Theatre Reviews & Features Ten of the 2012 Festival's full production slots are reserved for participants in the Next Link Project, NYMF's primary writer service program. The Next Link Project empowers emerging musical theatre writing teams as both artists and entrepreneurs by providing the training and relationships needed to help them move their musicals from mere readings to fully-realized productions and to advance their careers by maximizing the exposure they receive in the Festival.
Authors submitting to The Next Link Project will need to provide a demo recording of their songs, a detailed synopsis of their show, a 15-page script sample (15 consecutive pages representing the heart of the show and including lyrics for at least one of the songs), a complete script, and, if applicable, proof of rights to adapt underlying material.
Next Link Project participants receive the following benefits:
• A subsidized production slot at NYMF 2013 (including savings in production fees,
and discounted technical and marketing support)
• Individualized support from a member of our team of Next Link dramaturges
• Seminars and workshops geared toward helping them successfully prepare, present, and
promote their NYMF production
• Access to exclusive industry networking events
Any show that has not received a professional New York production may be submitted, by authors with or without industry representation. Scripts, however, should be ready for developmental production and the widespread exposure that NYMF provides. All entries undergo double-blind evaluations by several members of NYMF's reading team, with finalists referred to a Grand Jury of leading theater artists and producers.
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The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) also announced details for its 2012 NYMF's Next Broadway Sensation Competition (NNBS). The singing competition returns for its seventh year and will take place at New World Stages (340 W. 50th Street).
Produced by NYMF in association with Broadwayworld.com and New World Stages, with support from the ASCAP Foundation's Irving Caesar Trust, this talent competition seeks to find the newest musical theatre star. The winner of the competition will receive a special solo concert, co-presented by NYMF and Grammy Award-winning producer Sh-K-Boom Records.
In a new addition to the program this year, NYMF will also partner with the ASCAP Foundation to present a Showcase Concert, hosted by multi-award-winning composer Stephen Schwartz and featuring all eight NNBS finalists performing the work of up-and-coming musical theatre composers. Following their selection as finalists, each performer will be paired with a composer or composing team with whom they will collaborate to select and prepare a song for the Showcase the following week.
A panel of industry professionals will preside over two days of auditions and will select 20 entrants to take part in the competition. Ten contestants will perform at each of two competition heats, with four performers selected from each evening to move on to the Grand Final. Two finalists from each night will be selected by a panel of industry judges, with two additional finalists chosen from live audience votes and from online votes at BroadwayWorld.com (where every stage of the competition will also be aired).
This year's judges include Tony-nominated performer Celia Keenan-Bolger, composer Ryan Scott Oliver, casting director Michael Cassara, ASCAP's Director of Musical Theater Michael Kerker, producer Ken Davenport, and others still to be announced. In addition to casting votes, the judging panel will offer live performance advice to the contestants. Alexander Rovang serves as musical director for the competition.
The contest schedule is as follows (all events are at New World Stages):
AUDITIONS (Open Call): Thursday, September 20th at 10am
Auditions are open to singers aged 18 and over who have Broadway flair but no Broadway credits. Potential "Broadway Sensations" should prepare 16 bars from two contrasting songs that best demonstrate their vocal chops. An accompanist will be provided, but aspiring sensations need to bring sheet music, headshots and resumes.
CALL BACKS: Friday, September 21st
NEXT BROADWAY SENSATION HEAT 1: Friday, September 28 at 11pm (doors open at 10:30pm)
NEXT BROADWAY SENSATION HEAT 2: Saturday, September 29 at 11pm (doors open at 10:30pm)
NYMF-ASCAP SHOWCASE CONCERT hosted by Stephen Schwartz: Friday, October 5th at 9pm
NEXT BROADWAY SENSATION GRAND FINALE: Friday, October 12 at 11pm (doors open at 10:30)
Tickets for all events are $10 in advance and $15 at the door, and can be booked online at www.nymf.org or by calling (212) 352-0255
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Now in its ninth year, the New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) is the largest annual musical theatre event in America and is widely regarded as the essential source for new material and talent discovery. NYMF provides a launching pad for the next generation of musicals and their creators to ensure the continued vitality of one of America's greatest art forms. Hailed as the "Sundance of Musical Theatre," NYMF discovers, nurtures, and promotes promising musical theatre artists and producers at all stages of development, and inspires a diverse audience through vibrant, accessible, powerful new work.
NYMF is the flagship program of National Music Theater Network, Inc., a 501(c) (3) not-for-profit organization. NYMF 2012 is presented in association with Dunkin' Donuts, BroadwayWorld.com, Production Resource Group, and TheaterMania.com, with support from American Eagle Outfitters, Back Stage, BroadwayBox.com, BroadwayInsider.com, Fox 5/ WNYW-TV, King Displays, NASDAQ OMX, New World Stages, Next Magazine, The Port Authority of NY & NJ, Queerty.com, Thomson Reuters, TheMenEvent.com, Times Square Squared, and Yelp. Major supporters include The ASCAP Foundation, The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, BMI Foundation, Inc., The BWF Foundation, Con Edison, The Nathan Cummings Foundation with the support and encouragement of Jamie Mayer Phinney, The New Musical Development Foundation, The Jerome Robbins Foundation, The Rodgers & Hammerstein Foundation, The Shubert Foundation, and The Theater League. NYMF is supported, in part, by funds from the New York City Theater Subdistrict Council, LDC, by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, and by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, in partnership with the City Council and from the New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency.
For more information, please visit: www.nymf.org
