“New Musicals Australia” is the latest initiative of an Australia working to promote new productions of original Australian musical theater.
Providing creators of new musicals with professional workshop opportunities New Musicals Australia will help their work to be developed and presented. This models the US and UK, allowing writers and composers to have their scripts and songs workshopped and presented to industry peers, industry leaders and audiences.
Kris Stewart, the founding director of the New York Musical Theatre Festival, the world’s largest annual musical theatre event, said “The future of Australian musical theatre is something that is of critical importance to me, and many working in the theatre industry.”
He also presented more than 130 musicals and developed shows like Altar Boyz and the 2010 Pulitzer Prize winning Next to Normal.
“I think it’s clear that there have been a number of structural gaps and issues in the sector of new music theatre development in Australia, and this is a chance to throw talent and resources at getting more musicals off the ground”, he added.
Stewart was one the Broadway producers and currently serves as Resident Director of the musical Wicked in Australia, as well as festival director for the inaugural Sydney Fringe.
New Musicals Australia will accept submissions year-round with its deadline in August 31. The submissions are read by an evaluation team that consists of NMA’s director, its artistic advisors and members of the Australia Council’s Music Board.
The three key workshop initiatives by New Musicals Australia are the Musical Snapshot, which presents a 20 to 40 minute extract of the musical in concert, alongside other new works, allowing the creative team to receive professional feedback and gauge a general audience response. The Developmental Reading sees a new work rehearsed and performed in concert, and the Workshop Presentation allows a musical to be rehearsed and performed book-down with staging and some production elements. New Musicals Australia also supports a variety of other initiatives targeted at developing new works, establishing networks and providing support for independent writers.
New Musicals Australia is a project of Century Venues with the assistance of the Australian Government though the Australia Council, its arts founding and advisory body.
