Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge for High School Students

The Musical Theater Songwriting Challenge, presented by the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in partnership with the National Alliance for Musical Theatre (NAMT), is a unique educational and professional development opportunity for high school students all across the country to write and showcase musical compositions that could be part of a musical theater production. A submission is one song.

The Songwriting Challenge has an interactive submission process. All Draft 1 submissions will receive feedback from industry professionals — including NAMT members and Festival of New Musicals Alumni Writers, among others. Students may revise their submission for the Draft 2 competitive round, where a group of Winning Songs will be selected, and the Winning Songwriters will be invited to attend Winners Weekend on June 13-17, 2025 in New York City!

All programs are free and open to all high school students in the U.S. to participate.