NYMT-2019

[Lonecatwithkitten]

Just booked DD(14)'s audition, her first year. Very nervous for her and there are three months to go.

She has done well as the big fish in a small pond and had really good NODA reports, comments on Lamda exams and in local competitions. Now it is time for her to put herself out there in the big wide world.
We know the odds are against her and we talk about the experience being good.

Don't disappear @FANTINE2! It sounds as if your daughter is doing very well in MT and you must have much wisdom to offer! I think you're making 2 different points, and I agree with you on the latter. You're right - NYMT takes kids up to age 23, so for the shows with the oldest casts it is likely that many of the 18+ auditionees will be in full-time vocational training. And yes, recently many of the leads in arguably the most high profile shows have indeed been in pro training. That isn't to say there aren't opportunities for those who have opted to do something else at 18; I can think of leads from each of DS' shows who had chosen the university, academic subject route or who were still living at home and auditioning for drama school when cast. But since it's open to people up to age 23 and is rightly considered to be a wonderful experience it's hardly surprising those in vocational colleges apply and then get cast. Do they have an unfair advantage because they are in full-time training, or are they in vocational training because performing is where they excel and they just represent the very best talent available? Difficult to tell, but ultimately NYMT will cast the closest fit for the role. So I would agree the competition gets a lot fiercer from about 17 upwards, but it doesn't mean it's impossible to get in - far from it. Your original argument that NYMT tends to re-cast the same people and that there is some kind of impregnable 'in-crowd' just isn't fair - if people are cast repeatedly it's because they are too good not to cast, but actually if you take any individual's history you can see they probably also had their fallow years when they weren't chosen.
Anyway, I'm not trying to have an argument - not my style - but wouldn't want anyone with talent to be put off auditioning.

Just to add a POV from someone at the lower end of the age range just starting out on this path.... many of those older young adults now in pro training are there precisely because of passion and experience that was developed through performing with the likes of NYMT when they were younger. They all started somewhere. And generally, opportunities are hard won. You don't just get to walk into top vocational training schools... I get that it must be really frustrating to see your very talented and able child losing out to these people (and believe me, I can't imagine I will find it very easy when it's us!!!) but it's a tough, tough industry and NYMT is a national level, prestigious organisation which is bound to attract the top talent....

Resilience is key though, and it sounds like you've both got plenty of that @FANTINE2 - glad to hear she's doing well.

I thought I would come back and add my thoughts to the NYMT, BYMT and professional training discussion. This time last year DD did an NYMT audition vocally I would say she was in the right place, acting and dancing she was not there. Unsurprisingly now she did not get a place.
She attended an audition prep course Feb half term, attended a BYMT audition End of Feb and totally up her game. When I left her at NYMT she was doing a shy nervous thing. When they called them at BYMT she slapped on a smile and strode out with confidence -faking it till she made it.
BYMT was a big coming of age for her, she has been a big fish in a small pond, but she was as good as everyone else and some of them have professional gigs.
She then had a professional training audition in December and again she pulled her self to another level.
I think the more exposure to auditions the more it helps you. The ones you don't get you go back and think what could I have done differently.
I think until you hit those national auditions you have no idea of the level you need to be -yes some shine first time. But the majority don't as they don't have the experience to fake the confidence at the start.

@Lonecatwithkitten, interesting thoughts. Agree that confidence is everything - maybe that's why some kids get recast for a few years running? Venue, creatives, even some other auditionees, are familiar and that must help.
Can I ask please which audition prep course your DD did? I tale it you would recommend? DS not at that point yet but always keen to hear people's experiences.

@Biscuitsneeded DD did the audition prep course at Read College in Reading. It does an acting or MT prep course she found it very useful. In particular pinpointing her weak areas. They take students from 14 on that course.

Thanks @Lonecatwithkitten. Good to know!

I'm late to this thread, but I'm kind of surprised that no one above seems to have mentioned the ex-NYMT boy who was only considered good enough for ensemble parts, who is now playing Evan Hansen three days a week on the West End.....I agree there is a bit of odd political stuff in the casting at NYMT.

Well I don't want to say too much about individual cases but that boy was in a show with DS and his part was more than ensemble. Named character, plenty of lines, solo verses in various numbers. He's phenomenal and there was never any suggestion NYMT thought he wasn't. He then came back and played a small part in Parade last summer. He would have known already that he had the DEH gig by then so I think it's very telling that he didn't pull out of NYMT. He must have felt it still had something to offer him and that he wasn't being slighted in any way. He was excellent in his small role but so were the rest of the cast. That is the standard, and that is why it's so difficult to get in, and particularly with the older casts any one of the people they pick is good enough to end up working in the West End. He is a natural Evan; he might not have been right for the larger NYMT parts that year. @janinlondon I've seen your daughter on stage and I am absolutely sure she has what it takes to perform professionally too.

We haven't yet auditioned for NYMT and I doubt we will get in but I haven't yet come across a person who wasn't happy with it once they have got in. I don't think it's fair to make suggestions about them just because good children haven't got in. It's simple supply and demand and there will always be people moaning they haven't got in. I personally think for children that age there are a lot more opportunities for 'just a hobby' type roles in local theatres etc than there are for very serious children so im happy something does exist for them. If it was easy to get in it may not serve as such a push for a lot of extremely talented and passionate kids.

Absolutely right Dodge.

Hi Dodgeritornot, with regards to going with a prepared song to BYMT, I do think the choices they give you are enough to show them what you can do. The songs are never my DS’s favourite to be fair but I do think they choose the list so they show a good range. For the Arts Ed Sixth form audition they also give you a list to choose from rather than your own choice. I haven’t seen this years BYMT choice so don’t know what’s on it but there’s usually enough to find something they like. And interestingly at his NYMT audition some children were asked to do a range test after their songs so their own choices obviously didn’t show enough range. It is undoubtedly easier to get into BYMT, they simply take twice as many children and they are looking at ‘are they good enough’ rather than ‘are they good enough’ AND ‘do they fit the part’. BYMT can be an excellent training ground for children who want to do MT and at the other end NYMT provides vocational children an opportunity to polish their professional skills. That’s not to say amazing non-vocational kids don’t get into NYMT and amazing vocational kids don’t do BYMT! I’ve come across stories to know they have both provided amazing opportunities and experiences for a wide range of children!

That's great to hear. We are down for both this year and DD is 11 so will be in the youngest group. That's interesting regarding the song at BYMT, they've told us to not prepare anything as they have a group singing lesson where they learn a song and than perform it one by one. It must've changed than or I'm misunderstanding it.
I'm getting much better vibes with NYMT tbh as it seems much cosier and my correspondence with them has been much nicer. But that's just my gut feeling and it may be completely false.

Oh! Your right! Hmmmmm I don’t know why they’ve done that, seems a bit of a shame! DS isn’t auditioning for BYMT this year so hadn’t noticed they’d changed it. I would say communication is not their strong point...