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 an opportunity for high school students all across the country to develop and showcase musical compositions that could be part of a musical theater production. Submissions will be judged by a panel of leaders in the musical theater field — including NAMT members and festival of New Musicals Alumni Writers, among others — who will select the Challenge’s winning writers/writing teams. Those writers will be invited to New York City in June 2024 to work with mentors, culminating in a concert of their songs.