NYMT/BYMT 2024!

[Biscuitsneeded]

Seeing as NYMT have announced their shows, it feels like a good time to start a thread for anyone with DC planning on auditioning for 2024 for either NYMT or BYMT - as performers or musicians, or as assistant creatives. Please come and say hi and tell us a bit about your DC. There are lots of experienced parents of DC who have been part of both organisations, and these threads are always genuinely supportive and helpful.
I'll invite some previous thread participants below - please come and say hi!

@wonderfullife123 fingers crossed you get things sorted earlier- we need a break don’t we!

To add to the stress flight home was delayed too and I arrived home at 6am and I was working that day lol . Needed a holiday after my holiday.

anyone know anything about catastrophe bay?

Welcome@chopc . To answer your question, BYMT and NYMT are broadly similar in that they both involve a residential and usually a show at the end. NYMT plan their season and then audition to find the performers and musicians. BYMT hold auditions without necessarily having all their plans in place, but in the end if you're accepted you'll get allocated to a show, but not necessarily cast for a specific role - that gets done by BYMT once the residential starts. BYMT tend to do more shows, so by definition can offer more places. They have a catalogue of their own shows so they don't need to pay performing rights. NYMT tend to do a mixture of known shows (eg Our House and Into the Woods) and new commissions, or shows that they have previously workshopped, such as Catastrophe Bay which they workshopped last summer. I'm not qualified to pass comment on the relative merits because DS has only ever done NYMT - there are parents on here whose DC have done both and could possibly add some thoughts. Both are very well regarded and kids almost always have a wonderful time.
One difference which a previous post has highlighted - NYMT do all their auditioning and recalls by late Feb and everything gets decided pretty quickly after recalls. So you would know by the beginning of March if DC were involved, and if so, which dates. BYMT do initial results in early March, but then put other people on a waiting list which can make life difficult for families wanting to organise their holidays! The upside of that is of course that some applicants then get good news further down the line.

BYMT haven't posted any show details or costs yet. I saw the NYMT costs somewhere on the website - comparable with last year, if not slightly cheaper - but I now can't find them!

It's a tricky one, she has her GCSE's and will be quite stressed at Easter! Also she says not sure her chances of the roles on offer at only 15...she might wait a few years. She was thinking of trying BYMT...but not a lover of on line auditions 😅

@Onedaymore123 I see the dilemma. As a secondary teacher I would observe that it is the fulfilled kids who have interests and hobbies who tend to do best at GCSE - even if their hobbies mean giving up some revision time. They seem to focus more on revision in the remaining time available, it seems. So one week at Easter with NYMT would still allow the other week for revision. But that's a matter for individual families to decide! 15 is a tricky age but hopefully all the shows will have some places for the mid teens - I would say especially our House which is all about 16 year olds (and their older selves). I think BYMT have plenty of in person auditions as well as online.

@Mcmumager Two friends of mine have DC who did the Catastrophe Bay workshop. They said they loved the music and it's going to be an interesting show (which is being further developed from what it was last summer to offer a greater range of roles/ages) and it should have places for some actor-musos too.

That's right @Biscuitsneeded BYMT have actually expanded their F2F audition locations this year so no need to audition online @Onedaymore123 .

@chopc my DDs did BYMT last year and loved it, got lots out of the experience. Neither have done NYMT so can't compare, but I would certainly recommend BYMT as an option based on their time there, and as far as I can understand BYMT do more shows. My DDs are planning to audition for both this year. The NYMT and BYMT seemed to have different audition processes in that NYMT asked for a prepared song whereas BYMT was all workshopped on the day. And no recall for BYMT as previously mentioned.

@wonderfullife123 Would you say the standard of the shows in terms of performance/production values etc were comparable? I'm not being disingenuous, because I have read some excellent reviews of BYMT shows but I have never seen one. My impression is that BYMT do lots of shows, and one or two of them will get the better venues and bigger budget sets and costumes, and then there will be several other projects that are still great to be involved in but not so much their 'flagship' shows. Is that a fair assessment?

@Biscuitsneeded i would say it’s fair. My ds did two fab shows with BYMT but there have been some more niche type shows that others might have enjoyed but maybe wouldn’t be his thing. That’s the beauty of BYMT as it caters to different types. Some of ds BYMT friends have never auditioned for NYMT as they love BYMT and I know there are others who only do NYMT. Bymt also have shows that go on to success eg Babies which has been workshops recently by some well known mt performers and is having a brief run in London was first done by BYMT in 2021.

Another difference to point out is with BYMT they go away and you typically don’t get them back till after the last show. All meals etc covered at all times. With NYMT there will be a weekend break between rehearsals and production week. There are benefits to both but how this works on the days off at NYMT will depend on things like where the rehearsals are ( normally south London) versus show venue versus where you live and the age of the child.

Another practical thing is with NYMT production week is b&b so you need to factor in expenses for this week too. The younger kids will be chaperoned for food etc. My ds was 17 at the time and had a bit of fomo after shows when the older ones went to the pub and he had to walk home with the chaperones 😂. He did manage to blag his way into the club for last show celebrations though lol.

@Onedaymore123 Re GCSEs my son did BYMT GCSEs tear including a few days away may in the middle of exam season. At first we debated whether he would do it at all due to this but it worked brilliantly for him. Blowing off some steam doing what he loved was better for him than constant studying but they are all different and that would be the worst thing for some children.

i have a dd same age as yours and at the moment she is planning to audition too. Tough for girls at that age but I think both BYMT and NYMT auditions are great days and all good experience regardless of the result.

