Look Who’s Coming Upta Camp this Summer!

Drama Club, the world’s most prolific engine for developing new musical theater, is proud to announce the official artist selections for its 2026 summer residencies at Drama Club Camp. Chosen from an unprecedented pool of applicants - representing a staggering 227% increase over last year - this year’s pool reflects a massive global demand for high-level creative development.

As the industry’s largest developer of new musicals, Drama Club continues to redefine the musical theater landscape. A residency at Drama Club Camp is the cornerstone of a comprehensive ecosystem that also includes our International Fellowship, our Drafts reading series, and our consistent track record of well-produced developmental workshops and world-premiere productions. By providing a place for these new musicals to grow, Drama Club reinforces its commitment to moving stories from the page to the global stage.

Drama Club Camp is a one-of-a-kind creative haven designed intentionally for musical makers that offers:

• 65 acres on the shore of Torsey Lake in Mount Vernon, Maine

• A century-old 14-bedroom lodge (Drama Clubhouse) with a Steinway baby grand, three fireplaces, an open bar, and private bedrooms with queen beds and electric pianos

• Multiple private, quiet, rehearsal/writing spaces with electric pianos, instruments, printers, wicked-fast WiFi, and every tool a creative team could hope for

• New in 2026: a state-of-the-art recording studio with all the equipment needed to make high-quality demos  

• Miles of hiking trails, secret art installations, hidden glens, Frog & Toad Pond, a lakeside firepit, and endless inspiration

The 2026 selections represent a vibrant tapestry of genres and perspectives. From hip-hop odysseys and VR-inspired comedies to historical epics and modern satires, the strength of craft in the material submitted this year was at an all-time high. These works tackle themes of identity, technology, and legacy, offering a bold look at the future of the medium.  

Writers in this year’s class have been produced on stages around the world, and includes winners of nearly every major plaudit in the industry, including the Larson, Kleban, Rodgers, Obie, Broadway World, Princess Grace, Emmy, ASCAP Cole Porter, and Ebb awards; residencies at Cove Park, The Johnny Mercer Grove, Rhinebeck, The O’Neill, and Barn on Fire; and honors including Dramatist Guild Fellowships; Disney Imagineering’s New Voices Program; Sundance; MTI Stiles & Drew Prize; NAMT; Write Out Loud!; MSU New Musicals Lab; and many, many more.

"A 227% jump in applications is a clear signal that the creative community is in a period of immense output," says Scott Ihrig, Drama Club founder and Executive Producer. "We are honored to support these diverse voices at Drama Club Camp as they craft the next generation of the musical theater canon.”

“It’s getting harder and harder for new musicals to find a home on professional stages," says Founding Artistic Director Shannon Morrison. "That’s why we’ve built something so ambitious—we want to champion more writers and more diverse stories than ever before. It’s not just about the big names; it’s about giving 'unknown' artists the tools to level up. Because of the scale we operate at, we can take chances on people the rest of the industry might overlook.”

Five week-long cohorts of 13 artists each will begin in June and continue through August.

The 2026 Drama Club Camp Residency Selections:

• A Pain in the Neck – Erin Reifler & Zonia Tsang

• Americannibal – Nick Jonczak & Laura Lizcano

• Bad Baby – Aaron Jafferis & Dahlak Brathwaite

• barbara/tony – Adam J. Rineer

• BLUDLINE: A Hip-Hop Odyssey – Pete White & Fermin Suero Jr.

• Cocaine Cowgirl – Veronica Carrington & Indigo

• COLE PORTER IS MY IMAGINARY VR BOYFRIEND – Charles Gershman & Dylan Schifrin

• Contact – Eric Ulloa & Brett Ryback

• Diamond – Morgan J. Smart & Crystal Moneé Hall

• Diva of Oz – Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton

• Everybody's Son – Alric Davis & Aaron Alon

• FLORIDA MAN – Nico Raimont & Saúl Nache

• Hijinx & Sue – Jessi Pitts & Daniel Wolfert

• Life Goes On? – Damian Barray

• Living: A Now Musical – Taylor Fagins & Michelle Kuchuk

• Mumu The Musical – Saeed Malami & Dolapo Akinkugbe

• My Husband, My Robot, My Lover, & My Husband's Robot Lover – Steven James Schmidt & Andrew Moorhead

• OFF SEASON – Selda Sahin, Derek Gregor & Andrew Coopman

• Papers, Please (The Musical) – Julia Barry & Daniel Nagler

• PHILIPPA – G. Victoria Campbell & Stephanie Henry

• SPANGLISH SH!T – Samora La Perdida, Mobéy Lola Isiarry, Josiah Handelman & David Zwieibel

