What will happen at the BEAM pitching days?
You will have a ten minute slot to pitch to a panel. The panel will include representatives from MMD and MTN and the Artistic or Associate Director from the venue as a minimum. The panel may also include other artists from the region.
WHAT WORK CAN I PRESENT AT THE PITCHING DAY?
The material presented in that ten minute slot can be anything from the germ of an idea to excerpts from a fully-written show, and the work can be pitched in any way that you feel best represents it: live readings, recordings, video, or even just a general chat about the idea. There will only be a couple of minutes available for your set up before that ten minutes starts so please keep things very simple. We will provide a piano/keyboard and basic technical equipment but exact details will be provided with confirmation of the place.
If you want to bring performers with you 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 session the panel will decide which pieces to put forward to the next stage. Once all the pitching sessions have been completed, MMD and MTN 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 focus on achieving the best possible balance of work shown by both new and established artists
If your piece is selected, you will then have conversations with MMD and MTN as to how that work will be shown. You may be offered a 10 minute scratch slot or a 30 minute book-in-hand/staged reading, or something else in between. These discussions will take into account what presentational format will best serve the work and the artists involved.