MMD & MTN

🎤Open Mic Night 🎤 MMD is hosting another of its' renowned Open Mic nights, which allows our members to share their work in a safe, relaxed and friendly environment. We encourage any MMD member to take to the stage and perform their pieces throughout the evening. Equally, members are free to bring a friend to perform the piece if preferred. Members have use of a piano, mics and please note, backing tracks can also be brought along to act as accompaniment. To perform, please inform us that you are interested when registering for your ticket below. Places will go on a first come, first served basis. However, if you have presented material at the previous MMD Open Mic night in March, others will be prioritised on this occasion. Our host for the evening is Emma Wolfin Golding (she/her)(@let_the_wolfin ) Emma is a composer, lyricist and bookwriter with a background as a performer, singer-songwriter and pianist. She is currently in the Advanced Group of BOOK Music & Lyrics and has been a member of Mercury Musical Developments since 2019. Doors Open 6:30pm, 7pm start. 🎟#linkinbio

Musical Bites - Submissions Open! The Other Palace and Mercury Musical Developments present Musical Bites, a lunchtime series of readings that provide new musical theatre writers an opportunity to share a 45-min excerpt of their work in progress in front of supportive audiences. Eligibility Criteria: - New British musical with a completed draft or final script, that can be condensed to a meaningful sharing of no more than 45 min - At least half the writing team of the musical must be resident in the UK. - The musical can have been commissioned or workshopped already, but it can’t have received a professional production. - The piece must be able to be performed by max 4 actors, including musical director/pianist, due to space restrictions. There is no fee to partake in this rehearsed reading. The writer will be compensated with the event ticket income, with the expectation that they will share fairly amongst all participating. #applynow #newmusicals #musicalbites #autumnopportunities #newbritishmusicals

Getting to know you - connection, collaboration and skills sharing event 🎭 Are you looking for a collaborator for a project? Do you have a skill you could share and something you’d like to learn in return? Do you just want to find out what everyone else is working on? Join our online connections session! Each participant will have 1-2 minutes to tell us about yourself, your project or what you’re looking for. Participants may then connect with each other in the Zoom chat and MMD staff will help facilitate contacts. This is an MMD event but MTN members are very welcome to join. June 13, 7pm-8:30pm online. #linkinbio 📸@lexiclarephotos #newmusicals #collaboration #findyourvoice #skillsharing

We continue this popular series of producers sharing their insights with this discussion of the realities for getting new musicals produced from a self-producing creatives perspective. Many writers and other creatives are now having to self-produce their work in the first instance. We know how difficult it is to get a producer on board at the beginning, so increasingly we are seeing writers stepping up and producing their work themselves. This panel will be discussing the trials and tribulations of putting on your own show. Often this role is very demanding - juggling everything from orchestrations to budgeting, to casting to relationship building with venues and investors. It can also be incredibly rewarding - seeing your show being watched by a large audience is a thrilling experience, especially if you have done it all yourself! This is an opportunity to hear from individuals who have been through this experience. They have taken the risk and worked incredibly hard to get their show to full production. Join us next Thursday (20th) June at 7pm online to hear from panellists Amy Clare Tasker (The Queen Is Mad), Kaz Maloney (Longitude), P Burton Morgan (Metta Theatre) and Rosie Dart (We’ll Have Nun Of It). More panellists to be announced. This panel is free to all MTN members and £5 for general admission. Register via the MTN website in order to receive the online link. *speakers subject to change #newmusicals #producingnewmusicals #selfproducing #creatingyourownshow

Stiles + Drewe Best New Song Prize 🎤 The application deadline for submitting your material for this years @stilesanddreweofficial Best New Song Prize is approaching. Submit your song(s) before 10am Monday 17th June via the #linkinbio ! #songcompetition #musicaltheatre #newmusicals #submitnow

🏡 Mercury Writers Barn 2024 🏡 Another incredible week at the Barn was had! The Barn was full of reflection, learning and forming relationships and we are so thankful to the Jane Goodman Charitable Trust, @findyourlightretreat for facilitating the week and other donors who supported this initiative. Feeling very warm and fuzzy! #girlpower #writersretreat #musicaltheatrewriters #femalewriters #ukmusicaltheatre

Day 1️⃣ The Mercury Writers Barn 2025 has officially kicked off! Our all female-identifying writers have arrived at #TheQuadrangle in Kent for a week to remember. We are so thankful to the Jane Goodman Foundation who has supported this initiative. Let the week commence! #writersretreat #musicaltheatre #musicaltheatrewriters #femaleidentifyingwriters #supportfemalewriters

🟠Producers Panel 🟠 We continue this popular series of panels of producers sharing their insights with this discussion of the realities for getting new musicals produced from a venue perspective. Many theatre venues, particularly those receiving public funding, have an in-house producer working on their shows. Often these roles must juggle a range of wider considerations such as audience development, diversifying talent, the balance of the wider programme, local relevance, financial risk, and funders’ priorities – alongside how much appetite there is to present new musicals within the venue’s programme. This is an opportunity to explore how venue-based producers’ roles differ to other producing dynamics, hear insights on the decision-making process for a venue selecting a new musical to produce, and consider how the musical’s reception can affect the wider organisation. Our panel includes producers Dilek Latif (Mercury Theatre), Lisa Cagnacci (Kiln Theatre), Wesley Bennett-Pearce (Theatr Clwyd) and Jamie Smith (MAST Mayflower). Speakers subject to change. All other info is #linkinbio . Event is free to MTN members and £5 for general admission! #producerspanel #musicaltheatre #producingmusicals #theatre #musicaltheatre #producers

