Song Submissions for First Drafts Student Edition @ 54 Below
CATEGORY: Festival/Competition Submissions
Showpeople Theatre Collective
New York, NY
US
CONTACT NAME
Colby Thompson
Job Details
DESCRIPTION
Showpeople Theatre Collective brings First Drafts: Student Edition to 54 Below on August 18th, 2026!
In an industry that usually takes years to bring work in front of an audience, musical theatre songwriters and teams are called to submit their newest material.
Last October, Showpeople brought its premiere iteration of First Drafts to the Green Room 42, where it proved to be the company’s greatest success in the cabaret space, bringing in a packed audience to witness 19 singers and 4 musicians perform the never-before-heard work of 23 extremely-talented songwriters.
Now, we want to do it all again, but with a focus on bringing to life the work of student musical theatre writers with eligibility open to high school (though we won’t turn away a very talented middle schooler!) and undergraduate students.
So, if you’re in high school or pursuing an undergraduate degree, are writing a musical either alone or with a team, and would like to see a song of yours performed at 54 Below, we’re looking for you!
If interested, please use the form below to submit one or two of your best songs that fit the criteria (only one per writer/team would be chosen). This can be through YouTube, Google Drive, Dropbox, or any easily accessible link (and don't forget to triple check the privacy settings). Include a demo(s) (obviously, it doesn't have to be highly produced) and/or ideally a PDF(s) of the sheet music.
As student writers, we understand creating both a demo and sheet music may be beyond your capabilities at this stage of your writing development, so if only one is possible, we understand, and, if you song is chosen and you are interested, part of the experience will involve working with members of the Showpeople team on how to make demos and scores of your original music that sound and look professional.
Chosen songs will be orchestrated (if they are not already) for a band of four musicians (piano, guitar, bass, and drums), rehearsed, and ultimately performed at 54 Below by professional NYC theatre performers. The writers will be encouraged (but not required) to take part in as much of this as they’d like. With our last First Drafts concert, the writers played an important part in the rehearsal process, giving great insight to the singers and music director about how to best bring their stories to life, and some even performed themselves! Additionally, writers will be asked to introduce their songs (briefly) at the concert.
Selected writers who choose to have some part in the actual performance (either presenting before or performing their song) will be considered part of the show and will therefore get in for free. However, due to the large number of writers and limited number of comps provided by the venue, if you choose to not be part of the performance in any way but only wish to attend as an audience member, you will have to purchase a ticket(s).
The deadline to submit is April 7st, 2026, and all writers will hear by May 5th, 2026 whether their work is selected or not. Writers whose work isn’t selected will be given the feedback of the selection committee.
Best of luck!
Contact [email protected] with any questions or visit showpeopletheatrecollective.com
DURATION
Aug 18, 2026