Dear Nick and Matt

Gothic House, High Road, Great Finborough, Suffolk, IP14 3AQ 01449 771007 (m) 07713 643971 email: [email protected] Update 22nd February 2016, from a 2008 originals

This sheet is designed to give an instant summary of some of the places a writer could go to learn more about writing musical theatre, or having their new work considered mainly in the UK, with some references to the US.

Specialist Organisations in the UK

Mercury Musical Development (MMD) is a charitable organisation based in London, specifically for writers working in the UK. It is a mix of an association of writers, an information source, a contact route to/from producers, and an active organisation championing the craft of musical theatre writing. For more information go to their excellent website http://www.mercurymusicals.com. There is a membership charge for “Associate” writers. At the end of this sheet are a series of opportunities provided by MMD. Being a member will ensure you get to hear about all these and more. In particular, keep an eye out for the launch of their showcase event for new musical theatre – BEAM – which they will be running in partnership with Musical Theatre Network in March 2016.

Musical Theatre Network (MTN) is a sister organisation to MMD which offers membership to anyone who is not a writer, but working professionally in Musical Theatre – so it is a body for producers, theatres, developmental organisations, agents, festivals, directors and other creatives. It started as Musical Theatre Matters in 2005 with around 100 members and an annual award search in Edinburgh for new writing talent (see below). In 2012, together with MMD and Perfect Pitch, it won major 3 year funding from Arts Council England which was then renewed in 2015. New initiatives continue to be developed so keep a watchful eye for more information at www.musicaltheatrenetwork.com They share an office and some administration with MMD.

Perfect Pitch Musicals Ltd (PP) Perfect Pitch is a not-for-profit theatre company, supported by Arts Council England, dedicated to creating new British musicals. Established in 2006, they work in collaboration with venues, writers, producers and creatives all over the UK and beyond to create, develop, produce and license high quality new British musicals. They work together with writers and composers throughout the journey of the musical from initial idea to full production offering creative and dramaturgical support, workshops and readings along the way. Once the shows are fully developed Perfect Pitch licenses the shows to both professional and amateur companies in the UK and overseas. For more information go to http://www.perfectpitchmusicals.com

Always Learning

Books on writing musicals are an essential source of good wisdom and insurance against injury in this dangerous sport. The most direct is Richard Andrew’s Writing A Musical – available at major bookshops. It is worth trying to get a copy of Musicals Inside Out by Mark Carroll. This is an excellent US publication. Read Musical Stages, the Stage, and Variety for a range of other articles and publications. The MMD website offers an extensive reading list for members. Check out “How Musicals Work, and How to Write Your Own” by MMD member Julian Woolford published in April 2012 which is also the course book for the Goldsmiths course (below). Given that most writers will at some stage have to produce their own work, or collaborate with a new producer, it is well worth getting a copy of James Seabright’s “So You Want to be a Theatre Producer?”…so you can see what to expect, or what you have to deliver with your colleagues. MTN Founder Chris Grady has also written a book about Chris Grady.Org Ltd is a private Limited Company, Registered in England and Wales Co No: 6473482 London Office: Ambassadors Theatre, West Street, London WC2H 9ND www.chrisgrady.org.

of 4 making work and a career in theatre “Your Life in Theatre” includes much about creating your own opportunities.

Training in the art of writing musical theatre. The first dedicated course for Musical Theatre writing was at the Tisch School of Arts in New York, and over the years their senior professors and alumnae have offered a range of programmes here in the UK. There continues to be a summer programme led by two tutors from Tisch in conjunction with Theatre Royal Stratford East for new forms of musical theatre. Tisch is a Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Programme which has worldwide appeal. It is a serious way to spend two years and a goodly selection of dollars.