• Take Two – Leta Harris Neustaedter

• The Bigness of Us – Jord Liu

• The Bozos – Adam Gwon & Michael Mitnick (Commissioned by Roundabout Theatre Company)

• The Chest – Charles Inniss & Christopher Inniss

• The Closure – Dylan Thompson, Matt Sav & Molly Lyons

• The Debutantes – Sam Norman & Eliza Randall

• The Last Dance – Josh Walker

• The Spell of Red River – EllaRose Chary & Brandon James Gwinn

• The Untitled KUSAMA Project – Andrew Strano & Yuriko Shibata

• WEEPING TIME [working title] – Postell Pringle

About Drama Club

Drama Club, led by Artistic Director Shannon Morrison and Executive Producer Scott Ihrig, is the world’s most prolific developer of new musicals.  Through their uniquely situated and deployed resources, they move work through development phases in flexible, responsive, and focused ways.  Beginning with their cornerstone offering of annual residencies at Drama Club Camp in Mount Vernon, Maine, Drama Club brings writers and their pieces through development, including readings, workshops, collaborations, and productions. Currently repped on the boards by: Mexodus; CATS: The Jellicle Ball; Upcoming: Wanted; The Fitzgerald’s of St. Paul; Past: DRAG: The Musical; A Strange Loop. In Development: DISCOVERY; The Ascendants

The Commercial Musical Takeover: A New Resource for Producers

I’ve been in the trenches of big-budget commercial development, and I’ve seen firsthand how the traditional development model bleeds a production dry before it even reaches a stage.

Years ago, while I was working on a certain pink-hued Broadway show, I remember the sheer, exhausting absurdity of the logistics. We were trying to build a massive, high-stakes musical in the middle of Manhattan, with a creative team that resided anywhere else, which meant I was playing travel agent instead of producer. I was constantly hunting for Airnbnbs for the creative team, often shipping them off to the Hamptons just to find a space that could house the group. These weren't just astronomically expensive; they were inconvenient, overpriced, and lacked some of the basic stuff needed to write musicals, like pianos and recording equipment. It was logistical friction in its purest form, and it was draining the creative battery and bank account of the show.

That experience is exactly why we built the Commercial Musical Takeover at Drama Club Camp.

Eliminating the “Hamptons Tax"

A Commercial Takeover is a full-scale occupation of our campus. It is a concentrated, high-stakes residency designed for shows that need to gather a larger group together to solve big problems.

When a production initiates a Takeover, we eliminate the friction that plagued my time on the pink show:

• Concentrated Development: Instead of managing the logistics of a workshop in a pricey time-restricted midtown rehearsal studio, witha hotel room block, per diem, and the entropy of commutes, it’s all just DONE. You wake up, ready to work, until you go to sleep. One week on campus is equivalent to months of fragmented development because the barriers—the commutes, the noise, the logistical stress—have been removed.

• Drama Club Camp: We provide a state-of-the-art infrastructure where teams live, eat, and breathe the project. This is a space for deep work, where the breakthroughs happen at the breakfast table or during a late-night walk, not just during rented hours at New 42.

• Strategic Alignment: We align our resources and our understanding of theater-making to give your show exactly what it needs… whether a choreography workshop, a dramaturgical intensive, or a workshop before an industry presentation. You aren’t just renting a room; you are gaining a partner dedicated to your show's success.

A Summer of Takeovers

The proof of this model is in the demand. This summer, the Drama Club Camp campus will be fully transformed as we host four major commercial productions as they prepare for commercial bows.

These teams are utilizing the whole campus—every studio, every acre, and every bed - to strip away the noise of the city and find the focus and freedom that their shows deserve. They aren't interested in being travel agents and company managers; they are coming to Camp to do the essential work of readying your show for the next stage.

Take Over the Future

The old way of working relies on you staying spent, stressed, and distracted by the financial and logistical hurdles of working in the most expensive place on the planet. Our Commercial Musical Takeover invites you to be bold, focused, and relentless.

If you are a lead producer who is tired of spending your budget on hotel rooms and rehearsal studios, it’s time to move out of the city and get upta Drama Club Camp for a week or two.

For more information on Commercial Musical Takeovers, click CONSPIRE at the top of this page or email takeovers@drama.club.

Your Show is a Script. Your Pitch Deck is a Business Plan.

In my first post, I gave you some tough love: I don’t care how good your songs are if you can’t tell me why the show is relevant. But once you’ve figured out your why, how do you communicate it to a producer who has 50 other scripts sitting on their desk? You don't send them a 120-page PDF of the script and a Dropbox link to 18 demos. Not yet.

