SUBMISSION DEADLINE EXTENDED TO JULY 6 FOR THE THEATER CENTER’S MAKING IT HAPPEN FESTIVAL OF 15-MINUTE MUSICALS

New short musical festival will spotlight original 15-minute musicals Off-Broadway in Times Square, with one winner receiving a $5,000 prize

After an outcry from procrastinators, The Theater Center has extended the submission deadline for Making It Happen: Festival of 15-Minute Musicals from June 15 to July 6, 2026. Applications are now open for writers, composers, lyricists, and creative teams to submit fully original 15-minute musicals for consideration.

Following the success of Making It Happen: Ten-Minute Play Festival, this new festival shifts the spotlight to musical theatre, offering selected teams the opportunity to present original work on an Off-Broadway stage in the heart of Times Square.

The festival is seeking short, original musical theatre pieces of all styles, genres, and subject matter that can make a strong impression in 15 minutes or less. All submitted material, including book, music, and lyrics, must be fully original, and submitting teams must have the rights to perform all material.

Selected musicals will perform at The Theater Center on one of three preliminary performance nights: Wednesday, August 12; Wednesday, August 19; or Wednesday, August 26. Each evening will feature three musicals, with audiences and judges voting to determine one winner from each night. The three nightly winners will advance to the Finals on Wednesday, September 2, where one overall winner will receive a $5,000 prize.

Selected teams will receive performance space at The Theater Center, basic technical support, box office services, festival-wide marketing, a technical rehearsal slot on the day of performance, and the opportunity to present original musical theatre work in front of a live New York audience.

Artists should only submit if they are available for at least one preliminary performance night and for the final performance on September 2.

Submissions for Making It Happen: Festival of 15-Minute Musicals are now due by July 6, 2026.

For more information and to submit, visit www.thetheatercenter.com/making-it-happen-festival

The Theater Center, the only Off-Broadway venue with a Broadway address, is in New York's Theater District. Since April 2005, it has offered Off-Broadway entertainment in a 20,000-square-foot complex featuring two theaters and rehearsal spaces. Uniquely, we provide Live AI Translation in over 50 languages. Hosting a variety of productions, acting classes, and events, The Theater Center features the Anne L. Bernstein Theater with Perfect Crime, New York’s Longest Running Play and Pied à Terre, and the Jerry Orbach Theater with shows like Friends! A Musical Parody, and Singfeld! A Musical About Nothing.