Next on Stage Rules

OFFICIAL CONTEST RULES AND REGULATIONS

BROADWAYWORLD’S NEXT ON STAGE, SEASON SEVEN

Presented by IAMT & Atlantic Acting School

Entry into this Contest constitutes your acceptance of these Official Rules.

1. ELIGIBILITY 

a.  General Eligibility.  The contest is open to legal residents of the United States, the District of Columbia, the U.S. Virgin Islands or Puerto Rico.  International residents holding a current student visa for study at a school within the United States are permitted to enter.  Employees of BroadwayWorld.com, its affiliates, licensees, franchisees, advertising and promotional agencies and the immediate family members of each are not eligible.  Contestants who have performed in a Broadway production, off-Broadway production or national tour are not eligible to enter.  There is no purchase necessary to enter or win.  

b.  Age Limits.  Contestants shall be considered “High School Contestants” if (i) their high school graduation year is 2027, 2028, 2029 or 2030; or (ii) they are between the ages of 14-18.  Students who will graduate high school in 2026 should enter as “High School Contestants.”  Home-schooled students are eligible to enter.  

Contestants shall be considered “College Contestants” if (i) their college graduation year is 2027, 2028, 2029, 2030 or 2031; or (ii) if they are between the ages of 18-23.  Students not currently enrolled in a college or university but meeting the age range requirements are eligible to participate as “College Contestants.” 

c.  Parental Consent.  Contestants under the age of 18-years old must have a parent or guardian’s permission to participate in the Contest, as noted on the Contestant Entry Form.  

d.  Prior Entrants.  Contestants who have previously entered the competition are eligible to enter again, however Contestants who have won the competition in a prior year shall be ineligible to reenter. 

e.  Limit on Number of Entries.  Each Contestant is limited to one initial entry.  

2. HOW TO ENTER

a. Initial submission.  All initial submissions must be submitted via our Contestant form.  Additionally, Contestants must submit: 

• A 1-minute maximum clip of a vocal performance, preferably a Broadway showtune; 
• The link to the clip must be from YouTube and set to public or unlisted.  Private links are not accessible and may result in entries not being counted;
• Headshot, submitted as a JPG file;
• The BroadwayWorld team will review submissions as they are received to ensure working links and correct age range;

b.  Communication with Contestant.  Contestant must provide an active email address to be used as the primary method of communication throughout the Contest.   

3. CONTEST DATES AND WINNER SELECTION

a.  Initial Submissions.  The Contest shall begin on September 10, 2026 and initial submissions shall be accepted until October 19th, 2026.  

b.  First Round.  The Contestants from each of the College Contestant and the High School Contestant groups shall be announced when voting begins on October 21st, 2026. Thirty contestants shall be chosen by audience vote.  The voting shall run from October 21st, 2026 through November 11th, 2026.  

c.  Subsequent Rounds.  Each Contestant who advances beyond the Top-15 shall submit a new video weekly (as detailed below).  New submissions must be received by BroadwayWorld before Monday at 9:00am ET.  During the time between the submission deadline and when voting opens, the BroadwayWorld team will embed the entries and prepare the voting pages for the next round. Late submissions may not be accepted.

Voting opens on Mondays at 12 PM ET unless otherwise noted.  Audience members may vote for as many contestants as they wish, once per day, per email.  Votes will be audited and monitored for fake email addresses.  Duplicate votes from the same email address shall be discarded. Audit results will not be released to the public.

In each subsequent round, up until the announcement of the top-3 Contestants on December 18th, voting shall determine whether a Contestant advances to the next round.  Ranking of Contestants shall be determined by the number of votes received in that week alone.  Votes received in previous weeks will not count in subsequent rounds.  

In each round, the three Contestants who did not make the next round but received the next highest number of votes, will also be announced.  The judges will collectively choose to save one of these three contestants from elimination and allow that Contestant to move to the next round of competition. Judges reserve the right to save more than one contestant on a weekly basis in their sole discretion.

The final three contestants will compete in the final round and the winner shall be determined by the number of votes received in that week.

d.  Results Shows.  Results shows will premiere on Fridays unless otherwise noted.  After the show premiere, the full episode will be available on BroadwayWorld’s website, YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.  Contestants are not required to watch the live shows, but it is highly encouraged to hear the voting results and feedback from the judges in real-time.   

e.  Schedule.  The contest period and deadlines shall be as follows:   

All finalists will need to be available to travel for the weekend of January 17, 2027 finale in New York City. 

BroadwayWorld reserves the right to modify or amend the contest period and submission deadlines at its sole discretion and upon notice to all Contestants. 

f.  Use of Social Media.  Contestants are allowed to promote their voting page on social media

• BroadwayWorld will provide social media graphics to share the contestant’s entry, but it is not required to use them and will not affect a contestant’s standing in any way
• Contestants are not allowed to financially sponsor or boost their social posts for more impressions

4. PRIZES.  

Prizes shall be awarded to the winning Contestants as follows:  

GRAND PRIZE - For Both College and High School Winners

-Atlantic Summer Teen Conservatory Scholarship: This New York acting conservatory for teens offers a pre-college intensive with a focus on Practical Aesthetics and professional-level training. The Teen Conservatory provides an introduction to the Atlantic Acting Technique through a comprehensive curriculum, challenging students to push beyond their creative comfort zones. Actors will learn to “make the difficult easy, the easy habitual, the habitual beautiful.” This program takes place in the heart of New York City from July 6 – 31, 2026.