You send them a Pitch Deck.

What is a Pitch Deck (and Why Does it Exist)?

A pitch deck is a visual document (usually 10–15 slides) that tells the story of your show, its commercial potential, and its artistic soul.

Producers are visual creatures. They are also busy. A pitch deck allows them to "see" the production, understand the vibe, and grasp the logistics in five minutes or less. If the deck is successful, it earns you the right to have them actually read the script.

The Anatomy of a Winning Pitch Deck

If you’re staring at a blank slide template, here is exactly what you need to include to get noticed by someone like me:

1. The Hook (Slide 1-2)

Start with a high-impact image and your Logline.

• Bad: "A musical about two people who fall in love in New York."

• Good: "A high-stakes, live-looping exploration of the Southern Underground Railroad." (See: Mexodus).

  Include a one-paragraph synopsis that focuses on the conflict and the stakes.

2. The Why Now? (Slide 3)

This is the Narrative of Relevance. Why does this story need to be told in 2026? What is the editorial point of view? If you can't answer why the world needs this show today, a producer won't be able to sell tickets to it tomorrow.

3. Character & World (Slides 4-6)

Don't just list names. Use comps or archetypes. Describe their vocal style. Use imagery that evokes the setting. If it’s a period piece, show us the grit; if it’s a fantasy, show us the magic.

4. The Music (Slide 7)

Don't just say "Pop/Rock." Be specific. "A fusion of 90s R&B and contemporary folk."

• Pro Tip: Embed a Spotify playlist or a Soundcloud link directly into the deck. Make it easy for them to hear the sound of the world.

5. The Creative Team (Slide 8)

Who are you? What have you done? If you’re a new writer, focus on your perspective and your training. If you have a director or a name attached, highlight them here.

6. Development History & Goals (Slide 9)

Where has the show been? (Readings, workshops, Drama Club Camp?) And more importantly: What do you need next? Are you looking for a Lead Producer? A regional premiere? $50k for a 29-hour reading? Be specific.

Practical Instructions: Do's and Don'ts

DO

• Use High-Quality Visuals. Mood boards are your friend.

• Keep Text Minimal. No one wants to read a novel on a slide.

• Check Your Formatting. Align your text; use consistent fonts.

• Make it a PDF. Never send a Powerpoint or a Keynote file.

DON’T

• Use Clip Art. It looks amateur and kills the vibe.

• List Every Song. Just highlight the 3-4 tentpole numbers.

• Assume they know the source material. Explain it simply.

• Don’t forget your contact info. Put it on the last slide!

The Drama Club Perspective

We love pitch decks. They help us see if the writer understands the editorial nature of our art form.

A deck isn't selling out - it's leaning in. It shows me that you respect the producer's time and that you have a clear vision for how your show occupies space in the market.

Lastly, we are unfortunately in a development world where shows need to be socialized for years before a production will be considered. Having a deck early in the process can help you start that socialization. Just make sure you keep it current

Is your deck ready to be seen? If not, stop writing lyrics for an hour and start designing your future.

The Paperwing Lesson: Why the Local Ecosystem is the Heart of the Form

Brian Steen-Larsen & Hunter Powers star in Gutenberg! The Musical! at Paperwing through February 15th. Photo: SARAH GAUDOIN of Monterey County NOW

I spend a lot of my life in windowless Midtown rehearsal studios talking about "commercial viability" and "developmental roadmaps." But this past week, I stepped away from the noise of the city and found myself in Northern California at Paperwing Theatre, watching a production of Gutenberg! The Musical!

It was exactly the soul-refreshing experience I needed.

The Fire in the Craft: Brian and Hunter

It is one thing to see a seasoned Broadway veteran hit a high note for the thousandth time; it is another thing entirely to watch artists at the beginning of their journey discover the power of their own voices.

I want to call out the two leads, Brian Steen-Larsen and Hunter Powers. Watching them tackle the relentless, high-energy comedy of Gutenberg was a masterclass in passion. There is a specific kind of electricity that happens when performers like Brian and Hunter give everything they have to a role—a raw, infectious joy that reminds you why we fall in love with theater in the first place. They weren't just "performing" for us; they were sharpening their tools and developing their craft in real-time. It was a privilege to witness that spark.

The Galvanizing Force

As I sat in that room, I was reminded that theater is a social technology before it is a commercial one. Its primary function is to bring people together and remind them that they aren't alone.

