Panelists Announced for ANMT's Musical Theatre Writers Conference 2012, 7/20-22

The Fourth Bi-Annual conference for musical theatre writers and composers is coming to Los Angeles, July 20-22 at the NoHo Arts Center in North Hollywood, CA.

Hosted by the Academy for New Musical Theatre, this packed weekend conference on musical theatre writing includes sessions led by musical theatre professionals, who will share valuable information and advice on a variety of issues related to producing and writing musicals. Panels, Q&A sessions, and keynote topics will include: approaching producers and theatres (the right AND wrong ways), navigating the wide array of legal issues associated with creating a musical, protecting the rights of composers and lyricists, raising money, self-producing and much more.

"The writers conference is one of the highlights of all our programs," says ANMT's Executive Director, Scott Guy, "We're always so gratified to see so many writers and composers networking with each other as well as with producers, agents, artistic directors and other industry folk. Our panelists always tell us what a terrific opportunity it is for THEM, to network with their fellow panelists. Several new musicals have come directly out of the conference; one was born in the middle of a panel discussion and has gone on to production."

Participants will have the chance to hear behind-the-scenes stories from professional theatre writers about how to write a musical, and meet other emerging artists in the musical theatre world. As an added bonus, participants will also have the chance to pitch their musicals to established producers.

Confirmed panelists include: Cheri Steinkellner (the Tony Award-nominated writer of Sister Act), Paul Gordon (Tony Award-nominated lyricist/composer of Jane Eyre); Michael Jung (Disney Theatricals); Michael Shapiro (Kensington Entertainment), Michael Kerker (ASCAP Director of Musical Theatre); David Elzer (award-winning producer of The Marvelous Wonderettes); Tim Dang (Producing Artistic Director of East West Players, the nation's premiere Asian American theatre company); Gordon Firemark (CEO of Fierce Theatricals); as well as representatives from Dreamworks' Musical Theatre Workshop, LA Festival of New Musicals, ASCAP, Actors' Equity, the Theatre Musicians' Union, Dramatists Guild, Association of Los Angeles Playwrights, The Blank Theatre, Musical Theatre West, and many other artists, writers, producers, and directors talking about how to write musicals!

An additional bonus for everyone who's registered for the conference (at least for the Sunday session), we've compiled a long list of producers of new musicals who've agreed to receive an email pitch from conference participants who are writing musicals: writers send ANMT two paragraphs-one about themselves and one about their musical-and the Academy will send it directly to the producers. The regional theatres and commercial producers who have already agreed to be part of the list (so far!) include:

1113 Productions, Inc.
321 Theatrical Management
5th Avenue Theatre
Abrams Artists Agency
Act II Playhouse
Amas Musical Theatre
American Musical Theatre Project (AMTP)
Arizona Theatre Company
Baldwin Wallace College Conservatory of Music
Brigham Young University
Broadway Rose Theatre
Broadway/L.A.
Cabrillo Music Theatre
California Musical Theatre
CAP21 - Collaborative Arts Project 21
Chicago Shakespeare Theater
Coeur d'Alene Summer Theatre
Cumberland County Playhouse
Dallas Theater Center
Danish Academy of Musical Theatre
Denver Center Theatre Company
Geffen Playhouse
Junkyard Dog Productions
Maltz Jupiter Theatre
Mercury Musical Developments
Millikin University
Music Theatre of Wichita
Musical Mondays Theatre Lab
Musical Theatre West
NETworks Presentations
New Line Theatre
New York Theatre Barn
North Carolina Blumenthal Performing Arts Center
Ogunquit Playhouse
Pennsylvania Centre Stage
Red Mountain Theatre Company
SenovvA, Inc.
Tacoma Musical Playhouse
The Broadway Consortium, LLC
Theater Latté Da
Uptown Players
Walnut Street Theatre
Western Stage
ZACH Theatre