Guest Blog: 'There is Something for Everyone': New Associate Director Alex Sumner Hughes on the Future Vision for NYT

The NYMT is under new management. After the successful 10-year tenure of Jeremy Walker the new team, CEO Adrian Packer, Artistic Director Chris Cuming, and I, as Associate Artistic Director (Courses,) have huge plans for bringing Musical Theatre joy to the whole of the country and beyond.

Auditions are already announced, with venues ranging from Glasgow in the North, Cork in the West, Ipswich in the East, and Bristol in the Southwest. London has several days planned, some of which are already sold out, so get your places booked!

Our mission is to create Inclusion for all young people aged between 10 and 23, to work to Industry standards, and to always strive for Invention within the work that they produce. This year’s productions are an exciting mix of genres, with Into the Woods as a fully orchestrated Sondheim classic, new musical Catastrophe Bay performed by actor-musicians, and Our House, the pop music classic from Madness. There is truly something for everyone.

In addition to these fully mounted productions, there will be plenty of opportunity to take part in workshops to build your skills, or to be in at the start of a new musical’s journey.

NYMT is also looking to build partnerships with youth groups and local communities to further develop their inclusion strategy, so if you belong to a local drama group and want to share with them your enthusiasm for all things Musical Theatre then do get in touch.

If you are a Drama teacher and would like some ideas on producing your own show, then they can tailor-make a workshop to help with devising your production. NYMT works with professional people from some of the largest shows in the West End, and all this expertise can be brought to you and your students in the form of one-day workshops, masterclasses, and Q and A sessions.

In addition to the creatives who work on the main projects, many of NYMT’s past alumni have become patrons and are actively involved as artistic advisors to the organisation, including Matt Lucas, Mike Jibson, Amara Okereke, and many others.

Another vital and exciting venture for this new executive team is to build links with other professional organisations to create new and important work for their young company members to take part in. Their current project is in partnership with CORE Educational Trust and is a moving tribute to the children who came to Britain on the Kindertransport in 1938-9. Through the medium of song, dance, and verbatim text we will honour those children who fled from danger and made their homes here, often as the only survivors of their families.

If you are a future young company member, a Teacher, an Arts organisation, or a school partnership and you want to know more about NYMT, please visit our website.