This year a dedicated writing course has started in the UK, led by two Tisch alumnae, Jenifer Toskig (UK/Denmark) and Rob Hartman (New York). The MA in Musical Theatre Writing at Mountview Academy of Theatre is a full time one year course drawing on many of the best parts of Tisch, and also using Open Space Technology ™ to give the greatest openness to the creativity. Goldsmiths College of London University offers an MA in Musical Theatre which includes a “Creative Programme” in which students choose an option in writing or producing. This leads to a showcase of new musicals in a London off-West End/Fringe theatre.

BOOK, Music & Lyrics: A sixteen-week course for composers, lyricists and book-writers to develop their craft. Leading practitioners set a series of exercises every week (e.g. imagine Shirley Valentine was a musical, write an opening number that sets up what the show is about). The course has permanent facilitators and guest teachers including Charles Hart and Richard Stilgoe. It is led by a BMI alumni from New York, David James www.bookmusicandlyrics.com

Getting Work Seen.

Greenwich Theatre has run an annual 10 day season of new musical work as part of a Festival called Musical Futures from 2000 to 2006. Under the new Executive Directior James Haddrell they are re-evaluating this programme and more details will be announced in the Autumn. Keep a look on www.greenwichtheatres.org.uk

The MTM:UK Edinburgh Festival Fringe Awards were established in 2007 and allow for the reviewing of every new Musical Theatre piece being presented by professionals or aspiring professionals in Edinburgh (last year 120 works) and to raise the profile of the artform. From 2015 this award has been renamed the MTN Development Award and is offered in collaboration with Curve Theatre, Leicester. It gives an artist or company a bursary of £1,500 plus development space and time at the theatre to allow the recipient to develop new work and to experiment with new ideas. For more information visit www.musicaltheatrenetwork.com..

New Work is showcased in many different spaces, and it is worth being aware of what is being presented to producers, the emerging producers developing work, and the spaces being used. Look out for work at Jermyn Street Theatre, The Park Theatre, The Actors’ Centre, The Pleasance Theatre Islington, Lyric Hammersmith Studio, Theatre 503, The Finborough, The Union Southwark, St James Theatre and Upstairs at the Gateway.

Also keep an eye out for the adventurous Drama Schools who are beginning to pick up new work for their students to explore, and some are even commissioning new pieces. Learn more about Arts Ed Schools, Mountview, LAMDA, LIPA, RSAMD and, likely to be fast movers in this area, a revitalised Welsh College and the new Musical Theatre Academy opening in Sept 09 under the directorship of Annemarie Lewis Thomas.

There are some other showcase opportunities, so check out the work of Katy Lipson and Aria Entertainment and Tammy Mendelson of Scenic Route

Prepared by Chris Grady / Updated from original 22nd May 08 Page 3 of 4 www.scenicroutetheatre.co.uk both of whom show work in seasons and evenings. Katy is also a prolific producer of new work, along with a growing number of emerging new producers passionate for Musical Theatre.

The S&S Award - Entrants submit an idea and songs for a show and the winning entry, selected by a panel, is given a weeks retreat with cast and creative team to work on the piece and then following rewrites there is a professional presentation.

The Stephen Sondheim Society Student Performer Of The Year /Stiles & Drewe Best New Song Prize - A National Competition now in its 9th year held at a West End Theatre. The UK’s Drama Schools enter students and 12 winners selected by a panel perform numbers by Stephen Sondheim and MMD members. There is a prize for the best performer and a prize for best new song and the judges are Industry specialists (such as Maureen Lipman, Timothy Sheader, Martin Koch, David Grindrod, Nigel Lilley and Julia McKenzie).

International Reminder

In the United States there is the annual Festival of First Stage Musicals run by the National Alliance for Musical Theatre www.namt.net in New York, the Lehman Engels Programme of new work in Los Angeles and the New Tuners Programme at the Theatre Building in Chicago, all of which have in the past presented work by British writers – usually selected after submission by MMD – which is another reason to join this organisation.

