Musical Theatre Network (MTN) and Mercury Musical Developments (MMD) have announced the dates and venues for the 19 Pitch Days for musical theatre showcase BEAM2023.
The search for up to 40 new musicals to feature in next year’s high-profile industry event will this year involve partnerships with 12 towns and cities across the UK.
Launching in Exeter (Exeter Northcott Theatre at the Barnfield) on 22 September, and ending in Edinburgh on 28 November, the search for the most promising new musicals in development, will visit a number of venues in London as well as Corby, Bolton, Southampton, Salford, Cardiff, Leeds, Harlow, Birmingham and Gateshead.
At each Pitch Day individual creatives or teams will have 10 minutes to share their idea with an industry. MTN and MMD expect to hear pitches for over 300 new musicals. To book a pitching slot visit www.beamshowcase.com/pitching-days.
Announcing the Pitch Days, MMD’s Natalia Scorer said: “We are really looking forward to meeting artists up and down the country this autumn and hearing about the shows they are creating. Musical theatre can encompass so many different types of stories, disciplines and music styles and we hope to find the most exciting new work to present to the wider industry at BEAM2023.”
MTN’s James Hadley added: “We’re living in a different world compared to the last time we travelled the UK experiencing pitches, in 2019, and it feels like audiences have an increased appetite for new musicals responding to that world, giving us opportunities to question and try to make sense of it together. We look forward to the BEAM process helping some of those musicals on their journeys to provoke, console, entertain, surprise, refresh and transform future audiences.”
BEAM is a key part of Mercury Musical Developments and Musical Theatre Network’s mission to support the development of new musical theatre. It is a two-day showcase event, preceded by a series of pitching days through which new work and artists are identified.
BEAM is designed to encourage and develop musical theatre across the UK, discovering and supporting diverse approaches to the art form, connecting practitioners and finding champions for original work.
Previous BEAMs were held in 2016, 2018 and 2021. To date, over 60% of the musicals showcased have gone on to be fully staged or received further development support as a result of BEAM. BEAM2023 will take place at The Lowry in Salford in May 2023.
BEAM is co-produced by Musical Theatre Network and Mercury Musical Developments, with funding support from Arts Council England and PRS Foundation.
Angela Thomas
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