2026 BMP: Producer Academy - Applications Now Open (Thru 8/2)

2026 BMP: PRODUCER ACADEMY
8.5-Week program runs September 28 - November 23

Applications Now Open
Deadline for Applications: August 2, 2026 

Thursday, July 23, 6:30- 8:30 pm ET
“Ask a Producer: A Conversation with Beth Morrison”
Free Online Event 

New York, NY: July 1, 2026 — BMP: Producer Academy is an 8.5-week all-virtual intensive in creative and tour producing for early-career producers of theater, opera, dance and other innovative, multi-disciplinary and boundary-breaking projects. The application period opens today and closes on August 2 at 11:59 pm ET. 

The BMP Producer Academy seeks applicants who aspire to be industry innovators and change-makers to join its 30-member cohort this fall. The program is run by Beth Morrison Projects, a company "responsible for a sizable portion of the strongest new opera mounted in the 21st century" (The New Yorker). 

For the first time since 2020, BMP also offers prospective applicants the opportunity to get a taste of the program in a free, online conversation with Beth Morrison, "Ask a Producer," on July 23 at 6:30 pm ET. 

“The Producer Academy was born in lockdown and has grown to a community of over 1000 alumni," said Beth Morrison, BMP President and Creative Producer. "It’s exhilarating to meet the new cohort each year and add to the community of artists, administrators, and early career producers that want to produce new work and tour it around the world.  We aim to expose the cohort to leading industry experts to learn from and make meaningful connections with.”

“There is simply no other space out there where multi-hyphenated artists gather to learn, grow, and shape our hopes and dreams into viable artistic projects...I have left this program feeling inspired and hopeful for the future of multi-disciplinary art making.”
--Brenda Huggins, Alum of 2024 Producer Academy

The Producer Academy offers mentorship, networking opportunities, and weekly sessions on budgeting, touring, project pitching, and the creative and production processes to build and support the knowledge and personal growth of new and diverse producers for the performing arts.  During the 8.5-week program, participants meet twice weekly to explore each phase of a production life cycle and hone concrete skills they can use to develop and produce new performance works. The program also includes:

• Personalized mentorship from the BMP team, with opportunities to learn directly from Beth Morrison
• One-on-one mentoring with BMP creative producer Beth Morrison and BMP administrative and production staff
• Networking opportunities with professional producers and presenters in the industry
• Feedback on pitch materials and projects by high-level industry presenters

The faculty includes Beth Morrison, BMP's president & creative producer, and leading members of the BMP creative producing, administrative, and production teams, alongside guest speakers from across the opera, theatre, and live performance industries.  The Producer Academy Director of Administration is Alexis Peart, a Chicago-based multi-hyphenate producer, arts administrator, opera singer, and music educator who also serves as an Associate Producer at BMP. 

Tuition for the 2026 BMP: Producer Academy is $2,500. A $500 deposit is required upon acceptance to secure a spot in the cohort. The Producer Academy is committed to reducing financial barriers and expanding access to professional development opportunities in the performing arts. Payment plans are available, allowing participants to pay their remaining tuition balance in installments leading up to and/or during The Producer Academy. Need-based financial aid (scholarship support) is available through the application process. Applicants requesting financial aid will complete an additional section within the application. 

For more information and to apply, visit: Beth Morrison Projects Producer Academy or 
email academy@bethmorrisonprojects.org. 

“The BMP Producing Academy is one of one. It gives next generational producers the access, knowledge, and skill set to actually go out and MAKE the work you could ever dream of. This is a program taught by the leading voices in our industry, who welcome you into their community, and who encourage you to make the future of live art and entertainment with them.”
--Cameron Sczempka, Alum of 2024 Producer Academy 

“ASK A PRODUCER: A CONVERSATION WITH BETH MORRISON”
Thursday, July 23, from 6:30- 8:30 pm ET
FREE | Online only | REGISTER HERE

This year, BMP offers a free, online conversation with Beth Morrison, whom The New York Times called "an eminence of contemporary opera," on Thursday, July 23, from 6:30- 8:30 pm ET. This is a rare opportunity to ask questions and get a a taste of The Producer Academy experience, exploring questions like: How do you turn an idea into a production?  How do you get people to believe in a project before it exists? How do you build a career creating the kind of work you want to see in the world?

ABOUT BETH MORRISON PROJECTS

Now in its 21st season, Beth Morrison Projects (BMP) is a leading creator and producer of new opera and music theatre, driven by a fierce commitment to telling the stories of our time, cultivating the next generation of artists, and shaping a more inclusive, innovative, and relevant future for the field. Founded in 2006 by “contemporary opera mastermind” (LA Times) Beth Morrison—named one of Musical America’s Artists of the Year—BMP has become “a driving force behind America’s thriving opera scene” (Financial Times).

With offices in Brooklyn and Los Angeles, BMP operates nationally and internationally, having commissioned, developed, produced, and toured more than 65 works in 15 countries. Its productions include the Pulitzer Prize–winning Angel’s Bone (Du Yun/ Vavrek)  and p r i s m (Reid/ Perkins), and three GRAMMY™-nominated operas — Black Lodge (Little/ Waldman), Adoration (Kouyoumdjian/ Vavrek), and TRADE/ Mary Motorhead (E. O’halloran/M. O’halloran) — presented at leading venues and festivals worldwide.

Central to BMP’s mission is artist development through programs like Producer Academy and BMP: NextGen, which support emerging producers and artists/composers through mentorship, training, and commissioning opportunities. BMP is also the driving force behind PROTOTYPE Festival, co-founded in 2013 with HERE and now solely curated and produced by BMP, widely recognized as one of the world’s leading festivals of contemporary opera and theatre.

Through its productions, partnerships, and programs, BMP continues to redefine opera for the 21st century and build a vibrant, sustainable future for the art form.

More information at Beth Morrison Projects.

MEDIA CONTACTS
KIRSHBAUM ASSOCIATES, INC.

Shirley Kirshbaum, President 
Phone: 212.222.4843 | Mobile: 917.331.1888
Email: skirshbaum@kirshbaumassociates.com

Beverly Greenfield, Director of Public Relations
Email: bgreenfield@kirshbaumassociates.com

Maria Ibrahimova, Associate
Email: mIbrahimova@kirshbaumassociates.com

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