New Musical Theatre Development Opportunity at the University of Winchester
Call for Projects
The BA (Hons) Musical Theatre programme at the University of Winchester is calling for expressions of interest in workshopping pieces of new musical theatre writing with our students. This has been a key part of our degree since its inception, and we have been developing new British musicals since 2016.
We are looking for writers/writing teams with a developing musical theatre work that they want to workshop with our 2nd year students. We are happy to support both established and new writers and works that are anywhere between early ideas and a complete script/score. We need to know what you want to achieve in the project, and we have two different types of project to suit the various stages at which your work might be. All projects are completed with a minimum of 36 hours of rehearsal (further details below) and dedicated UoW staff members acting as a director/dramaturg (plus a musical director for the Spring project).
We are looking for two projects in Autumn 2024 (Sept-Nov) and one project for Spring 2025 (Jan-Feb); three in total:
Application Form:
https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:6f5f78f9-9ba133b7-ac9c-18864deaac27
POP ART (Feb 23) – Leo and Hyde Credit: Emily Sandoval Photography
Autumn Projects – Short Developmental Showing
September – November 2024
We are seeking proposals for works that are early in their development. This will give the opportunity for writers to see and hear their work, possibly for the first time, and to workshop it with a group of students and a creative. Previous iterations have included workshopping and staging a few complex sequences, staged readings of longer sections (e.g., most of an act), or a blend of a reading and staged material. The focus here is on the development of the work, not the final product. There is no set requirement of how much material needs to be developed, however the most successful past iterations have benefitted from less material (e.g., three or four scenes/songs/sequences) that are developed in detail both through discussion and rehearsal.
You will have 36 hours with the students over a six-week period (six 6-hour sessions) in a rehearsal space. It is imperative that you/a member of your team are available to attend every session. You are welcome to send someone in your place (e.g., a director), but their payment would need to come out of your fee and be organised independently of the university. As a last resort, if you are unable to visit Winchester in person, you can collaborate online via Microsoft Teams for certain sessions. We stress attendance as we believe it is vital that students and writers have the opportunity to collaborate and interact, especially on such early-stage work.
Sessions will run on six consecutive Fridays, excluding Friday 25th Oct for reading week. Sessions are therefore scheduled for Friday 27th Sept, 4th Oct, 11th Oct, 18th Oct, 1st Nov, and 8th Nov. Work is planned to be shown on the final session of the workshop, Fri 8th November. External guests and visitors are invited to see these works, but we will also film them for examining purposes.
You will be provided with a UoW staff member as a director. It is expected that a member of the writing team will MD the project to complete the production team.
Each project will be paid a fee of £1000 (there is just one fee that will need to be shared if there is a writing team/partnership). This will be paid via invoice and is designed to cover your work, time with the students, and any travel expenses.
It is expected that all writing teams acknowledge the workshop in all future development of the project. For example, writing teams have acknowledged the workshop and the university in the programme notes at subsequent BEAM presentations. In exchange, the programme will provide social media coverage of the workshop, plus ongoing online interaction with the writers via our social media platforms (detailed at the end of this document).
Please note: writers are expected to submit extracts of their work in development and/or extracts from previous works to provide a flavour of the work being created.
Spring Project – Full Length Showing
January – February 2025
This second project looks to present works that are at a much more advanced stage in their development process. This project is designed not so much to test and redraft the material with the students but produce a workshop production of an entire new musical. The aim is to give writers and students a sense of the work’s overall arc for future development in front of small test audiences. We are particularly interested in ensemble focused work.
This cohort is made up of two groups of around sixteen students, each working on an act each or a version of the entire work each. The project will be rehearsed intensively over two weeks starting between Monday 13th and Friday 24 January 2025. Rehearsals will continue in class time for a further two weeks, before performances commence on the w/c 10th Feb 2025 in our in-house black box theatre, The Performance Gym, for a paying audience. There are likely to be four performances, with recent configurations either being four weeknights (Tues-Fri) or Thursday to Saturday evening (with a Saturday matinee). Writers are again able to invite outside guests to attend the work.
In discussion with your/the show’s needs, a production team will be formed of UoW staff and you will be paid a writer’s fee of £500 for your work. You are not expected to attend all rehearsals, but are entirely welcome to, of course. We would request that you do attend some sessions along the way, certainly a meet and greet, for students to ask any questions and to begin an interaction with the team.
Please note: writers are required to submit a full draft script as part of the selection process. If selected, a final performance draft will then be required during the Autumn semester (date to be agreed) to allow for auditions and prep work to begin before the Christmas break.
You’re A Catch! (Why Are You Single?) (Feb 24) – Sarah Wynen Credit: Emily Sandoval Photography
It is expected that all writing teams acknowledge the production in all future development of the project. For example, writing teams have acknowledged the production and the university in the programme notes at subsequent BEAM presentations. In exchange, the programme will provide social media coverage of the production, such as student-led Instagram takeovers in production week, plus ongoing online interaction with the writers via our social media platforms (detailed at the end of this document).
What is in it for you?
In addition to the rehearsal time and the fee discussed above:
• You will be able to experiment with how your piece looks and sounds on its feet in a process that might produce something between a rehearsed reading of excerpts and a showing of work-in-progress (or a full showing in the latter project);
• You will have the opportunity to invite potential producers or developers of the work to the showing/production;
• We will provide a multi-camera filming of the showing/production via our film production colleagues (or a single camera from the back of the auditorium, or equivalent, at the very least);
• We are negotiating with our music production colleagues to arrange possible studio demo recording of at least one song (TBC);
What
is in it for us?
Working with creative teams gives students the opportunities:
• To understand the creative process;
• To interact with emerging writers;
• To experience different narrative structures and dramaturgical processes;
• To input into devising or creating roles with no existing performance template.
Please be aware that we have a predominantly female cohort. The cast size is likely to be around sixteen students per project/cast. We are happy to use blind casting practices, crossing gender, race, age, etc. as long as vocal ranges are adapted appropriately for the students.
The works will be chosen by a panel consisting of the Musical Theatre staff team at the University of Winchester and a team of student representatives.
Criteria:
• Willingness to work with diverse student abilities;
• Strong dramaturgical strategy, but not necessarily based on a linear narrative;
• Material with which students might identify musically and/or politically (that does not imply that only teen musicals or pop music will be chosen);
• Innovation in musical theatre writing.
To apply, please download and complete the below form and return it to newmusicaltheatre@winchester.ac.uk by Fri 9th August 2024.
Application Form: https://acrobat.adobe.com/link/review?uri=urn:aaid:scds:US:6f5f78f9-9ba133b7-ac9c-18864deaac27
Decisions will be made by a panel of students and staff by the end of August 2024.
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POP ART (Feb 23) – Leo and Hyde
You’re A Catch! (Why Are You Single?) (Feb 24) – Sarah Wynen
Credit: Emily Sandoval Photography
