NYMT/BYMT 2026

[doesanybodyhaveamap]

So with the big reveal of the 50th anniversary programme it feels like a good time to start the 2026 chat!

Here we go again 🥳🥳🥳

My DD was Recalled for Lightening Boy and got Flip! New Music workshop last year so this definitely happens. As for casting for a completely different show - not completely impossible but unlikely imo.

Same here mine is Y10 - plus to make things even more complicated she is short and an mezzo/alto making an awkward combo of a childs height with a teens voice. NGL I dont think this is gonna be our year just based on the roles on offer but we shall see!

As my DC is Pre Vocational I try to reframe "audition" as "job interview" (this advice probably isn't as relevant if auditioning purely for funsies)

So at some point we all have to have a first job, bar work, coffee shop, shelf stacking burger flipping - just something to pay the way through college. Now if you go to an interview say at Mickey D's and dont get it, would you come out and be all like

"But I used to flip burgers in a chain hotel!! IN A HOTEL! How very dare they not hire me.

Perhaps it was my mopping technique .I know it I didn't really nail realy squeezing out the mop... and that other candidate was so much cleaner and sharper getting in to the corners.

But my burger flipping is so accurate! I bet they went for that person who did the flashy tricks when flipping, Perhaps I should get a coach to help me work on my 540 degree burger flip twists, if I can't do a double flip no one will hire me ever.

They must all have hated me"

OK yes I know that if you dont get a job then yeah it can sting a bit, but for the most part we just pick up and move on to the next interview without too much soul searching. The point is we dont view not getting a regular job as some sort of moral failing in the same way that we do when its an audition (which is just another word for an actors job interview surely?)

Truth is sometimes there isn't really any feedback and you are just fine as you are, just on the day for whatever reason the stars aligned and another candidate was selected.

In terms of BYMT/NYMT not getting a pick can definitely really sting and I am fully bracing for that this year, but at the same time after the initial sadness you just have to pick up and move on with the acceptance there was nothing else you could have done. Some times it just isn't your time.

I shall be saving this post for approximately 10 days time.

Are any DC parents waiting for an NYMT recall workshop next weekend. My Dd was on the last day last year so this feels like a very long wait having had the recall yesterday.

@doesanybodyhaveamap any chance of some of @MxPickles maths for the musicians?! 😁

There are a lot of young people.recalled next weekend. But hopefully they will make decisions fairly quickly after that, so you won't be waiting too long!

Very impressive maths and stats! But quick question: how do you know that there are 6 recall sessions for each project? Has anyone been told that? Could it perhaps be less than that? For example could there be only one recall session per project per day? I have no idea personally. Does anyone know this information is accurate?

I was actually wondering with the shorter timeframes if there were even 3 recall sessions per project per day. As my dc recall times are both afternoon for his 2 shows so there technically could be a morning one too!

🫣

Its not fact it was just my estimate and walkthrough my thought process!

There are definitely 4 workshop groups (one for each show) then this year people are just recalled for "new musical workshop" but with five NMW just one casting workshop felt to small so I guesstimated at 2 which is how I arrived at 6 unique project workshops

Someone else worked it out another way but came to broadly the same result of a 50% chance

@Advent0rangeno fancy maths, but anecdotally… if your DC has already done a show as a musician, assuming they held their own and were nice to work with they are very likely to get an offer again. In our case, DC has had a whole bunch of different outcomes as a performer across our 6 years, but has always been offered a musician place, we’ve only rarely heard of someone applying a second time and not being welcomed back. It’s a much smaller pool.

Hello,
I was wondering if anyone might be able to advise a bit on what prep should be done for the New Musicals callback? My DD who is 11 and will be attending her first NYMT callback is going this Saturday 21st at ArtsEd. Having read through the material for the NMW which is all the Lightning Boy stuff, she wondering if she should be learning both songs off by heart? or just the second one or not have to learn anything off by heart and just familiarise herself with it all without actually having to fully learn it. Would be lovely to have a rough idea of what is expected as it seems to be a different from the other callbacks with specific musicals where there are songs to learn for either older or younger performers.
Thank you in advance for any advice. 🙏

I understood from the instructions that they don't have to learn anything by heart. This bit seems fairly clear to me?