Paperwing is doing the vital work of building a collective:

• It is A Hub for the Arts: I saw a community of local arts lovers who were there to support the lifeblood of their own town.

• It is A Training Ground for Artists: Passionate artists learn confidence and gain their sea legs, a rite of passage for every single artist ever.

• It is A Safe Haven: I saw a space where the outsiders and the queer community feels safe, seen, and celebrated. In 2026, that kind of radical belonging isn't just a "nice to have" - it’s a necessity.

The Investor as a Patron of the Soul

My friend and fellow Broadway producer/investor, Koly McBride, has been a driving force behind the work at Paperwing. Seeing her in her home environment reminded me that "investing" in theater isn't always about the bottom line of a pro-forma.

People like Koly and her partner Lloyd are investing in cultural health. They understand that by building a local stage, they are providing a training ground for the next generation of professionals - the future Brians and Hunters - and a sanctuary for the community. Koly’s commitment to Paperwing is a reminder that being a "producer" is about the people you lift up, whether that’s on 42nd Street or in a dinner theater in Northern California.

Why Paperwing Matters

It is easy to get caught in the bubble of high-stakes development. But Paperwing reminded me that the "Woodshed" space we create in Maine - that place of deep work and discovery - exists in spaces even farther from NYC than rural Maine.

We need these theaters to keep the fire burning. They are the soil from which the future of the American Musical grows.

To Brian, Hunter, the crew, and the leadership at Paperwing: Thank you for the joy, the safety, and the reminder of why we do this.

Keep building. The industry is stronger because of you.

NASA Challenger Tragedy

The crew of the space shuttle Challenger. Front row from left are Michael Smith, Dick Scobee and Ronald McNair. Back row from left are Ellison Onizuka, Christa McAuliffe, Gregory Jarvis, and Judith Resnik.

Today marks the 40th anniversary of the ill-fated NASA Space Shuttle Challenger mission. Like many, I remember exactly where I was as the nation watched the launch together. What I was too young to grasp is the devastation that tragedy brought to NASA itself, and especially the astronaut corps - seeing their friends perish and the institution they trusted with their lives fail before their eyes in the matter of moments.

A year and a half ago, authors Alex Higgin-Houser and Dan Gibson shared with Shannon and me the beginnings of Discovery: a musical telling the story of the NASA astronaut corps after the Challenger tragedy of 1986 and the lead-up to the 1988 launch of Space Shuttle Discovery. Based on interviews with astronauts, it dives deep into how catastrophe and grief can catalyze self-discovery, reinvention, and healing.

I’ve had the honor of collaborating with them in developing Discovery, and I look forward to doing my part to share this story with the world.

Take a listen to an early version of the opening of the show: the launch of Challenger, now forty years ago today.

Radical Specificity is better than Inclusion

I’m going to say the quiet part out loud: "I want to see representation" is a motivation, but it is not a creative pitch. In today's climate, we see a lot of "checklist theater" - shows that feel like they were written by a committee looking to satisfy a diversity report. This kind of inclusion for the sake of a photo op is, frankly, boring. It results in "general" stories that try to represent everyone and end up moving no one.

Radical Specificity is the antidote. Look at the shows that are actually changing the landscape. The Jellicle Ball and Mexodus don’t succeed because they "check boxes." They succeed because they are so deeply, unapologetically specific to a time, a place, and a culture that they become universal. When you write the "dangerous" details—the specific rhythms of a neighborhood, the unique syntax of a family, or the precise, localized joy of a specific community, you stop being a "representative" and start being a storyteller.

The Lesson for Writers: Stop trying to write the "universal" version of your experience to make it "accessible." Accessible is just another word for diluted. Write the show that you see, with such vivid, radical detail that we have no choice but to learn your language. That is how you transcend the individual. The more specific you are, the more room there is for an audience to find themselves in the truth of your work.

Freedom Flows South: The Return of MEXODUS to the Daryl Roth Theater

Every so often, a piece of art comes along that is so undeniably vital, so structurally innovative, and so politically defiant that it forces the industry to pay attention.

That piece of art is MEXODUS. And this spring, we are thrilled to help our friends at P3 Productions bring Brian Quijada and Nygel D. Robinson’s masterpiece to the Daryl Roth Theater.

The Story We Weren't Taught

Relevance is vital, and Mexodus is the definition of it. While our history books focus on the Underground Railroad running North to Canada, there was another path - one that led South.

Between 1829 and 1865, thousands of enslaved people crossed the Rio Grande into Mexico, where slavery had already been abolished. Mexodus tells this story through the fictionalized bond between Henry, an enslaved Black man from Texas, and Carlos, a Mexican sharecropper. It is a story of Black and Brown solidarity that transcends borders, history, and the traditional "musical theater" box.

