You will be booked in to a fifteen-minute slot at a venue. You should prepare a pitch of maximum ten minutes in length to tell us about your musical. This will be timed and you will be stopped if you exceed ten minutes.
Two weeks before your pitch you will receive an email with information about who will be on the panel at your pitching day and where to go on arrival at the venue. If you have any access requirements please detail this in the form when you sign up and we will do our best to accommodate.
You can pitch on your own, with your creative team, or bring along some performers – it is entirely up to you. The work can be pitched in any way that you feel best represents it.
Your ten-minute pitch should ideally include the following:
- Introducing yourself and any members of your team
- An overview of the main themes and story arc of the show, including how the story ends
- Some music from the show (at least one song). It is highly advantageous if this can be sung live. You may use a backing track or live accompaniment (see below for equipment).
- What stage of development you are at (e.g. how much is written, has it had any readings/performances yet)
- Intended cast and band size
Questions to consider and potentially address in your pitch:
- Why is this show important to you? Why do you want to tell this story?
- Who will your audience be?
- Why do you think audiences will be interested in this show?
- What scale of professional production would work best for this show? (e.g. large-scale West End show/studio scale chamber piece, etc.)
- Why is the BEAM Showcase the right opportunity for this show?
Equipment in the room:
- For backing tracks: a speaker or PA system to plug in a device. A 3.5mm aux cable will be provided, please bring an adapter if you need to plug in an iPhone, etc. You are welcome to bring your own speaker for ease.
- A piano/keyboard including music stand and sustain pedal.
- Approximately 5 chairs
- At some venues, music stands will be available – this will be detailed in your information email sent two weeks before your pitch.
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).
What happens after the pitching day?
Within three weeks of your pitch you will receive written development feedback by email, based on comments from the panellists at your pitching day. This feedback is entirely separate to the BEAM selection process and is not an indication of whether you will be selected for the showcase or not. It is intended to be useful for the further development of your show regardless of showcase selection. If you would like to opt out of this written feedback please notify us before or shortly after your pitch.
In December we will be in touch with everyone letting you know whether you have been shortlisted for the showcase or not. From the shortlist the showcase programme will be selected and notified by mid-January.
Please see the FAQs below for more pitching info.
Pitching FAQs
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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.
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How accessible will the venue be?
All the pitching venues and the BEAM showcase venue are public buildings and therefore every effort has been made to ensure they are wheelchair accessible. There is step-free access at all pitching day venues apart from Upstairs at the Gatehouse, which is not suitable for wheelchair-users. If you have any particular access requirements for making your pitch, please inform us in the relevant section of the application form, and we will do our best to provide whatever access support is required.
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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.
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Do I need to be a member of MMD or MTN to apply?
No. Applying to pitch for BEAM is open to any eligible writers and creatives. We hope any who are not already MMD/MTN members will consider becoming part of our networks, and a discount will be offered to BEAM pitching applicants who join. You can find out more about joining MMD (for writers) here and MTN (for producers, directors and other creatives) here.
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Do I have to pay to apply to the showcase?
No. There is no charge to apply for a pitching slot; you will however have to cover your expenses in getting to the pitching venue.
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Are you looking for any particular type of work?
No. We are keen to see as wide a range of work as we can. Our definition of musical theatre is very broad, and all we ask is that the piece is intended for a live audience and that song plays an integral part in the storytelling.
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Are you still interested in me if I’ve written lots of musicals already?
Yes. We want BEAM to provide opportunities to those at the start of their careers, those with a well-established track record, and everything in between.
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Can I apply with more than one piece of work?
No. We want to create opportunities for as many artists as possible so we will be operating a strict one pitching slot/one artist or company rule. The only exception is if you are part of two different writing teams; in that instance we would consider each team as a separate entity.
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Can I book into more than one pitching day?
No, you should apply for one venue and time only.
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Can I pitch an adaptation prior to gaining copyright permission?
No. Please ensure you have secured the rights to use any pre-existing material you may be using before pitching for BEAM.
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Do I need to be based locally to my pitching venue?
No, you are welcome to pitch at whichever venue you prefer, regardless of whether you live. You might consider some venues are likely to be more popular than others and it might suit you to pitch on a ‘quieter’ day or at a venue appropriate to your project. For example, one London-based team chose to pitch their rock musical about the Brontë siblings at Leeds Playhouse and this led to a post-BEAM showcase at that venue. Where possible, an artistic director/producer/programmer at the venue will sit on the panel, so this is a good opportunity to get on the radar of a venue that may not already know your work.