It might be possible to compile a fairly accurate list just from posters on this thread. What I know:

10am-12pm Sat 21st ArtsEd - recall for all NMWs (my DD)

Same time, date, venue: recall for Ragged Child (DD's friend)

Hi @Wigeon yes I assumed/ read that too but my DD seems convinced that everyone else would turn up knowing lines / songs. Fingers crossed that is not the case.

For the NMW I think what they are assessing is slightly different than for productions, yes of course they want to see how you sing dance and act but mostly they are looking at how quickly you can take direction, how flexible you are in your approach to trying out new things, and how many ideas you are bringing to the process. You can't really establish that if the material is overly rehearsed.

I'd say have a couple of ideas up your sleeve that say "ancient greece"(personally I'd be looking up a few traditional greek dance steps even if exectued badly) to get the ball rolling but be ready to just go with the flow on the day :)

It a good idea to be familiar with the songs in advance just cause its one less thing to think about one the day, but I wouldn't stress too much about being word perfect. Having good ideas and energy is probably more important!

Same for Just So and also Just So on 10 - 12 on the 22nd ( I know cause we swapped!)

My dc was in lightening boy last year and I’d say with them using the material for that in the new musical workshop they will be just looking for them to have lots of fun and express themselves. Come on in is such a great song you’d struggle not to!

@doesanybodyhaveamap thank you for your encouraging words. She did eventually get offered a place last year (last minute, I assume someone dropped out) but we couldn't take it up 😭.
So I guess we're still at stage one!

Well you definitely had me gripped! Just to say, I fear there were 3 recalls for WSS yesterday, my DS knew people there before him, then there was his and then he knew someone going in later in the afternoon for another one...😱

My DS had a great time yesterday - thought the 2 hours felt a bit short, but thought they were amazing creatives, particularly for WSS. He also did Just So and absolutely loves the songs. I am definitely joining the 'overthinkers' club for the next 10 days... DS was completely relaxed about the wait...very different story for me and yes, if this is his future career, I will definitely need help for my total inability to wait! Good luck for those going in next weekend. From what I hear, they have a really brilliant knack at putting everyone at ease. You just have to go for it - she says, with zero ability in the field of performance...😂

My DC feels really deflated as she had the first audition group of the day and despite learning sides there was no time to perform so director walked around room observing the small groups. Then a friend said their group (later in day) were redirected so it doesn’t feel like DC got to show what they could do unlike the next group. My DC was only recalled for one show not 2 like most of their friends so it all feels a bit flat. Last year she felt there was more time and it’s hard as we don’t live in the south so it’s a mission going down. :(

I'm sorry to hear this. Its so bad when they come out feeling rushed or unseen.

Can I ask what project they were recalling for please? I am just wondering if it was deliberate to observe as a group because of the nature of the casting.

I'm really sorry to hear that.
Last year I think the Tuck director ran the acting part of the recall as young people working in pairs or threes, and he moved around watching and listening to them rather than having everyone perform to the room. It seemed to work well when time was limited. The team will have notes on your DC from first round, and nobody would get a recall if they were not a good actor, so unless for a specific role it may not be necessary to spend a lot of time on acting out the scenes, depending on who is in which recall group. To a certain extent at recall they are checking the voices and looking for good fits. Just because they didn't single anyone out to perform to everyone doesn't mean they haven't got their eye on anyone in that first session. If they do take some people and redirect them it may be with a specific role in mind, but they already know all the recalled DC can act, and these directors are very experienced - they probably took in a lot more than the DC may have realised.

Oh I am coming back to add I see it was for a NMW. I think it may well have been a deliberate choice to run the audition this way to see how well people were co-operating and bringing ideas to preparing the work rather than just showing the finished product.

Keeping everything crossed for some good news for you!