Musical Theatre Network (MTN) and Mercury Musical Developments (MMD) are delighted to announce the recipients of next Cameron Mackintosh Resident Musical Theatre Writer placements at the National Theatre of Scotland (@ntsonline ) and MAST Mayflower Studios (@mastmayflowerstudios ). Writing team Rebecca Brewer (@hellorebeccabrewer )and Daisy Chute (@daisychuteofficial ) will be placed at MAST Mayflower Studios in Southampton, starting this summer. Their musical COVEN is currently in development. Among the projects they will contribute to at MAST is a new Jane Austen-inspired piece for a young company. Gus Gowland (@gustopherjones ) will be the Resident Composer at the National Theatre of Scotland, based in Glasgow, from the autumn. Last year Gus’s musical Mayflies received its premiere at York Theatre Royal. Gus will be contributing to a range of new projects at NTS while developing a new show of his own. Mercury Musical Developments and Musical Theatre Network run the Cameron Mackintosh Resident Composer scheme, which is made possible by funding from The Mackintosh Foundation. Through the scheme, musical theatre composers are paired with a producing organisation for six months and given the opportunity to develop their own new work, shadow other composers, compose for new productions and gain inside knowledge into the workings of a producing theatre. The theatre benefits from embedding the art form into its activities, close collaboration with a composer and additional expertise in its team. The scheme, which began in 2011, has now awarded 19 paid placements and is a key career development opportunity for composers and writers of musical theatre. Recent placement hosts have included the Royal Shakespeare Company, Theatr Clywd, Dundee Rep, British Youth Music Theatre, The Lowry and Octagon Theatre, Bolton. Read all about it via #linkinbio . #newmusicals #theatrewriters #musicaltheatrewriters #mackintoshfoundation #newmusicaltheatre #supportingnewmusicals #supportingwriters

WORK WITH US Mercury Musical Developments are looking for someone passionate about new musical theatre to join the MMD team as Creative Community Coordinator. This is an exciting time of expansion for the company as we create a new base at Birmingham Hippodrome and this is a part-time Birmingham-based role. If you’re a people person who thrives on community-building and problem-solving and wants to make a difference to the development of musical theatre, we want to hear from you! For all other information, see #linkinbio #newopportunities #birminghambased #newmusicals #musicaltheatrewriters #jobvacancy #hiring

HIRING: MEMBERSHIP MANAGER Musical Theatre Network’s current vacancy is a part-time role, initially for one day (seven hours) per week on a fixed term twelve-month contract. The role offers a high degree of flexibility, including that the hours could be spread across multiple days, and the role is expected to be worked primarily remotely/from home – although we intend to recruit in the Birmingham/West Midlands area, with attendance at meetings and events in Birmingham expected as needed. MTN is committed to diversifying the musical theatre sector, and would welcome applications from individuals from Global Majority heritages or backgrounds under-represented in the industry. A gross salary of £6,400 is offered in relation to one day’s work per week – pro rata to £32,000 gross full time equivalent. Apply now #linkinbio #hiring #jobvacency #newmusicals #membershipmanager #musicaltheatre

Salford day out! Join MTN/MMD members and staff to watch the much anticipated new musical 42 Balloons by MMD member Jack Godfrey and Ellie Coote. Taking place at MTN member The Lowry in Salford, join us and local artists for networking from 1:30pm onwards. After the 3pm matinee performance there will be a Q&A with 42 Balloons creatives such as Perfect Pitch, Jack Godfrey and The Lowry. Gain free entry with a ticket to the show. MMD and MTN will be travelling from London to the Lowry on the morning train to Manchester. If you will also be travelling from London, you're welcome to travel with us. We will be taking the 10:13am from London Euston and 19:30pm from Manchester. Register for a ticket to receive a code to purchase a ticket for only £20! These tickets are limited and are first come, first served so book NOW!#linkinbio 42 Balloons has been in development since 2020 with Perfect Pitch – an entity dedicated exclusively to creating, developing and promoting new contemporary British musicals. The song 42 Balloons and a Lawnchair was released in 2021 on Perfect Pitch’s Rise:Up YouTube channel and in November 2022, the producers presented four semi-staged concert performances, which received hugely positive feedback from public and theatre commentators alike. 42 Balloons has book, music and lyrics by Jack Godfrey whose other works include This is a Love Story (Dundee Rep) and Babies (YMT:UK). 42 Balloons is produced by Andy & Wendy Barnes for Global Musicals & Kevin McCollum in association with The Lowry, Debbie Hicks, Sam Levy, S&Co and Kenny Wax. #newmusicals #newukmusicals #regionalsupport #showwatch #showtime #networking #theatrecreatives #members