Musical theatre students will have the opportunity to aid the development process of new musicals as part of a partnership with Pallas Theatre Collective: The New Musical Laboratory. Point Park University officially announced the new partnership on March 20.

Over the past three years, Pallas has brought readings of new productions to Point Park through its TableRead series. Past readings have included “Crazy Mary Lincoln” and “The Fall of the House of Usher.”

“Our primary focus is that we stand kind of in the gap between the university setting and the regional theatre,” Tracey Brent-Chessum said in a phone interview on Friday.

Chessum is an assistant professor of theatre at Point Park as well as Pallas’ Artistic Director. She and Zeva Barzell, the head of musical theatre and an associate professor, led the efforts to create the partnership between Point Park and Pallas.

The New Musical Laboratory will allow students of the junior class to take part in the development and performance of a new musical each spring.

“Next spring, the entire semester will be dedicated to working with people, with Pallas, the composers, so that the junior class will be performing the new works at the end of the semester,” Barzell said.

In previous years, all musical theatre students were eligible to audition and perform with Pallas. With The New Musical Laboratory, students will begin working during their sophomore year to choose and develop shows for the upcoming year.

“More than just the reading, [the program is] giving the composers the chance to see the word on its feet and it’s giving the students the chance to create a role from scratch,” Chessum said.

The New Musical Laboratory, as did previous collaborations with Pallas, will allow students to essentially build the new shows from the ground up, creating characters that have not been formed famously before.

“Sometimes you have other people to look at to see if you’re doing it correctly or if you’re on the right track, but with this, you’re on your own,” sophomore musical theatre major Will Haubl said in an interview on Monday. “It honestly gives you a ton of artistic freedom and creativity. You have the chance to make what you want of your character and make your own choices.”

Haubl previously played Todd Lincoln in “Crazy Mary Lincoln” earlier this spring alongside Amanda Aiello, junior musical theatre student, who performed the title role in the production. Aiello said in an interview on Monday that she really enjoyed working with the team of professionals on “Crazy Mary Lincoln,” as it was an experience for student performers to work with professionals and get a inside look on how new works are produced.

“I think overall it was a really great experience, and it was really exciting to work in that collaborative way with people who are as passionate as we all are about theatre,” Aiello said.

The New Musical Laboratory begins work this spring on two new musicals: “code name: CYNTHIA” and “Buried in Prosperity,” both works by Steve and Karen Multer.

A tentative reading of both projects is being planned for the fall at The Kennedy Center’s Page-to-Stage festival.

Those who have previously worked with Pallas before believe that the partnership will be beneficial on both sides.

“I think that bringing those two together is good for the students as a learning experience and good for Pallas to have a place to workshop their work,” junior musical theatre student Melvin Holley said.

For updates on The New Musical Laboratory program, visit the “New Musical Laboratory” page on Facebook or @nmlppu on Twitter.