West Yorkshire Playhouse Hosts Next Cameron Mackintosh Resident Composer, Harry Blake

Mercury Musical Developments and Musical Theatre Network are delighted to announce that Harry Blake will be The Cameron Mackintosh Resident Composer at West Yorkshire Playhouse, commencing October 2016.

"West Yorkshire Playhouse programmes an amazing range of work, which I can't wait to get involved with! The residency allows me to be part of some fantastic creative teams as well as offering the opportunity to develop my own musical theatre writing. It's also a unique chance to be a part of the day to day life of the theatre and to engage with the local community, which I know will be an exciting and enriching experience." - Harry Blake, Composer

"The Playhouse has a deep commitment to developing talent as well as an established reputation for new musical theatre. We were impressed by Harry's diverse skillset, which includes composing stage musicals and being a co-creator and performer in the awardwinning cabaret act 'House of Blakewell.' We look forward to his contribution to our work and to welcoming him into our theatre and the creative community in Leeds." - James Brining, Artistic Director, West Yorkshire Playhouse

Through this scheme musical theatre composers are paired with a venue, and given the opportunity to be involved in a range of work which could include underscoring plays, setting text to music or creating their own piece of new work. Recent venues have included Bristol Old Vic, the Mercury, Colchester and New Wolsey Theatre in Ipswich. Harry Blake is the second of five placements that MTN and MMD will be facilitating over 2015-18 thanks to the generosity of the Cameron Mackintosh Foundation.

The next venue will be the prestigious Royal Shakespeare Company.

Key opportunities there are likely to include: Creating incidental music for 2 new plays staged during The Other Place Spring Festival, assisting the Composer in the Royal Shakespeare Theatre for a production of a Shakespeare play, plus an opportunity to pitch a project for R&D & workshop showing at The Other Place. The placement will Mercury Musical Developments, Ambassadors Theatre, West Street, London WC2H 9ND. A company limited by guaranteed registered in England & Wales, Company No. 3039699, Charity No. 1045606. www.mercurymusicals.com begin in April 2017 and applications are now open. The deadline for submission is Tuesday 25th October.

The full brief and application form can be found here: http://www.mercurymusicals.com/cameron-mackintosh-resident-composer/

Harry Blake
Composer, lyricist and Sound Designer
COMPOSITION/SOUND DESIGN: Jason and the Argonauts, The Snow Child, Septimus Bean and His Amazing Machine, (Unicorn), Night Must Fall, Hedda Gabler, Bike (Salisbury Playhouse), To Dream Again (Theatre Clwyd), Blush (Edinburgh Underbelly), P'yongyang (Finborough), I Can't Breathe (Sadlers Wells), Casa Valentina (Southwark Playhouse), Cyrano (BBC Radio Four),The Future for Beginners (Wales Millennium Centre and touring), The Glass Supper (Hampstead Theatre), Once upon a Christmas (Look Left, Look Right), Perle (Tobacco Factory and Soho Theatre), A Midsummer Night's Dream, Othello and Cyrano de Bergerac, Twelfth Night and Masters, are you mad? (Grosvenor Park Open Air Theatre) Mobile Phone Show (Lyric Hammersmith), The Wind in the Willows (The Lord Chamberlain's Men), Manga Sister (liveartshow@The Yard), live electronic score for Don Giovanni (Soho Theatre), Anna Karenina (Arcola), Monkey and Bear (InTransit Festival).

Harry is winner of the Craig Barbour Award for Composition (Soho Theatre), the Musical Theatre Network Award (Edinburgh 2014) and was recently made an associate of the Royal Academy of Music (ARAM). Harry is one half of the award-winning cabaret act House of Blakewell. www.harryblake.net

Mercury Musical Developments is a not-for-profit membership organisation that is dedicated to nurturing new musical theatre writing. Our membership of over 400 bookwriters, lyricists and librettist have access to a range of development and showcasing initiatives including seminars, masterclasses and professional residencies and Writers Labs designed to further their craft and career. We actively seek out commissions, build professional networks and are ambassadors on behalf of all our members. At MMD our aim is to support and represent the writers who are shaping the future of British musical theatre. To find out more about MMD go to www.mercurymusicals.com or contact victoria@mercurymusicals.co.uk

Musical Theatre Network is a not-for-profit membership organisation, bringing people and resources together to improve infrastructure and opportunities for new musical theatre in the UK. Our membership is a national network of producers, theatre venues, directors, higher education organisations and others staging or developing musicals. In partnership with its members, MTN works to strengthen and diversify the new musical theatre sector nationwide, and so support development of the artform. To learn more about MTN visit www.musicaltheatrenetwork.com or contact James@musicaltheatrenetwork.com

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