National Musical Theatre Competition

The National Musical Theatre Competition (NMTC) was launched in 2011 as the first national biennial competition for emerging musical theatre performing artists.

• Next Competition Finals: January 2026
• Application Opens: Fall 2025

NMTC has provided past participants exposure to industry professionals influencing their success on Broadway and other venues. The biennial competition takes place in proximity to the musical theatre industry's elite professionals in New York City. The national semifinals and finals are held in conjunction with the NATS Winter Workshop.

PRIZES

(Additional prizes will be announced.)

1st Prize - Florence Birdwell Prize

• $10,000 cash prize
• $1,000 Gift Certificate from Hal Leonard
• PLUS a concert at the next NATS National Conference

2nd Prize - Linda J. Snyder Prize

• $2,500 cash prize
• PLUS a $500 Gift Certificate from Hal Leonard

3rd Prize - Louise Lerch Prize

• $1,000 cash prize

4th Prize - Bill Hayes Prize

• $750 cash prize.

ELIGIBILITY

All musical theatre performing artists ages 22-30 as of September 15, 2025.
Younger musical theatre performing artists are encouraged to enter NATS National Student Auditions.

2025-2026 NMTC

9/15/25	ONLINE APPLICATION DEADLINE for ALL entries
9/15/25	APPLICATION FEE's Payment Deadline
10/11 & 10/12, 2025 OR 10/15/25	LIVE Preliminaries in New York City OR ONLINE Preliminary Video Submissions Deadline
1/12/26	SEMIFINAL CALLBACKS MONDAY during the day at Manhattan School of Music
1/12/26	FINAL SHOWCASES MONDAY in the evening at Manhattan School of Music
7/3 - 7/7, 2026	Winner's Concert at NATS 59th National Conference in San Antonio, Texas*

*Applicants must agree to be available for appearance and not be booked during the dates of the NATS 59th National Conference in San Antonio, Texas, July 3-7, 2026, should they be selected as a Semifinalist.

ENTRY FEE

A $90 nonrefundable* application fee is required.

OR

A $75 nonrefundable* application fee for current students of NATS Professional or Emerging Professional members.

*No refund of application fees due to cancellation by the applicant will be allowed.

NMTC APPLICATION

- application opening soon

Late or incomplete applications will not be considered.

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NMTC LEVELS OF COMPETITION

PRELIMINARY COMPETITION

• Live Preliminaries in October 11-12, 2025, at Opera America National Opera Center (Charles MacKay Studio) in NYC.
  OR
• Online Preliminaries - Video submission deadline is October 15, 2025.

SEMIFINAL CALLBACKS & FINAL SHOWCASES

Semifinals and Finals will both take place in New York City on the same date. Approximately 24 contestants from preliminaries will advance to the Semifinal Callbacks in New York City. From the callbacks, approximately 5 will advance to perform at Final Showcase for industry professionals and a public audience.

REPERTOIRE REQUIREMENTS

• An Audition Book of SEVEN full solo songs from a stage or screen musical, revue, or theatrical song cycle with all titles entered in the initial application.
• The songs selected should be contrasting to feature the performing artist's full potential in Musical Theatre.
• The songs entered must all be from different musicals by different composers.
• All entered songs should be written for a character the contestant could believably play in a professional production.
• All music performed in NMTC must be copyright-compliant.
• When integral to the song, appropriate stage movement and/or spoken lines should be included.
• When choosing songs, remember that at every level of NMTC, contestants must perform with live pianists only. No pre-recorded accompaniment tracks are permitted at any level of NMTC.
• Published transpositions of selected songs are permitted, but contestants are expected to retain the composer's intended style of music and to convey the essence of the character portrayed in the musical.

THREE of the seven songs entered must be prepared for the preliminary competition. If called back to semifinals, all seven songs entered must be prepared. Finalists will choose from the seven songs entered to create a final 15-minute showcase.

Have repertoire or copyright questions?
All questions specific to the rules and regulations, copyright, or about repertoire and requirements, should be directed to the NMTC Coordinator.

ADJUDICATION

This competition awards musical theatre’s performing artists prepared for a professional career. Adjudication criteria include all the elements of authentic performances sensitive to the nuances of both musical style and dramatic arc within each selection:  specificity in styles of acting, movement, and singing appropriate to each song performed; integrated physical, acting, and vocal artistic choices — all grounded in the music and lyrics; healthy, functional techniques; a well-defined character traveling a specific journey in each song; and believability from bringing something true of yourself to each song’s character.

Adjudicators at all levels of NMTC will include casting agents and talent managers based in NYC, in addition to veteran Broadway professionals and acclaimed musical theatre coaches.

WHAT TO EXPECT

NATIONAL PRELIMINARY COMPETITION

• Prepare the THREE CONTRASTING FULL MUSICAL THEATRE SONGS designated for preliminary competition on your application.
• There will be no microphone/amplification available in live preliminaries.
• In live preliminaries, each contestant will begin by slating and performing from memory a full song entered on their application as designated for preliminary competition, followed by performing any additional preliminary songs entered as requested by the adjudicators.
• Contestants in live preliminary competition may bring a pianist or perform with NMTC’s provided staff pianist.

OR IN VIDEO SUBMISSIONS

• Three video submissions of the 3 full songs indicated for preliminaries on your application.
• All video submissions must closely follow NMTC’s Video Submission Guidelines.
• Approximately 24 semifinalists will be called back from the preliminary competition.

NATIONAL LIVE SEMIFINAL CALLBACKS

• Prepare the SEVEN FULL SONGS entered in your NMTC application.
• Each contestant will begin by slating and performing from memory a full song entered on their application, followed by performing any additional songs entered as requested by the adjudicators.
• From these callbacks, approximately five semifinalists will advance to perform a Final Showcase.

NATIONAL FINAL SHOWCASES

• Each finalist will perform a showcase creating a dramatic arc by performing full songs selected from their seven songs originally entered in NMTC.
• Finalists should speak briefly to the audience between songs. Additional underscoring is not permitted. A finals program will be provided listing all credits for the songs pre-selected by each finalist; therefore, finalists should not fully cite the songs performed in their showcases.
• Finalists should speak to the audience as themselves but perform each song in character.
• Each finalist’s showcase will not exceed 15 minutes.
• Finalists may bring a pianist or perform with NMTC’s staff pianist.
• The final showcases will be performed for an adjudication panel of industry professionals and a public audience.
• After all final showcases have performed, all prizes will be awarded.

Still have questions?

Visit our National Musical Theatre Competition FAQ page

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