The York Developmental Reading Series makes a home for 30 to 40 readings of new musicals each year. Their strong commitment to developing new work is an important part of what makes the York unique in the musical theatre community. They make it possible for writers to avail themselves of the opportunity to do a developmental reading and to be able to share it with an ever-growing, enthusiastic audience.

True North Musical at the York

The cast and creative team of True North: A Magical New Holiday Musical (formerly known as Come Find Me) at the York Theatre, October 2019

I (Holly Reed) was honored to have our musical True North: A Magical New Holiday Musical (formerly known as Come Find Me) take part in a 29-hour reading as part of the York Developmental Reading Series in October 2019. Read more about our experience here.

The York Theatre Company has an open submission policy for their Developmental Reading Series. If you would like to submit a musical for the series, please send a script and demo (preferably by Dropbox or a similar service) to submissions@yorktheatre.org.

They do not accept:

  • Non-musical plays: The York’s mission is exclusively based around musicals and the occasional play with music
  • Incomplete works: We are only able to accept works that are in a complete state; please do not send, for example, book and lyrics for a musical that has no music yet.
  • Jukebox musicals: Except under special circumstances, we prefer to develop works with substantially original scores.

When your materials arrive, you will receive a confirmation email from Literary Coordinator, Seth Christenfeld.  As they are always working on a backlog, it may be some time before they are able to read your script.

If you would prefer to submit a hard copy, please mail to:

Developmental Reading Series
York Theatre Company at St. Peter’s
619 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10022

If you have any further questions, please contact Seth at schristenfeld@yorktheatre.org.

Also read here about their NEO Program which celebrates “New, Emerging, and Outstanding” songwriters.