Shrek (center) with hippo Gloria, lion Alex, and penguin Skipper.
DreamWorks Theatricals and Music Theatre International have announced their Emerging Writers Program, a new partnership that will select diverse individual writers and writing teams of librettists, composers, and lyricists to develop musical adaptations of DreamWorks Animation titles for the MTI catalog, specifically the Theatre for Young Audience and Broadway Junior collections. “We look forward to supporting and empowering an exciting new generation of musical theater talent,” said Universal Theatrical Group SVP Chris Herzberger, who leads DreamWorks Theatricals. MTI President and CEO Drew Cohen added, “Encouraging more diverse perspectives on the part of the authors who create these musicals is a positive way to connect with the performers and their audiences in a more meaningful way.”
Selected writers in this one-year, paid program will develop a DreamWorks title for the stage, guided by studio executives and industry ambassadors, on a work-for-hire basis. Applicants can’t have had work produced on Broadway, the West End, Off-Broadway, or major regional theater in the past five years. Applications will be accepted this fall, with specific dates to be announced later. For more information, visit the program’s website.