L to R: Sarah Hogewood, Nora Schell, and Claudia Logan. Photo by Lia Chang.
Lab participants are selected through an open application process. A panel of Prospect's artistic staff members review each application. Read below for details and how to apply! Submissions are due by Friday., Sept. 19, 2025 at 11:59pm.
Selected Lab writers will be invited to pitch three show concepts. With curatorial input, writing teams will select one of these ideas to develop into an 8-10 minute long musical. The short, new works will be written between Oct. 6 - Nov. 3, and then workshopped and rehearsed between Nov. 4 - 19, and presented as a single evening's concert which will take place at Baruch Performing Arts Center for two performances on Nov. 20 & 21, 2025 at 7:30pm. The culminating Lab presentation will be directed by Dev Bondarin, Prospect's Associate Artistic Director.
How It Works
MUSICAL THEATER LAB
What is Prospect's Musical Theater Lab?
Since 2008, Prospect has offered an annual musical theater developmental program which brings together 8-10 teams of writers, challenging them to create short (10 minute) musicals in response to a curated assignment. From the start of the lab process, writers have one month to write the first draft of their piece. During this month, they meet with Prospect's Associate Artistic Director, Dev Bondarin, and fellow lab writers to discuss their project and the culminating lab performance. This is followed by a two-week process during which each piece is rehearsed with a cast. The short pieces are presented in a culminating concert performance for the general public.
The Musical Theater Lab is a high-impact generative opportunity for writers that serves a broad network of artists, providing a platform to share work, create in community, and build professional relationships.
Learn more about Musical Theater Lab Concert, JUMP CUT >
How To Apply
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We strive to keep our open application process simple and efficient with a quick turnaround.
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Please submit the name, role (composer, lyricist, bookwriter) and a brief bio / info for each member of the writing team.
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Writers should apply with their intended collaborator(s). Individual "team of one" writers who wear multiple hats may also apply. New collaborative teams may also apply. (Prospect doesn't create teams or pair writers.) Also, writers may only be part of one application.
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Writers are asked to include links to 3 sample songs (either mp3s or videos are acceptable) along with a brief scene sample. Work samples that are representative of the collaborative team applying are best. If the application marks a new collaboration, please be clear in describing the relevance of each sample to the application.
THE FINE PRINT
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Writers receive a modest honorarium for their participation in the Lab
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Writers retain all copyright/ownership of their work
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Writers may only be part of one lab application
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Writers who have previously participated in the Lab are welcome to re-apply, but not in the cycle immediately following their participation. (Ie: Writers may not participate in two back to back Labs, they must take one year off before re-applying.)
The Fall 2025 lab theme will be character-driven and focus on relationships: familial, personal, professional, and societal. Writers will randomly select a variety of defining character relationships and will be asked to pitch 3 story concepts which "mix and match" these relationships in compelling ways.
The culminating concert presentation will be performed by a versatile and diverse cast of actor-singers, drawn from Prospect’s network of alumni performers and other recommendations. For the Fall 2025 Lab, cast size will be targeted to 1-4 performers for each piece. Actors will be shared amongst the projects and appear in two different 10-minute pieces. Writers are encouraged to attend rehearsals, which take place over a two week period at Baruch Performing Arts Center. The rehearsals will be a combination of day and evening time slots based on availability schedules submitted by the writing teams.
Previous Lab projects include Museum Pieces (2008), Map Quest (2009), Snapshots (2010), Souvenir Stories (2011), Rites of Passage (2012), Portraits (2013), Street Seen (2014), By The Numbers (2015), Stage Fright (2015), Archetype (2016), World Views (2017), Monument (2018), Message In A Bottle (2019), Move Meant (2020), Rule of Three (2021), Caption This (2022), Potluck (2023) and Jump Cut (2025).
The Logistics
Prospect's Musical Theater Lab intentionally operates on a compact timeline and incorporates random, playful elements in order to encourage writers to make bold and in-the-moment choices in their creative process. We invite writers to be as fully engaged with the Lab process as possible. As a first step, please review the timeline below to confirm the team’s availability for this project. If you or your collaborators will be unavailable for much of the planned process, it is best to wait for a future cycle to apply.
We will begin with a meet & greet with writers and the director on Mon 10/6/25 to discuss the general process. If you apply, please hold open this date in the evening -- as well as Mon 10/20/25 in the evening -- for in-person group Lab meetings. Teams will be notified of the application process outcome not later than Sun 9/28/25.
