Mercury Musical Developments (MMD) and Musical Theatre Network (MTN) are delighted to announce the next Cameron Mackintosh Resident Writer placement will be hosted by British Youth Music Theatre (BYMT), funded by the Mackintosh Foundation.
Through this scheme, professional musical theatre writers are paired with a company and given the opportunity to be involved in a range of work which could include writing/composing assignments on the host company’s projects, shadowing development/rehearsal processes, and working on development of their own musical theatre material. Recent hosts have included the Royal Shakespeare Company; National Theatre of Scotland; MAST Mayflower; Theatr Clwyd; Octagon Theatre; Hope Mill Theatre and The Lowry.
This placement is for a musical theatre writing team of two. The opportunity will provide paid writing time and support for the team to develop a new musical over the course of the placement. This will commence from March 2025 and comprise six months of full-time work, to take place over a period of six to nine months. Alongside this, the composer of the team will collaborate with the wider BYMT team on their 2025 season of new musicals as a music coordinator, while the bookwriter will be involved in each show in a dramaturgical capacity. Following on from the placement, the team will have a guaranteed production or developmental workshop week in 2026 with a cast of approximately 36 young people.
The successful recipients will receive an all-inclusive grant of £13,000 per individual writer, thanks to the generous support of the Mackintosh Foundation. BYMT’s offices are in Leeds and London and so the resident team may base themselves at either of these locations. With 2025 projects taking place across the UK, there may be some travel involved, for which additional expenses would be covered.
MMD, MTN and BYMT are committed to diversifying voices in new musical theatre writing and broadening the art form, and writers from a background which is under-represented in musical theatre writing are encouraged to consider applying.
If you are interested in applying and for more information, please visit the Mercury Musical Developments website. The application deadline is Wednesday 29th January.
Emily Gray, Executive Director of BYMT said: “We are delighted to be partnering with MMD & MTN to host a resident writing team through 2025. BYMT exists to collaborate with writers passionate about creating large scale musicals alongside young people who constantly question the storytelling and champion the relevance of new music theatre. This is a wonderful opportunity for BYMT to work closely with two artists over two seasons and for the writers to gain insight into the workings of our company, with support and development for their work and a guaranteed platform for their voices.”
James Hadley, Executive Director of Musical Theatre Network (on behalf of co-ordinators MMD & MTN) said: “This Cameron Mackintosh MT Writing Team placement is a fantastic opportunity for a pair of musical theatre co-writers to have a focused period of collaboration, while in residence with BYMT – the UK’s most prolific commissioner of new musicals. As with past placements, being in residence with a producing theatre or company offers a step-change professional development opportunity, through day-to-day insights into the realities of new musicals being produced, access to a network of industry contacts, and a range of experiences working directly with BYMT’s participants and other professional creatives staging new musicals.”
Application Link: https://www.mercurymusicals.com/opportunities/cameron-mackintosh-resident-writers/
Application Timeline:
Monday 6th January: Applications open
Wednesday 29th January: Closing date for applications
Wednesday 26th February: Interviews
March: Placement begins
