.

Not doing another reading.

Advocates.

People who believe in your project enough to invest their time, energy, relationships, and resources into helping it grow.

That’s why development matters.

The goal isn’t simply to write a good play or musical.

The goal is to develop a project that artists, audiences, and industry professionals can believe in.

That’s when things start moving.

And that’s when the real work begins.

 

Most playwrights and musical theatre writers have spent years learning how to write.

Few have been taught how the industry actually evaluates new work.

 

If you’re serious about getting your work onstage, explore our programs.