Members of NAMT include, in the UK, Greenwich Theatre, BBC Wales, Perfect Pitch, Royal and Derngate Theatres Northampton, MMD, and Musical Theatre Matters (MTM:UK) and each organisation is empowered to make submissions for the annual NAMT showcases. More information will be issued by these members IF they are seeking submissions.

There is also the annual New York Musicals Festival (NYMF) which seeks submissions each year and champions the presentation of around 30 new musicals across many theatres in the heart of New York each October. Some works are matched with New York emerging producers, some are presented by theatres/producers, and some are self-produced by the writers. For more information study www.nymf.com, and talk to those producers and writers from the UK who have been involved. It is an expensive process to self-produce, but over the last two years UK writers have won Best Lyricist, Best Score, and Best New American Musical awards

And finally, if you have an International perspective then there are a number of the major commercial producers & academies who are actively looking for new work to secure rights on to present in the future. The biggest is Stage Entertainment in Holland, also houses/schools in Denmark, Sweden, NIDA in Australia, and many producers in Korea and Japan. If you are developing a work which you feel has an International audience then make sure, as a member of MMD you make this clear to the officers – because most of these producers and international players will first check out writers in MMD membership.

The Ones That Came Before

For information, the following organisations/opportunities no longer exist, and are listed here to save time for writers and others trying to find them, because they may still be found on google searches and be listed in text books !!

In 1992 there was an International Festival of Musicals in Buxton which attracted the interest of 491 new writers from 16 countries. This was followed by a second search for new work in Oxford in 1994. These were 20 years ahead of their time. The following were projects and organisations which also championed new writing in the UK. The Writing Block the informal monthly presentation of new material by writers created by Martin Seager. The International Festival of Musical Theatre in Cardiff was a bi-annual

Prepared by Chris Grady / Updated from original 22nd May 08 Page 4 of 4 celebration of musicals established in 2000 including the Global Search for New Musicals. It ceased to trade in 2006, but remains an ambition for some of those who started the process. The Highland Quest for New Musicals was a one-off search funded by the Scottish Executive and the Mackintosh Foundation to uncover a new work. Over 3 years the search went from idea – assessment – writer retreat – shortlist – showcase – chosen work – development – full production – tour. The first time the complete arc has been funded in one process. We continue to hope that the model, brilliantly captured in in Don Coutts’ 3hr BBC documentary entitled MacMusical produced by Endemol, will be repeated in other areas and for other projects. The Bridewell Theatre was for 10 years until 2005 a dedicated champion for new work. It closed down when no grants could be secured to support a massive rental hike on the buiding. Carol Metcalfe, the founding artistic director, continues to run Bridewell Theatre Company Ltd, supporting new work, not to be confused with the theatre space which is still called the Bridewell but is now operated as an amateur/hire space. And finally The Vivian Ellis Prize which was a national search for new work and a showcase of emerging writers at the London Palladium each year. Sadly the Trustees decided to re- route their money away from new Musical Theatre

Final Thought

When I first prepared this sheet in 8 years ago for Cameron Mackintosh’s office only a few of these opportunities existed for writers in the UK. There was no noticeable Arts Council funding for Musical Theatre. Perfect Pitch, MTN and MMD were operating on a knife edge. The world has changed. It is still extremely tough out there – but highly talented, determined writers with a long-vision and a willingness to explore their craft, collaborate widely, and grab the most unexpected opportunities here and across the globe, can make a living – maybe some will make a killing Do have a look at the CGO website for various articles, surgeries, and opportunities. There’s a longer booklist there, and some of the CGO Blogs, articles written about Musical Theatre – in case they are any help.

CGO continues to offer formal creative life coaching, and informal pay-what-you-can surgeries for creative artists. Check the website for more information.

We hope this information will be useful to you. Chris

Prepared by Chris Grady / Previous 22nd May 08 / Updated 30th April 2012/Updated 28th May 2015/ This version Feb 27th 2016.

Prepared by Chris Grady / Updated from original 22nd May 08