A sanctuary for musical theatre writers to develop new musicals in the heart of the Hudson Valley .

2026 Summer Residencies
Application Overview

About Rhinebeck Writers Retreat

Rhinebeck Writers Retreat exists to support musical theatre writers by addressing a constant challenge: the need for dedicated, uninterrupted time and resources to write and develop new work. We strive to remove all barriers so you have space to work together, with the freedom to own your process.

About our Summer Residencies

DATES: JUNE 14 - AUGUST 16, 2026

We host nine consecutive, weeklong summer residencies for nine musical theatre writing teams in the Hudson Valley near Rhinebeck, NY. Each team lives together in a private lakefront home and is offered space and time, free from all financial burden, to focus solely on their craft. There is one writing team in residence each week from Sunday to Sunday (seven nights).

What we provide:

Residency Home – a fully-furnished, private, lakefront home.
$550 Stipend per writer.
Music Supplies – both an upright acoustic piano and a Yamaha P126 digital keyboard.
Recording Supplies – a tabletop recording setup for making demos.
Writing Supplies – everything you can think of! A white board, cork board, pens, paper, printer, post-its, etc.
Food – we cover the cost of groceries; we’ll take you grocery shopping when you arrive so you have everything you need to prepare your own meals throughout the week.
Travel – if you live in the New York City area, we cover roundtrip train travel from NYC to Poughkeepsie, or reimburse gas and tolls if you have a car. If you live outside of NYC, we cover coach plane and train travel up to $1,000. For those arriving by train, we will pick you up in Poughkeepsie and drive you to the residency home.
Peer Advisor – an artistic advisor who will work with you before your residency to offer dramaturgical feedback and refine your goals for the week. We will identify your Peer Advisor together from members of RWR's Sounding Board. You work with this Advisor remotely, via whichever medium is best for you.

All residency costs are covered by gifts from our generous donors, who believe in you and the possibility of your work. RWR supporters include the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature, The Howard Ashman Trust for Theater Arts, The Noël Coward Foundation, The ASCAP Foundation Bart Howard Fund, The National Foundation for Musical Theatre, Concord Theatricals, Music Theatre International, and hundreds of individual donors.

All writers of musical theatre are welcome to apply. If you have questions about the application process or the program itself, please email Marvin@rhinebeckwriters.org.

Eligibility Requirements

To be eligible for consideration, your application must meet ALL of these criteria:

You apply with one musical, which can be at any stage of development. Even if your musical has had a full production, you can apply to continue to develop the piece. However, the show is ineligible if it is already licensed by a licensing house.
If the project is not wholly original or in the public domain, you must have secured the rights for all levels of production and the term of those rights must extend at least through the end of this year. Note: you’ll be asked to provide documentation such as a signed letter proving that you have the rights, when you apply.
All members of the writing team must be in residence the entire week, Sunday to Sunday. In the application, you will indicate which weeks this summer your entire team is available. If your application reaches Round 2 in mid-March, you will have an opportunity to update us at that time about any changes in your collective availability.
A musical can only be submitted twice to Rhinebeck Writers Retreat.
The music must be original, not pulled from a pre-existing source.
All members of the writing team must be at least 21 years old by June 14, 2026.

REQUIRED TITLE PAGE CREDIT

If you are selected to participate, you will be asked to sign a Residency Agreement. We cover all of the residency costs and ask for no deliverables or future financial participation. The only thing we require, which will be reflected in the Residency Agreement, is a title page development credit for all future readings, showcases, productions, and publications as follows: “Title of musical was developed, in part, at Rhinebeck Writers Retreat.”

Application Deadline & Fee

Early Deadline: February 2 at 6:00pm EST (no fee)

Late Deadline: February 9 at 6:00pm EST ($30 fee applies)

If the late deadline fee is a barrier preventing you from accessing this opportunity, please email us at Marvin@rhinebeckwriters.org.

Selection Process

Nine writing teams will be selected to participate in our 2026 Residencies.

Applications are evaluated by a panel of readers made up of artists, artistic directors, producers, and other experts in new musical development. They review all of your application materials and assess the musical itself, as well as the goals you’ve articulated for your residency week. The readers are compensated for their time.

There are two rounds of evaluation.

ROUND 1: Each application is evaluated by two readers. This round will be completed in mid-March, at which time we will notify you whether or not your application will continue to Round 2.

ROUND 2: Twenty applications move forward and are evaluated by a group of six readers. This round will be completed in mid-April, at which time the nine teams selected for a 2026 residency will be finalized and notified.

READ ME! Additional Guidelines & FAQ before you begin your application.

Please be sure to read the eligibility and other application requirements carefully, as we are unable to follow up if your application is incomplete.
You apply as a team, with one writer designated as the “Primary Contact" who will be responsible for communicating all information to the rest of the team.
The application requires 25 sequential pages from your musical. This does not necessarily need to be the first 25 pages of the libretto. If you don’t have a first draft yet, you can submit a detailed outline of the musical you want to work on plus a 25-page excerpt from another play or musical by the bookwriter.
The application requires four songs. If four songs aren’t yet completed from your musical, you may include other songs by the composer, but at least two of the four songs must be from the submitted musical. It is helpful if at least one of these songs also exists within the 25-page script excerpt that you submit.
Please submit only what is asked for, and no additional materials. External links to additional videos, sound recordings, or promotional materials will not be reviewed by our readers.
Only writers can apply. We find that a one-week retreat best meets the needs of a writing team, rather than their work with collaborators such as directors and choreographers.
We do not hire any actors or musicians.
We don't discriminate on the basis of race, color, national origin, disability, religion, age, gender identity, sex, or sexual orientation.
If a writer has access needs that cannot be met at our residency home, we will arrange alternate, accessible housing for the entire team.
We want to support all writers no matter what their living arrangements require, including caregivers. If your application is selected, we will work with you to meet those needs.
Some weeks we host a “Meet the Writers” event on the last night of the residency, which is a fun, low-key gathering to meet members of the local community. We invite the writers in residence that week to talk about their show and share a few songs.
If you are a solo writer, please note that our readers have historically given preference to collaborating teams because the value of this opportunity lies in bringing a team together for intensive work. Use the "Background and Artistic Goals" statement to make a case for why you will benefit from a week alone to write.
There is no smoking allowed in the residency home. There are no pets allowed except for service animals.

Online Application