The American Playwriting Foundation

Submissions are officially open for the 2022 Relentless Musical Award, in honor of Adam Schlesinger. We are looking for musicals that:
-are challenging.
-exhibit fearlessness.
-exude passion.
-are relentlessly truthful. Even the final judges will have no knowledge of the identity, gender or race of a work’s creators. Our criteria for submission casts a wide net of eligibility, but we especially encourage submissions by first-time composers, lyricists, and book writers of all identities. Our goal is to discover and promote new works from people whose voices have been historically under- or un-represented in musical theatre. Prize:
-The creators of the winning submission will receive $65,000, the largest prize in -American theater presented to an unproduced musical.
-The winning musical, along with finalists and semifinalists, will also receive development opportunities through a series of staged readings at Theatre Row as well as at some of the top regional theaters in the country. Deadlines:
-Submissions will be accepted until March 1, 2022. Eligibility/Criteria for Submission:
-Only full-length works of musical theatre are eligible for the 2022 Relentless Musical Award.
-The work must be unproduced and cannot have had a previous professional production or a current production commitment.
-Applications are limited to shows by writers with United States citizenship, those who possess a green card, or currently reside in the United States and have lived here for at least four (4) years.
-Musicals that utilize extant music not written by the applicant(s) (e.g. “jukebox musicals” or musicals with parody lyrics) are ineligible.
-Writers must be at least 21 years old.
-Works may be based on underlying material, in which case proof of authorization or right to adapt the underlying material must be uploaded with the application if it is not in the public domain.
-We welcome and encourage musicals that include non-English languages, but in recognizing the current limitations of our reading committees, request that an English translation be included for any non-English text.
-Writers and composers who have had a show produced on Broadway or the West End are ineligible.
-Musicals considered to be “Theatre for a Young Audience” are ineligible.
-Shows may only be submitted for consideration ONCE; if submitted for the 2022 -Relentless Musical Award, the show will be ineligible for future Relentless Musical Awards. HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR MUSICAL:

Follow instructions and use the link provided at

http://www.americanplaywritingfoundation.org