Innovation, Looped

Mexodus isn't just a history lesson; it’s a technical marvel. Brian and Nygel are a two-man orchestra, utilizing live-looping technology to build a massive, hip-hop-infused score in real-time.

This piece is innovative in so many ways, but here are just a few of the reasons Drama Club is onvolved with Mexodus.

• It’s lean: Two performers, one stage, and a "junkyard" of instruments.

• It’s virtuosic: It requires a level of skill—from acting to audio engineering—that most "safe" commercial shows wouldn't dare demand.

• It’s editorial: It doesn't just ask us to look at 1829; it asks us to look at the border agents and racial "hunting" of 2026.

This production represents the "accelerated" future we want for the industry. It’s Black, it’s Brown, it’s loud, and it is a direct challenge to anyone who says that "challenging" stories don't sell.

Join the Movement

This show is protecting a hidden history, and proving that you don't need a twenty-million-dollar budget to make an audience's heart explode with pride and perspective.

MEXODUS begins looping again March 6 at the Daryl Roth Theater. Go to MEXODUSmusical.com for tickets.

Top 5 Trends from 2026 Camp Submissions

Drama Club seeks out black, latiné, LGBTQIA+, and emerging writers to host at Drama Club Camp, our annual Musical Theater Writer Residencies in Mount Vernon, Maine. While our application pool represents merely one self-selected group of writers, there are notable trends to be gleaned from the nearly 300 submissions we received this year.  Here are a few of those trends:

Westerns.

There’s something in the zeitgeist that is leading writers to examine the rules and customs of the Old West.  Many of the submissions using this setting/genre are doing so in subversive ways, highlighting queer narratives or black narratives within the historically straight white genre.  What is it about the Old West that is speaking to us as artists?  Perhaps the upcoming Broadway show WANTED will offer us an answer, as it seems to be the next best example of this genre.  Can’t wait!

Immigration & Fascism Narratives.

Theater is where political activism happens, and this year, the political conversations in submissions were largely about Fascism and Immigration.  Whether through the lens of a Game of Thrones-style political fantasy or an intimate, contemporary love story, theater artists are trying to make sense of a world that doesn’t make sense.  Theater is a great place to do that, particularly when it allows the complexity of these issues to be examined rather than simplified. 

Writing for the perception of what a non-profit theater wants (i.e., 2-5 person cast).

An overwhelming number of writers, when talking about why they are writing something, cited economic conditions facing small, regional, and non-profit theaters.  Given that this is where most new work finds its sea legs, writers are creating work that they think theaters want - tiny, 2-5 person musicals.  And yet… I wonder… is that really what these theaters want?  Are writers making a presumption about what their buyers want?  How can we get better information about what theaters want writers to be creating for audiences?  As Exhibit A: point to five theaters that are programming a new musical every season.  Is it a tiny show?  Do those theaters even exist?  

Emerging and formerly young writers from the COVID era are struggling to find footing.

There’s been much discussion at Drama Club about what it means to be emerging, and how there is a youth bias in much of the support provided to emerging writers.  We are seeing a significant preponderance of writers in their mid-to-late 30s who were the ascendant class of Larson/Ebb/O’Neill/NAMT winners, and whose careers were stunted by COVID-19.  These writers watched their careers screech to a halt, and when the world returned, attention had already shifted to the never-ending line of new, fresh-faced winners for producers to try and monetize.  These incredibly talented writers are left wondering, 'What do I do now?'  I’m still emerging, but I’m not a kid.  These writers are RIPE to work hard and create excellent work.  I’m leaning into them.

No one knows where they are going with their show besides a reading.

I ask writers what the pathway they aspire to for their show, and almost every answer is the same, “We are working to finish things in preparation for a 29-hour in the fall.” 

Is the 29-hour reading the only way we develop work?  Does it always have to cost 20-50K?  Do writers understand that it costs that much?  Do writers know what they want to get out of a reading?  Is it always for producers?  Is the reading itself the goal for the show?  What else is there, either instead of or after a 29-hour reading?

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So how might formerly young yet still emerging writers find footing?    Where do we go other than a reading?  What do regional non-profits actually want?  How do we know?  How do writers create of-the-moment work when it takes eight years to reach a stage? These and other questions are some that I’ll unpack in the coming weeks as I continue to evaluate writers for Camp 2026.  I’ll also be announcing the 2026 Campers on March 1 at Drama.Club!