From Page To Stage is back and it's bigger than ever! Returning for its sixth year, Aria Entertainment’s new musical theatre festival will find a new home at the Southwark Playhouse this September and submissions are now open!
The hugely successful 2017 festival took place at The Other Palace and received over 300 submissions from across the UK and internationally.
From Page To Stage 2018 will showcase each step of how an original musical is developed, from a songwriting showcase to full staged readings of new musicals. There will also be a showcase evening which will feature sections of at least four different shows in development with a repertory cast.
Alongside the 2018 Festival at Southwark Playhouse, FPTS will launch a new venture, From Page To Stage North West in partnership with Aria Entertainment’s northern home, the Hope Mill Theatre, which was founded by Joseph Houston and William Whelton. From Page To Stage North West is an exciting and unique opportunity offering one writing team a full writing commission of an original musical.
The writing team selected at the end of this process will be fully commissioned and receive a workshop of the new musical in 2019, with the intention to stage the piece fully in 2020 at the Hope Mill Theatre. The team will be selected through a series of pitching days.
Producer Katy Lipson from Aria Entertainment says:
“I have always believed that the future of musical theatre in this country can only be brought about by investing regularly in new musicals and new writers and so I am proud to be presenting the sixth year of the From Page To Stage Festival of new musicals. In just six years we have given a platform to over 100 new musicals from over 15 countries with some shows going on to have full productions, more development workshops and even publishing deals.
“We are delighted to be presenting work at London’s Southwark Playhouse this year and know their incredible record as a receiving house for musical theatre means they have a large receptive audience ready to receive this exciting new work.
“Our expansion into From Page To Stage North West further cements our commitment to developing, commissioning and staging new musicals in the UK. We couldn’t be more thrilled to be partnering with Joe and Will at the Hope Mill Theatre to find new musicals for us to actually bring from page to stage by 2020.”
Entrants for the From Page To Stage 2018 Festival need to include their show title, lyricist/composer/book writer, a short synopsis and three record tracks and scenes from the show. Each submission of a new musical will be fully assessed by the From Page To Stage expert literary team. In July 2018, it will be announced which musicals have been selected for this year’s festival.
Writing teams interested in From Page To Stage North West will need to sign up on the From Page To Stage website and register their interest. Writing teams will then be invited to a pitching day in August 2018. Submissions for FPTS 2018 are open until 25 June 2018.
