Pitch Your Show

We travel across the UK for the BEAM pitching days to meet hundreds of artists with ideas for a new musical. No other showcase travels as far to find the new musicals of tomorrow. Each artist or team has ten minutes to share their idea with an industry panel and from these pitches we will select around 30 musicals to showcase at BEAM2023.  

We partner with theatres and arts organisations around the country to host the pitching days and join the BEAM team on the panels. This year we are pleased to be able to offer feedback at later date to everyone who pitches. 

If you are working on a new musical or have an idea for one, we want to hear from you.

BEAM2023 PITHING DAYS HAVE NOW CONCLUDED

BEAM2023 PITCHING VENUES

HOW TO APPLY

There are 3 steps to being selected to present your work at BEAM2023:

STEP 1 – Come up with a brilliant idea for a new musical

You don’t have to have started developing it yet, though we’ll expect you to have a good idea of your artistic vision / the story you want to tell. Even better if you’ve written a song or two for it. Fully (or half) written musicals are welcome to be pitched too (as long as it hasn’t already received a full professional production), and song must be an integral part of your show idea for us to consider it a musical. We are looking for a wide range of work to be included in BEAM, representative of the broadest diversity of people living in the UK today – diverse not just in terms of whose stories are being told, but also in terms of the styles of music and art forms used to tell those stories. If you believe you’re part of the future of British musical theatre, we want to believe that too – inspire us to believe in your vision, and we’ll do our best to help you meet the right people to make it a reality! 

STEP 2 – Check you’re eligible 

You need to be over 18 and have a professional track record of past creative work, with at least one professional performing arts credit (in any discipline). If you are under 25, you do not need a professional credit but should be able to demonstrate commitment to the performing arts through university/college productions, youth theatre, music groups, etc. You don’t need to have ever written or worked on a musical before. At least half the writing team of the musical must be resident in the UK. Producers, directors and creatives from non-theatre disciplines are welcome to pitch, but if you’re not going to be one of the writing team, we’d expect at least one of the writers to be named in the pitch. The musical you pitch can have been commissioned or workshopped already, but it can’t have received a fully professional production already (past student or non-professional stagings are fine). You also need to be available to come to BEAM2023 at Oxford Playhouse in late May 2023 (artists selected for BEAM will be paid a fee, with travel bursaries available).  

If you are not sure if you or your show are eligible, you can ask us by emailing info@beamshowcase.com.

STEP 3 – Apply for a pitching day

Click on the venues above to apply for a slot at one of our pitching days. You should choose your preferred time and fill out the short form which includes listing some relevant past experience and sharing how being selected to present at BEAM will benefit your career.  

Once you’ve applied, we’ll be in touch within a few days, and if you are eligible we will confirm your pitching time and venue.  

“BEAM 2018 gave our new musical adaptation of William Nicholson’s ‘The Wind Singer’ a shop window in the musical theatre marketplace, at a very early stage, and before we knew it there were producers and publishers interested. The Royal Shakespeare Company have given us research and development time and the Hosking Houses Trust gave us somewhere to stay in Stratford – that’s the kind of incentive every writer needs. We are also now working with director Lotte Wakeham and will be doing a closed workshop for the RSC. Thank you BEAM!”
Teresa Howard & Sarah Llewellyn, lyricist/librettist & composer

‘How to Pitch’ Masterclasses 

We are holding two free masterclasses to give further guidance on pitching for BEAM. At each of these you will hear from previous industry panellists as well as artists who have previously pitched themselves, and you will have the chance to ask questions about your own pitch/piece of work.  

The first of these was held online on Monday 8^th August and the second will be held in person at Theatre at the Tabard on Thursday the 1st September at 7pm. You can sign up for free via EVENTBRITE. The online pitching masterclass will be available to view online after both events take place. 

Who will be on the industry panel? 

The panel will include representatives from MTN and MMD and at least two other relevant industry professionals, usually including an artistic director/producer/programmer from the host venue. The panel may also include other artists from the region. We will let you know beforehand who we expect to be on the panel of your pitching day, though this is subject to last minute changes. 

What content should I prepare for the pitching day? 

You will have ten minutes to present your idea to the panel, and you can use this time as you like, with the aim of communicating the artistic vision of your new musical, and giving a sense of its content and practicalities such as the expected cast/band size. You can tell us about your ideas for a musical yet to be written, or share excerpts from a part- or fully-written show. The work can be pitched in any way that you feel best represents it. Your presentation might be an informal chat with the panel about your ideas, or it might include a live or recorded performance of content from your musical. We strongly encourage including at least one song or scene within your pitch to give the panel a sense of the quality and style of content.  

What resources will be in the room? 

There will be a keyboard, wifi, plug socket and speaker system available – exact details for your pitching venue will be given nearer the time. Any other resources/instruments you will need to bring with you, and any set-up will need to happen within your ten minutes (so it’s a good idea to tell us about your show while someone else gets things ready).  

Do I need to bring performers with me? 

This is up to you. If you want to bring performers/musicians to present your work then you are very welcome to do so – we know that not everyone enjoys being centre stage – but you will need to find those performers yourself and meet any associated costs. Any performance will still also need to fit within that ten minute slot. The panel who will be assessing your work will be made up of experienced theatre practitioners, accustomed to looking at work in early stages of development and spotting potential, so please don’t worry about the standard of the performance or think that performing the work yourself will harm your chances. 

What will happen if my work is selected? 

After each pitching day the panel will decide which pieces to put forward to the next stage. Once all the pitching days have been completed, MTN and MMD will consider all the work selected and then make the final decisions as to which of these pieces of work will be included within the showcase. These decisions will include consideration of achieving a diversity and balance of work by both emerging and established artists. 

If your piece is selected, you will then have conversations with MTN and MMD as to how that work will be shown, and what best to present within the BEAM showcase. You may be offered a 10 minute pitching slot or a 20 minute book-in-hand staged showcase presentation, or something else in between. These discussions will take into account what format will best serve the work, its stage of development and the artists involved. 

Please see our FAQs for more information on pitching days and BEAM.

BEAM 2023 Timeline 

(All dates subject to change)  

8 August 2022 (evening): Online Pitching Masterclass 
Early September 2022 (evening): In Person Pitching Masterclass – held in London, venue TBC 
September-November 2022: Pitching days across the UK 
December-January 2023: BEAM Participants selected and notified 
May 2023: BEAM2023 at Oxford Playhouse