Australian Musical Theatre Incubator

Creating opportunities and mentorship for home-grown Aussie music theatre.

ATYP is thrilled to partner with Australian Musical Theatre Incubator (AMTI) to host their inaugural five-day intensive at Walsh Bay Arts Precinct.

Created by New York-based Australian musical theatre writer Carmel Dean and London-based Australian theatre producer Maryann Wright, AMTI will give Australian bookwriters, composers, and lyricists access to specialist training, mentorship, and industry expertise to help take original musicals from idea to the stage.

ATYP will award 3 full-fee bursary places to artists under 26 or in their first five years of professional practice. Find out more here.

Important Dates

Applications close at 9 am on Monday 16 November. AMTI runs from January 4th to January 8th.

Location

ATYP

Pier 2/3, Suite 2/13A Hickson Rd

Dawes Point, NSW 2000

Eligibility

Musical theatre bookwriters, composers and lyricists

Program Cost

$950 for applicants 26+
$800 for applicants 18 - 26
3 full-fee bursary places awarded by ATYP for artists under 26 or in their first five years of professional practice.

Presented by Australian Musical Theatre Incubator with support from Australian Theatre for Young People.

‟

"Wewantedtocreatetheopportunitywewishedwe’dhadwhenwewerestartingout."

"WewantAMTItobecomeaplacewhereAustralianwriterscanfindtheirpeople."

Carmel Dean, co-founder of AMTI

Maryann Wright, co-founder of AMTI

"Wewantedtocreatetheopportunitywewishedwe’dhadwhenwewerestartingout."

"WewantAMTItobecomeaplacewhereAustralianwriterscanfindtheirpeople."

Carmel Dean, co-founder of AMTI

Maryann Wright, co-founder of AMTI

"Wewantedtocreatetheopportunitywewishedwe’dhadwhenwewerestartingout."

"WewantAMTItobecomeaplacewhereAustralianwriterscanfindtheirpeople."

Carmel Dean, co-founder of AMTI

Maryann Wright, co-founder of AMTI

"Wewantedtocreatetheopportunitywewishedwe’dhadwhenwewerestartingout."

"WewantAMTItobecomeaplacewhereAustralianwriterscanfindtheirpeople."

Carmel Dean, co-founder of AMTI

Maryann Wright, co-founder of AMTI

Work with leading Australian and international practitioners!

Our 2026

Program Mentors

Develop your new musical with Broadway, West End and Australian industry experts.

Maryann Wright

Producer

Maryann Wright

Maryann Wright is a London-based, Sydney-born theatre producer of musicals, plays and opera, with a particular passion for new musical development and dramaturgy. Maryann is also the producer for Gothic Opera, staging rarely heard operas with supernatural themes; with an upcoming production of Halevy’s La Dame de Pique at Battersea Arts Centre in London.

Carmel Dean

Musician

Carmel Dean

Carmel Dean is a Grammy-nominated musician from Perth, Australia, now based in New York. Over the last twenty years she has built an extensive career as a musical director and arranger, contributing to the Broadway productions.

George Kemp

Dramaturg, Writer & Producer

George Kemp

(

he/him

)

is an emerging writer based on Gadigal land in Sydney. He is a graduate of Charles Sturt University and has a Masters from Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, London. In 2024, George was accepted into The Faber Academy, during which he wrote his first novel SOFT SERVE, to be published by UQP in February 2026.

Hayden Tonazzi

Director

Hayden Tonazzi

(

they/he

)

is an award-winning director and creative producer who in 2025 was appointed the Artistic Director & CEO of the Australian Theatre for Young People (ATYP). A graduate of the 2019 NIDA MFA Directing Program, for over eight years they have worked across new writing in theatre and musical theatre.

Laura Murphy

Writer, Composer and Lyricist

Laura Murphy

Laura’s passion for music theatre has led her to the forefront of composing new Australian work. Her latest work ZOMBIE! THE MUSICAL, in which she wrote the book, music and lyrics premiered at the Hayes Theatre in 2024 to great critical and commercial success. ZOMBIE! THE MUSICAL received the TimeOut Sydney Arts and Culture Award for “Best Musical” as well as the Sydney Theatre Award for “Best Production of a Musical”.

Darren Yap

Director

Darren Yap

NIDA warmly welcomes celebrated Theatre Director Darren Yap as Head of Diploma of Musical Theatre (DMT) and Diploma of Stage and Screen Performance (DSSP). A NIDA alum, Darren graduated from the Directing course in 1997 and has built an illustrious career directing musicals, plays, new Australian work and large-scale outdoor events across Australia and the world.