Music Theatre NOW - international open call for competition entries of music theatre works (opera and music theatre, in all genres, with particular interest in works outside the Western European tradition).

Selected creators and presenters will be invited to the 11th triennial Music Theatre NOW conference in Rotterdam in May 2016 to present their work.

Deadline: 30 June 2015

Eligibility: Works made by opera and theatre institutions, works created by festivals, works created by individuals - we are open to all forms of professional opera and music theatre which explore new frontiers.

All kind of works, which demonstrate a new development in the genre, be it in score, text and/or staging, can be entered. 
An important criterion for entering the competition is that the production is a first staging and has a newly composed score. Also, singing does not necessarily have to be part of the production. Works by so-called non-academic composers and works without a written score may be entered.

Special attention will be given to works, whose musical and theatrical vocabulary originates outside the Western European tradition. As a guideline for those regions in which categories such as music theatre or opera are not defined: all interdisciplinary work will be considered, in which music plays a dominant role.

Music theatre productions can be entered for the next competition which premiered between July 2012 and June 2015.

As you can see from the list of past winners, both internationally established composers and theatre-makers as well as lesser-known artists and newcomers participated in the last edition of Music Theatre NOW. You will also find that we are interested in works of all shapes and sizes – created for opera houses, festivals, tiny venues, even living rooms, as well as other site-specific works.

This year’s jury are prominent professionals from the five continents: Sara Joan Fang (music producer for Singapore’s national performing arts centre Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay), Guy Coolen (director of the production company ‘Muziektheater Transparant' and artistic director of the international opera festival ‘Operadagen’ in Rotterdam), as well as Joseph V. Melillo (executive producer of the ‘Brooklyn Academy of Music’), Ana Lara (Mexican composer and founder of the festival ‘Música y Escena’) and and Brett Bailey (South African playwright, designer and director, who continues his commitment from the 2012 jury).

Rotterdam 2016

The opportunity to attend  Music Theatre NOW, a meeting for creators and presenters of contemporary music theatre, and to give a special presentation of your work. A maximum of two members of the artistic team will be invited.

You will give a presentation of the work in the form of a lecture/demonstration with sound and video excerpts at the 11th triennial meeting Music Theatre NOW, May 26-28 2016 in Rotterdam.

This meeting, previously called the Music Theatre Workshop, has served as a forum for professionals for many years.

Travel, accommodation and meals for the artists representing the work will be provided by the host organization. Curators and presenters from around the globe will be invited to attend the meeting, which will be held as part of the Operadagen Rotterdam – an international festival of contemporary theatre and opera.