CreateTheater

Get Involved

CURRENT OPPORTUNITIES

Writers and musical creators can engage with CreateTheater in several ways:

  • Join a Writing Group
    • Participate in our upcoming Workshops (see the events page)
    • Submit a script for a reading or showcase to the CreateTheater New Works Studio
    • Apply to The Experts Theater Company
    • Attend a reading in the upcoming CreateTheater New Works Festival

CreateTheater welcomes playwrights, musical theater writers, and collaborators who are committed to developing new work for the stage.

Production-Ready Writing Groups
Ongoing groups for playwrights and musical theater writers developing new work.

Musical Theater Development Workshops
A four-part workshop exploring the craft and development of new musicals.

The CreateTheater Musical Writing Lab: A 12-Month Musical Theater Writing Intensive

The Musical Writing Lab is a year-long, immersive writing experience for composers, lyricists, and book writers who are serious about developing musicals that can actually move toward production.

Over 12 months, you’ll learn the foundational structure of musical theater—then apply it directly to your own libretto, song placement, and storytelling. Every session is designed to move your project forward, with guided implementation, feedback, and a professional development process modeled on how new musicals are built in the real world.

New Works Festival
An annual showcase of new plays and musicals in development.

THE CREATETHEATER 12-MONTH DEVELOPMENT LAB

A One-Year Guided Incubator for New Plays & Musicals culminating in a 29-hour NYC Staged Reading

A full-year, cohort-based development program for playwrights and musical theatre writers who want to:

  • Finish a new play or musical
  • Revise it with expert dramaturgical guidance
  • Build a submission-ready draft
  • Understand producing and development best practices
  • Participate in professional-level table reads, labs, and rehearsals
  • Present a NYC staged reading at a festival or industry showcase

This is the pipeline writers dream of—taking them from concept → draft → revision → public presentation in one structured journey, in a community of other writers.

The CreateTheater NYC Producer Lab: Developmental & Off-Broadway Training Program is a 12-week professional training experience designed for emerging and mid-career producers, playwrights, creative entrepreneurs, and theatrical leaders who want to learn how to develop and produce new plays and musicals in New York City. Modeled on the legacy of the Commercial Theater Institute’s 12-Week course—but focused on the developmental-to-Off-Broadway pipeline—this program provides the essential knowledge, tools, and industry access needed to take a project from early workshop to a fully produced Off-Broadway production.

Through weekly sessions with top producers, general managers, attorneys, casting directors, marketing specialists, and Off-Broadway venue leaders, participants will gain a comprehensive understanding of how developmental and commercial production operates in NYC. The program combines masterclasses, case studies, contract breakdowns, real budgets, and hands-on producing labs, giving participants practical, applicable skills.

By the end of the program, participants will know how to:

  • Develop a new work from workshop to industry-ready production
  • Understand Equity’s Showcase Code, Tiered Contracts, and Off-Broadway agreements
  • Build a pre-production and production budget
  • Fundraise legally and effectively under SEC rules
  • Navigate GM relationships, theater rentals, and Off-Broadway venues
  • Create a producing plan, timeline, and team
  • Market, build audiences, and drive ticket sales in NYC
  • Prepare a show for potential commercial enhancement or transfer

Participants graduate in an optional NYC in-person weekend, with a Producer’s Portfolio including budgets, pitch decks, timelines, fundraising materials, and a development plan for their own project.

Join a Writing Group

Brief description + sign-up.

Apply to Experts Theater Company

Short description + application.

Apply

Submit Your Work

For festival or readings.

Join the Mailing List

For updates.

Testimonials
“I can’t thank you enough for your incredible input — for all your insight and great suggestions!   As always, your analysis of my latest script has given me a lot to think about and digest, and I’m sure my musical will be the better for it.” 

Maureen Condon, CRUDE the Musical, NYMF

“Cate Cammarata looks for your play’s intention and then helps you structure it in order to achieve your unique goals.  She is comfortable in working in all theatrical styles.  Cate’s insights and advice have saved me months of revisions!”

T Cat Ford, playwright

“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 has the instincts of a Sherpa guide, leading you through the unchartered world of your play. She helps you to identify your world, unclutter it and strengthen the narrative so your characters can reach their summit. And she achieves this, as both a dramaturg and a director, using her deft interpersonal skills of nuance, persuasion, respect, reason and illustration.”

Barbara Kelly, Entanglement, Broadway Bound Theater Festival