Collaborative arts incorporate multiple theatrical elements including sound, movements, text, design, technology and visual elements into a synthetic original form of art. The versatile possibilities of the art form allow artists to actualize their boundless imaginations, and to experiment with an innovative expression to exhibit emotions, ideas, social concerns and philosophical issues. This study briefly summarizes the historical development of collaborative arts from Wagner and Kandinsky, and explores the sub-category, New Music Theater, in the contemporary context from the 1950s onwards. Artists and theorists featured include John Cage, Heiner Goebbels, Mauricio Kagel, George Aperghis and Daniel Ott. International composer Manos Tsangaris and Hong Kong artists Kung Chi Shing, Steve Hui and Amy Chan are interviewed to exhibit their personal creative and collaborative experience, as well as the current practice of New Music Theater in Hong Kong. The insights gathered from artists and theorists considered in this study have inspired the composer to create a composition portfolio, in particular a research-based New Music Theater project, Battle, along with an analysis to illustrate the interaction between the arts, the collaborative process and the effectiveness of the approach.