LAB TIMELINE
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Mon Oct. 6 - First group meeting of writers in evening (please hold this evening open.)
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Fri Oct 10 – Show concept pitches due
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Wed Oct. 15 – Cast breakdown due
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Mon Oct. 20 – Second group meeting of writers in evening (please hold this evening open.)
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Fri Oct. 24 – Libretto first draft due
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Sat. Oct 25 - Fri Oct. 31 – Individual writer team meetings with director to be scheduled.
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Mon Nov. 3 – Completed rehearsal drafts of script and score due
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Tues Nov. 4 - Wed Nov. 19 – Rehearsals for each piece scheduled during this period
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Thurs Nov. 20 – Afternoon tech/dress rehearsal at Baruch Performing Arts Center. 7:30pm performance (first performance)
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Fri Nov 21 - 7:30pm (second performance)
Prospect Musicals seeks applicants to participate in the 18th installment of its annual Musical Theater Lab program.
Applications are accepted via GOOGLE FORM.
Submissions were due by Monday, November 18th at 11:59pm.
*Applicants may email Dev Bondarin, dev@ProspectTheater.org, to request an application extension of up to 48 hours if you encounter challenges with your submission.
Each year, Prospect's Lab brings together writing teams to create short musicals in response to a curated assignment. The 6-week program culminates in a public presentation of the new works generated through the lab process. The 2025 Lab features in-person writer meetings, rehearsals, and concert performance.
As Prospect is in the midst of celebrating the company’s 25th year of producing new work, this year's Lab — titled JUMP CUT — will have a central theme of time, and how change occurs over time. From dawn to dusk, the Renaissance to the Roaring 20s, or 11:01 to 11:30, each writing team will randomly be assigned a length of time and asked to create a short piece which jumps through time to create narrative arc, character growth, and discovery. We look forward to exploring all facets of this theme in our curatorial process with the selected writing teams.
Each selected Lab writing team will create a short (8-10 minute) musical sparked by the writing prompt, to be performed by a cast of 2-4 performers. Works generated in the Lab will be presented in a one-night-only, concert-style public performance on Thursday February 20, 2025 @ 7:30pm at Symphony Space (2537 Broadway, NYC) in the Peter J. Sharp Theater.
written by
Utsav Bhargava & Meredith Brandt
Letitia Bullard & Nathan Leitão
Stephanie L. Carlin
Antonio Del Valle
Danielle Koenig & Asher Muldoon
Jill Ohayon & Andy Li
April Dae Okpwae
Sarah Rossman & Sequoia Sellinger
Joël René Scoville & Ammon Taylor
From dawn to dusk, the Renaissance to the Roaring '20s, or 11:01 to 11:30, each lab writing team will create a 10-minute musical that jumps through time on a journey of dramatic discovery. To see writer bios please READ OUR PRESS RELEASE.
featuring
Karl Amundson, Saint Aubyn, Jennifer Blood, Genesis Adelia Collado, Jeffrey Cornelius, Ben Diamond, Sarah Anne Fernandez, Vidushi Goyal, Jordan Aaron Hall, Sarah Hogewood, Leslie Jackson, Danté Jeanfelix, Gabriella Joy, Jayson Kerr, Claudia Logan, Jesse Manocherian, Andrew Mayer, Miyuki Miyagi, Emily Kristen Morris, Nasir Ali Panjwani, Diane Phelan, Senna Prasatthong, Heath Saunders, DeMone Seraphin, Nora Schell, Evie Schuckman & Akron Lanier Watson
Music Directed by Sheela Ramesh & Dèa Thatcher
Directed by Dev Bondarin
Stage Managers Sam Kersnick & Chris M. Russo
Lighting Design Isaac Castillo
Creative Consultant for Antonio Del Valle Tah-Janay Shayoñe
Captioning Support Jenny Lando
Associate Producer Sierra Lancaster
Artistic Associate Kate Semmens
Co-curated by Dev Bondarin & Cara Reichel
Prospect's annual Musical Theater Lab is made possible in part by funding from the ASCAP Foundation, The Barbara Bell Cumming Charitable Trust,
the New York State Council on the Arts, and the NYC Department of Cultural Affairs.