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How much time will I need to be at the pitching venue?
Maximum one hour. You will be asked to arrive no less than 20 minutes in advance of your pitching slot, in case the pitch ahead of yours doesn’t arrive. We will try our very best to keep to schedule, but occasionally there may be up to a 20 minute delay in seeing you from your invited time, so we would suggest expecting to be at the venue for up to 20 minutes before and after your allocated pitching slot.
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Will there be rehearsal room space available at the pitching day venue?
We don’t anticipate there will be a separate rehearsal or ‘warm-up’ space at the pitching venues (if there is, this will be stated in your info email two weeks before your pitching day). You should aim to arrive ready to pitch.
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How long will my pitching session be?
Pitches are scheduled every 15 minutes and each will be given a maximum of 10 minutes to pitch their work. Please be aware that we will be operating very strict timekeeping on the day, to make sure we can see as many artists as possible. You will not be allowed to overrun, so if you are still performing once your ten minutes are up we will ask you to stop. There will be a minute or so grace either side of your actual pitching time to allow you to get into and out of the room and for a couple of questions from the panel. We recommend that you practice your pitch to make sure it fits comfortably within that 10 minutes; it is probably worth practicing something that lasts no more than eight minutes as things can very easily overrun on the day.
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Can I pitch via the internet or send a digital pitch in?
We want to meet you in person and hear about your show/idea ‘live’ and at first hand. There are a number of pitching days around the UK so we hope one will be right for you. In exceptional circumstances, we may consider accepting an e-pitch but you would need to explain the reasons and it would need to be agreed on an individual basis.
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If I pitched for/presented at a previous BEAM, can I pitch again?
You are welcome to pitch a new project for BEAM but not the one you pitched for previous BEAMs, unless the piece has been substantially revised or expanded. Please let us know if you think you fall into this category and we will agree this on an individual basis.
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Can I watch other pitches?
No. Each pitch is private and only the members of each pitching team and the industry panel will be in the room.
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Can I bring scripts or demos/CDs to give to the panel?
No. The panel want to hear you pitch your idea in the 10 minutes available to each writer/team. They do not have the capacity to read or transport additional materials from all pitches, so out of fairness to all, decisions will be made based on what is shared during the ten minute pitch rather than on wider material. In rare cases, we may ask for additional materials/information afterwards if required.
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Will I get feedback on my pitch?
Thanks to the support of the PRS Foundation, we will be offering written feedback from the panel to everyone who pitches. We hope this will be useful and will ensure that pitching for BEAM is a valuable experience for everyone, whether or not your piece is selected for the showcase. Written feedback will be provided to everyone, unless you opt out.
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When will I find out if I’ve got a place at the showcase?
We don’t make any decisions about the work we are selecting for the showcase until we have completed all of the pitching days. We will then make decisions and notify all artists as soon as possible, most likely by early January 2023. Please don’t assume that just because you haven’t heard whilst others have, that you don’t have a place.
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What will happen if my work is selected?
If your piece is selected, you be offered a presentation slot at the showcase, likely to be between 10 and 25 minutes long, and a financial contribution. If you accept your slot you will need to organise your presentation (e.g. find performers/musicians) yourself, with the guidance of our BEAM mentor team who will be on hand to help you prepare. The length of presentation slot offered will take into account what format will best serve the work, its stage of development and the artists involved.
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If I’m successful in securing a place at the showcase will you be able to provide any funding to support me?
We will provide a financial contribution towards the costs of presenting at BEAM. The amount of support we can offer you will be made clear when we offer you an opportunity to present at BEAM, so you can decide to accept the offer with knowledge of the financial costs.
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Who can buy tickets to the BEAM Showcase?
BEAM is an industry event and we will invite artistic directors, producers, programmers, funders, higher education colleges, publishers, and anyone else with resources to help develop/stage your show to buy tickets to the event in order to see a diverse presentation of new musical theatre work at all stages of development, from right across the UK in one place. Writers and other creatives are also welcome to attend to connect with the new musical theatre community and see a wide range of work.
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I have more questions!
Please email us at info@beamshowcase.com. You can also watch our online panel event where we answer lots of questions and give tips and advice for pitching.