Raising the Next Generation of Theatre Artists and Audiences

MTI has made every music and drama teacher’s life in America easier – including mine. They make it possible to license and produce the show with their materials and incredible educational resources. MTI is the first place anyone who knows goes.– Holly Stanfield, Theatre Arts Teacher, Kenosha, WI

Access to the arts is a right, not a privilege, and MTI is deeply committed to arts education and the positive impact experiencing a musical has on a school and a community.

Our special collections of developmentally appropriate musicals for student performers ensure that the arts continue to flourish at all levels. Conceived by MTI CEO, Freddie Gershon, in 1996, Broadway Junior^® musicals are perfect for teachers or directors who are new to musical theatre and are seeking to introduce students to the joys of participating in a show. Broadway Junior™ musicals are condensed, author-approved versions of classic musicals, Disney favorites and modern works, custom-tailored to the needs of young people and schools.  Accredited K-9 schools receive special discount pricing on all Broadway Junior ShowKits^®.

For the high-school market, MTI's School Edition musicals are author-approved adaptations of shows whose content and production requirements previously proved challenging for student performers. While specific to each title, some changes include alternate keys more suitable for high school voices, the removal of some adult language and content and edits to the libretto, creating an abridged running time.

MTI is also dedicated to numerous educational organizations – sponsoring conferences, workshops, and festivals for teachers and students across America.

We are strong supporters of programs and initiatives that bring arts programming into under-served schools and that make musical theatre accessible to all students, regardless of their ability. Read about some of the ways we expand access to the arts below.

Expanding Access to the Arts

Turnaround Arts
Founded in 2012 under the administration of President Obama, and currently run by The Kennedy Center, Turnaround Arts affects change through ambitious and strategic arts investments aimed at impacting every hallway, every classroom, every teacher, and every student in the school. Turnaround Arts fuels whole-school transformation in communities, working to solve deep racial and economic inequities - with programs in 70 schools and reaching over 70,000 students. Learn more about their incredible impact here.

Shubert Foundation/MTI/NYC Department of Education
This dynamic partnership among the Shubert Foundation, MTI, and the NYC Department of Education was founded in 2005 and supports NYC public middle schools as they produce, rehearse and perform a Broadway Junior Musical. This program provides a three-year mentorship and up to $10,500 in artistic services and theater resources to engage schools in the process of creating a sustainable theatre program while developing creative life-long learners. Impacting over 40,000 students and 141 schools across NYC's five boroughs - the program boasts a nearly 80% success rate of schools maintaining a theatre program after the mentorship.

Jumpstart Theatre
Created in 2015 by the Educational Theatre Association (EdTA), in collaboration with MTI and iTheatrics, JumpStart Theatre is a scalable pilot program designed to build sustainable musical theatre programs where there previously were none. Participating schools are chosen after a rigorous application process and commit to the three-year program where they are provided support, materials, budget, and guidance. The pilot program has successfully launched "graduating" programs in Cincinnati, OH; San Diego, CA; St. Louis, MO; Atlanta, GA; and Frostburg, MD.

The Penguin Project
The Penguin Project provides a supportive environment for children with disabilities to explore their creative talents. Established in 2004, the Penguin Project has since inspired 43 Chapter programs throughout the United States. This program demonstrates that participation in the performing arts has therapeutic value by enhancing social interaction, communication skills, self-confidence and self-esteem.

Junior Theater Festival
MTI has been a founding sponsor of the annual Junior Theater Festival since 2003. JTF is the largest celebration of musicals for young performers worldwide. Founded with iTheatrics and Nick Manos in 2003 in Atlanta, GA the first festival had 650 attendees and has steadily grown to include two US festivals per year with additional events held in the UK and Australia and New Zealand. The flagship festival in Atlanta now regularly hosts over 6,000 attendees.

Every year participating organizations perform an extract of an MTI Broadway Junior show with educational theatre professionals providing feedback and celebrating exemplary productions, performers, and educators. Attendees are also treated to panel interviews, and Q&A sessions with well-known members of the theatre industry. Authors, producers, directors, and performers engage with groups all over the world and provide insight and guidance on their experiences.

There have been over 60,000 attendees at Junior Theatre Festivals worldwide with no signs of slowing. We hope to see you there!

The Dreamworks Theatricals / MTI Emerging Writers Program
The DreamWorks Theatricals / MTI Emerging Writers Program seeks out diverse teams of book writers, composers, and lyricists with a unique perspective to develop musical adaptions of DreamWorks' most popular animation titles intended for the Musical Theatre International catalogue.

Selected applicants will be assigned a DreamWorks Animation title to develop and will receive mentorship and guidance from DreamWorks Theatricals and industry ambassadors to craft their own musicals from treatment all the way to the completed production. In addition to crafting their own musicals, the program also provides the applicants opportunities to engage with a variety of industry professionals and agents though roundtable discussions, master classes, and meetings to advance career development.

This is a paid program that is open to both individual writers and fully formed writing teams.

All Together Now

2020 was a challenging year for theatrical organizations – enter MTI's All Together Now! 

All Together Now! was a brand new musical revue designed as a fundraiser for local theatres to perform live, over the same four-days November 12 - 15, 2021. Singers and actors alike were able to perform songs from theatre classics like Company, Beauty and the Beast, Fiddler on the Roof and a vast collection of others. Over 2,000 organizations from all 50 states and 31 countries participated, raising over $6.2 million in support of their organizations.

Disaster Relief

In 2018, the wildfire season was the most destructive on record for the state of California. In response, the Educational Theatre Foundation and Music Theatre International announced that middle schools and high schools in California that suffered damage to their theatre programs due to the wildfires that wreaked havoc over the state were eligible to apply for a grant funded by MTI. The MTI California Fire Relief Grants offered ten $1,000 grants and aided in various damages including damage or destruction of equipment and facilities, cancellations of events, loss of projected revenue, dislocation of faculty and students, and related issues.

Additional Groups and Initiatives We Support

DEIA Web Statement

Music Theatre International is committed to fostering a culture of diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility within our own team as well as our creative catalog. At MTI, we believe diversity-across a wide variety of dimensions-is essential to the success of the arts. We embrace our employees' and authors' differences in backgrounds, experiences, race, religious creed, sex, national origin, ancestry, citizenship status, family status, age, gender and gender identity, sexual orientation, and socioeconomic status.

MTI recognizes that some of the works within our catalog were composed before due consideration and respect were given to the spectrum of identities and cultures that inform their content. As such, the shows may contain depictions of cultures, characters, or experiences that some audiences, performers, and producers may find offensive, stereotypical, inaccurate, or negative, regardless of the good intentions that drive the creative process.

As a licensing agency, MTI is uniquely positioned in its dual responsibilities: to preserve the artistic integrity and authorial intent of the written work that we represent while also ensuring that the work continues to connect with artists and audiences across the world. While MTI cannot unilaterally make or approve revisions to the text or score as written by the authors, we welcome feedback regarding the content of our catalog so it can be assessed internally and, when possible and appropriate, reviewed by the authors or rightsholders.

If you currently have a license to produce a title MTI represents and you have question or concern about its content, please contact your licensing representative. A list of licensing representatives by state and region can be found here. If you are not actively licensing an MTI title and have a question or concern, please contact us at license@mtishows.com.