MusiCoLab

Public investment in the arts is an investment in Philadelphia’s future! 🎭🎶
MusiCoLab is honored to receive support provided by the Philadelphia Cultural Fund as part of their new, equitable funding strategy. This unrestricted funding allows us to continue our mission of nurturing new musicals and the artists who create them, cultivating a vibrant community of Philadelphia-based writers and sharing their work with local audiences. Thank you to Philadelphia Cultural Fund, Mayor Cherelle L. Parker, and the Philadelphia City Council (PHLCouncil) for their commitment to a thriving arts community!

Are you a musical theater creator? Join us next Monday, July 20, for our monthly gathering-- The MusiCoLaboratory! It's a space where writers of all levels share works-in-progress, receive feedback, connect with collaborators, and discuss craft. Reach out to [email protected] for more information.

🌟 Check out these past MusiCoLab works in their next stage of development! 🌟

The annual Midtown International Theatre Festival starts next week in New York City, and COOL AT CAMP and FINAL DAY? the MUSICAL are among this year’s exciting list of shows.

Part of MusiCoLab’s mission is to nurture new musicals and the artists who create them, so we are always excited to share when past projects get new development opportunities.

⛺Catch COOL AT CAMP on 7/14 at 8:15pm, 7/16 at 6:00pm, and 7/18 at 12:30pm. Find tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/cool-at-camp-tickets-1989265372278?aff=ebdsoporgprofile
🌅 Performance for FINAL DAY? The MUSICAL on 7/19 at 6:15pm. Find tickets here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/final-day-the-musical-tickets-1989844145404?aff=ebdsoporgprofile

A one-night-only opportunity this Thursday, June 25: Jay Purdy and The Extraordinaires perform Electric and Benevolent live at the Fringe Bar!

If you were at MusiCoLab's Spotlight Series last April, you heard five songs from this rock musical reimagining the life of Nikola Tesla. Thursday night you'll hear the whole thing — performed live by the band that wrote it, with narration weaving the full story of Tesla, Ellethene the Goddess of Electricity, and the epic battle of AC vs. DC.

Opening act Mudfroot takes the stage at 8pm, with The Extraordinaires to follow. No cover charge — just come and enjoy the show!

Details:

Live Music: The Extraordinaires and Mudfroot The Extraordinaires present ELECTRIC AND BENEVOLENT | An evening of music inspired by the life and times of famed inventor Nikola Tesla with a Greek Mythologica

Our next MusiCoLaboratory is this Monday, June 15, from 7 to 9 PM at the Horan Studio Theater, in the Arden Theatre's Hamilton Family Arts Center (62 N. 2nd St.).

Brian Jacko will be sharing work-in-progress — and we've got room for more. A couple of our planned presenters have had to bow out, so if you've got a song or two you'd like to put in front of the room, this is your moment. Let me know (email to [email protected]), and I'll fill the remaining slots first come, first served. Bring something rough, something half-finished, something you're stuck on — that's exactly what the Lab is for.

And if the slots don't all get claimed, I'll happily fill one myself: I took part in WXPN's 24-Hour Song Challenge last weekend, and I'd be glad to share what I came up with and say a little about the experience of writing a song against the clock. Highly recommended as a way to outrun your inner editor.

I'm just back from NAMT's Spring New Works summit, where the opening conversation was titled "Creating During Chaos" — how writers keep making things when the larger field feels unstable. What struck me most was how completely the panel circled back to one answer: community. Not as a nicety, but as infrastructure — the protected space, the honest feedback, the simple fact of a room full of people who take your work seriously. It's the thing that lets writers keep going when the institutional ground is shifting underfoot. I came home thinking that this is exactly what we've built, month after month, in that studio. Our MusiCoLaboratory is the answer those panelists were reaching for.

And if you're coming simply to listen and respond, you're every bit as welcome — a generous room of listeners is half of what makes this work. A quick reply either way would help me get a sense of the evening.

MusiCoLab has been quiet lately…... That ends today.
🌟
We’re proud to announce that Gilberto Vega has joined MusiCoLab as our new Managing Director — a creator, educator, and administrator who has spent fifteen years at the heart of Philadelphia’s arts community. New musicals, new energy, new chapter.

Stay tuned. More coming soon!

MusiCoLab is hiring a part-time Managing Director to guide our organization through its next stage of development, overseeing daily operations, fundraising, and partnerships, while supporting the board and creative team in advancing the organization's mission. Check out this posting on the GPCA Job Bank - if this describes you, or someone you know, we'd love to hear from you!

Managing Director MusiCoLab seeks a part-time Managing Director (MD) to guide the organization through its next stage of development, overseeing daily operations, fundraising, and partnerships, while supporting the board and creative team in advancing the organization's mission. MusiCoLab nurtures new musicals and th...

We're hitting pause on our April Spotlight Series as we work through some organizational changes behind the scenes. Three incredible new musicals are still coming your way — we'll have new dates to share soon.

🌟MusiCoLab’s Spotlight Series is back!🌟

This April, join us for NEW WORKS IN FOCUS, where we will zoom in on 30-minute presentations of three different new musicals by Philadelphia creators.
Be among some of the first audiences to hear this new material!

Presented as part of Philly Theatre Week, performances will be at the Horan Studio Theatre at the Arden on Sunday 4/26 at 2pm & 7pm and on Monday 4/27 at 7pm.

Tickets on sale now! https://events.ticketleap.com/tickets/musicolab/spotlight-series-new-works-in-focus