About
MISSION & VALUES
We support artists, develop new work, and connect communities through bold and meaningful theatre.
About
MISSION & VALUES
We support artists, develop new work, and connect communities through bold and meaningful theatre.
OUR MISSION
Our mission is to cultivate and develop new works in theatre through experimentation, collaboration, and discovery. We are a creative workshop where theatre makers investigate big questions, play with form, and turn raw imagination into living work. Through professional resources, support, and exposure, we advance new plays, musicals, and artists on their path to meaningful contribution to the American theatre.
OUR VALUES
These core values define our approach to developing new work—guiding how we support artists, shape process, and foster a collaborative and inclusive creative environment.
COMMUNITY
Diversity
Exploration
Amplification
Community
We believe new work is strongest when it is created in community. Theatre is a collaborative art form, and we value spaces where writers, artists, and audiences feel connected, supported, and invested in one another’s growth. By fostering trust, generosity, and shared purpose, we create an environment where artists can take risks and ideas can thrive, leading to a stronger, more engaged community.
Diversity
We value diversity as essential to the vitality and future of theatre. By uplifting a wide range of voices, identities, backgrounds, and perspectives, we can expand the stories being told and who gets to tell them. Our commitment to diversity shapes how we select work, support artists, and build audiences–ensuring that new theatre reflects the richness and complexity of the world we live in.
Exploration
We value exploration over perfection. The development of new plays and musicals requires time, curiosity, and the freedom to experiment. By prioritizing process, we encourage artists toask bold questions, test unconventional approaches, and learn through iteration. We believe that meaningful innovation comes from giving ideas room to evolve.
Amplification
We value artists as the core of our mission. Our role is to amplify their voices and provide the resources, advocacy, and passion needed to support them and their work. By providing professional resources such as theater space, feedback, audiences, artists, creative programming, networking opportunities, etc., we ensure that original works are not only being developed, but empowered to reach their full potential. We aim to support the artists and original stories that are essential to sustain and evolve the trajectory of the American theatre.
WHAT WE DO
We are a developmental laboratory for original plays and musicals, dedicated to supportingwriters through every stage of creation. By providing space, tools, and collaborative support, we enable artists to experiment, refine their work, and advance bold new stories toward production through the following programs:
CAROLINA PLAYWRIGHTS LAB
The Carolina Playwrights Lab is a professional play development program for playwrights residing in North and South Carolina. CPL provides a robust set of tools and space for playwrights to dig deep and develop their plays in hopes of taking the next step in the journey to full production.
NATIONAL MUSIC THEATER FOUNDRY
The National Music Theater Foundry is CTW’s national new works development program dedicated to the creation of new musicals.
A SPOTLIGHT FOR NEW VOICES
This year’s fundraiser celebrates accomplished musical theatre writer, Eric Sorrels! Enjoy a drink, some appetizers, and above all, a reading of The Gray Man, a new musical by Eric Sorrels.
THE WRITERS TABLE
The Writers Table is a free workshop series for playwrights and musical theatre writers, offering a collaborative space to develop new work, explore storytelling craft, and engage in guided, hands-on sessions.
WHAT WE DO
We are a developmental laboratory for original plays and musicals, dedicated to supportingwriters through every stage of creation. By providing space, tools, and collaborative support, we enable artists to experiment, refine their work, and advance bold new stories toward production through the following programs:
CAROLINA PLAYWRIGHTS LAB
The Carolina Playwrights Lab is a professional play development program for playwrights residing in North and South Carolina. CPL provides a robust set of tools and space for playwrights to dig deep and develop their plays in hopes of taking the next step in the journey to full production.
NATIONAL MUSIC THEATER FOUNDRY
The National Music Theater Foundry is CTW’s national new works development program dedicated to the creation of new musicals.
A SPOTLIGHT FOR NEW VOICES
This year’s fundraiser celebrates accomplished musical theatre writer, Eric Sorrels! Enjoy a drink, some appetizers, and above all, a reading of The Gray Man, a new musical by Eric Sorrels.
SONGWRITERS SANDBOX
Songwriters Sandbox is a new quarterly meeting of musical theater writers and/or writing teams to present 10 min excerpts of projects they are currently working on to the attending group for feedback – aiding in the development of their original musicals.
Coming Soon!