@Biscuitsneeded it's quite a tricky one as I've only seen 1 BYMT show myself. I think the production value seemed broadly comparable to the NYMT shows I saw but have also heard similar through my DD that there is perhaps more variability between shows vs NYMT. I did notice that NYMT seemed to achieve a bigger audience which must be more motivating for the actors.

Thank you! Yes DD will be auditioning as a musician again for the 2024 NYMT season having had an amazing experience over the last 2 years.

Thanks everyone for your input.

Ah so you need to be available for 5 days over Easter as well as summer?

Hmm don't think my DD should do it this year as she's in year 11. She already has so much on and she is not a dedicated student so won't plan her time well. I think it would be irresponsible of me to allow her to participate this academic year

Hi everybody - here we go again!

My DC is now Y11 like some of those mentioned, still wants to audition. Had a great time in previous productions! Like others too, in the middle of auditions for 6th form diploma courses for performing arts.

I'm not sure exactly how to play this one. Whether to say up front that we can't do Our House (as we want to go on holiday, that's when we'd go) or whether to just go for it and see how it goes. If that's the show they were allocated, we'd not be able to see it and they'd have to then travel alone to join us... Annoyingly it's probably the show with the best fit for their age!

(My DC does have a gender by the way, I'm just always conscious of if anyone from NYMT/BYMT were to read these thread, we'd be identified 😆)

Just wanted to share that my DC was in Year 11 (GCSEs) last year. The April NYMT rehearsals were fine and probably a welcome distraction. In our case, results day in August was on a show week, which meant they had FOMO at not being able to celebrate with school friends, and on a practical level we did worry about not being together on the day to provide support if needed. The pastoral team were great and as supportive and flexible as possible, they could go home for the night if needed. Cast mates were also fantastic at making DC feel supported and less "alone" on the day.

Thank you @Mcmumager and @wonderfullife123 for your thoughts on the two organisations. It does seem that both provide excellent training and extremely fun and rewarding experiences for the participants.
Re. Babies, an NYMT stalwart and friend of DS is in the staged concert version in the West End in a couple of weeks. Very intrigued and excited to watch it!

I asked the same question about BYMT and NYMT two years ago and got some really helpful replies by PM. We chose to audition for BYMT that year but found their organisation and admin pretty haphazard! They did make an offer but ultimately we turned it down due to clashes - there has never been any 'what ifs' on that front as my kid came out of their audition unsure.

I think that's largely down to their overall feeling at NYMT - how included and secure they feel there. And because they'd already done it and felt that way, their natural afinity is with them rather than BYMT.

We do know someone who did NYMT but the didn't get in last year. They did BYMT instead and had a ball! In fact I think we know two. As someone else said, you won't get "known shows" there - which leads to the down side of the audience effectively only being friends and family. But that generally isn't a downside to the kids doing the shows! Even in NYMT this year, Kiss me Kate was pretty much a sell out - but the new show in the same venue the following week struggled much more. That's just the nature of ticket sales.

Hello is the Christmas concert worth taking part in? Thanks

@Onedaymore123 I think so, but obviously it's a matter of personal priorities. It's obviously easier and cheaper for those who live nearer to London and can get in and out to the rehearsal day and the concert day. The DC are usually delighted to see their course/castmates from summer, so there's that aspect of it. It may be different under new management, but basically it's usually a selection of Christmas songs and poems/readings performed by the DC who are singers/readers/musicians - not the same ones every time though!! It's in a very lovely church with a bar and cafe. We're not at all religious and I am not a fan of Christmas generally, but this feels actually special and Christmassy to me - young people singing and playing beautifully and the chance for the audience to sing a couple of carols too. I believe this year they may include a couple of songs from the summer's shows too. Personally, I love it, but I understand it's not easy for everyone. It's not essential to be there but it is rather lovely.

We’re going to the Christmas concert. It is a difficult operation for us as we live in the north but my DS really wanted to go to see everyone and I really want to see the church, having read about concerts there and how lovely it is. He is having to stay over the night before the rehearsal because there are no trains to get him into London on a Sunday before lunchtime, but thankfully a fellow cast member has offered a floor! It is also costing a lot, for our train and hotel for the day itself, but DS has taken so much from the NYMT experience so far, that we felt it was worth it.

I'm glad you can go @Operasingerkath . It sounds like it will mean a lot to your DS to be there.
Just to switch topic completely, last night at Les Mis, Cosette, Javert, Eponine and Thenardier were all NYMT alumni from the last 12 years. Eponine was in Chess in summer 2022! With other recent alumni currently performing in Phantom, Cabaret, Treason and the Hamilton tour to name but a few, it's so exciting for older company members seeing their friends and castmates succeed in the industry.

Love seeing NYMT people doing so well! We have enjoyed seeing several of them in brilliant musicals!

Actually I think Georgia Lennon might be ex NYMT? She’s just been announced as the lead in an office an and a gentleman tour!

Thank you for this thread! If any of those with more experience could shed any light - is it worth going through the process for girls at the younger age of the range? Or are older, more mature performers likely to be the ones who get through? DD is 11.

hi @RunAwayNow my DD auditioned last year when she was 11 and loved it and got through to the BYMT and NYMT companies. I would say go for it if she wants to - my DD didn’t expect to get anything and was happy to do the audition workshops just for the experience.

They always have shows where younger children are needed. Last year Armchair needed youngsters who could play down to primary school age for example. The concert had a wide age range.