-Vocal Lesson With Coach Matt Farnsworth: Winners will receive a vocal lesson with Matt Farnsworth. Matt Farnsworth is an accomplished voice teacher, actor, and pianist living and working in NYC. He has been teaching voice since 1995 when he became the consulting coach on Broadway’s production of Rent.

-Work session with The Telsey Office's Jimmy Larkin: Winners will have a 'work session' with Jimmy Larkin of The Telsey Office. The Telsey Office casts all of Broadway's biggest shows, as well as work for TV, Film, and commercials in both New York and Los Angeles.

-BroadwayWorld Merch Prize Pack: Each winner will receive a selection of merch from the BroadwayWorld Shop.

-$1000 donated to the charity of their choice (Charity subject to sponsor approval, must be a registered 501(c)3 charity)

-Standard Rental Certificate for Up to $1,000 for Winner’s School to Produce an Upcoming MTI Show*

-Merchandise package including MTI-branded accessories and show-related items with an approximate value of $300.

*Standard Rental up to $1000 value. Does not include additional rental (e.g. early rental, additional resources, etc.). Amateur organizations only - not valid for professional groups. Original certificate must be submitted with contract and all other applicable fees.

All Finalists Will:

-Perform at 54 Below for the live season finale, including flights (or other transportation to NYC based on location of origin), hotel.

-Two tickets to a Broadway show during their stay in NYC

 All expenses related to the acceptance or use of any prize is the sole responsibility of the prize winner.  Prizes are not redeemable for cash, assignable, transferable and may not be substituted except at BroadwayWorld’s sole discretion.   

5. LIMITATION OF LIABILITY AND RELEASES

a.  Binding Rules.  By entering, Contestants agree to be bound by these rules and the decisions of BroadwayWorld, which shall be final.  All federal, state and local laws apply.  

b.  Limitation of Liability. BroadwayWorld and its employees, officers, directors, shareholders, agents and representatives, affiliates, subsidiaries and advertising, promotion and legal advisors are not responsible for and shall not be liable for: (i) late, lost, delayed, damages, misdirected, incomplete, illegible or unintelligible entries; (ii) electronic, hardware or software program, network, Internet, or computer malfunctions, failures or difficulties; (iii) errors in transmission; (iv) any condition caused by events beyond the control of BroadwayWorld that may cause the contest to be disrupted or terminated; (v) any injuries, losses or damages of any kind caused by or resulting from participant in the contest; of (vi) any printing or typographical errors in any materials associated with the contest.   

c.  Release of Liability.  Contestant hereby releases BroadwayWorld, its subsidiaries, affiliates and divisions and its respective directors, officers, employees and agents from any and all liablity, loss or damage arising from or in connection with your participation or attempt to participate in the Contest and/or the awarding, receipt, use or misuse of a Prize and from claims based on publicity rights, defamation or invasion of privacy.

d.  Indemnity.  Contestant agrees to indemnify, defend and hold harmless BroadwayWorld against any claims by any third party related to a breach of any of these Contest Rules, including, but not limited to a claim libel, defamation, invasion of privacy or right of publicity.  

6. CONTESTANT DISQUALIFICATION  

Contestant acknowledges that BroadwayWorld has the right in its sole discretion to disqualify a Contestant at any time if it determines that the Contestant’s performance is offensive, inappropriate or contrary to BroadwayWorld’s reputation or that the Contestant has not complied with any of the Contest Rules.  BroadwayWorld may also disqualify any Contestant for engaging in false or deceptive acts. 

BroadwayWorld reserves the right to disqualify and Contestant or winner who, in its sole suspicion, tampers with the entry or submission process, violates these rules or the BroadwayWorld.com Terms and Conditions, or acts in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner.  

7. PERMISSIONS

Except where prohibited by law, entry constitutes permission to use winners’ names, hometowns and likenesses for online posting, and/or any advertising and publicity without added compensation.   

Contestant irrevocably grants to BroadwayWorld a non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free, perpetual license to use Contestant’s submission(s) and/or performance(s) in any manner related to the Contest, including all associated use, reproduction, distribution, sublicense, derivative works and commercial and non-commercial uses, including any BroadwayWorld website, blogs and/or social media related to the Contest; promotions and communications related to the Contest; newsletters, articles, reports and publications related to the Contest; and exhibitions of the Contest submissions and winners.  

8. PRIVACY

Personal information collected from online entries is subject to BroadwayWorld’s Privacy Policy, which can be found at www.broadwayworld.com/privacy; provided that, in the event of any conflict between these Contest Rules and such Privacy Policy, the terms and conditions of these Contest Rules prevail. As a condition of entering the Contest, each Contestant gives consent for Sponsor to obtain and deliver the Contestant’s name, address and other information to third parties for the purpose of administering this Contest and to comply with applicable laws, regulations and rules, including, without limitation, the storing of your personal information for purposes of complying with state record retention requirements.

9. Inquiries or Questions.  

Any inquiries or questions regarding this contest may be sent by email to contact@broadwayworld.com or by regular mail to Wisdom Digital Media, 1180 Avenue of the Americas, 8th Floor, New York, NY 10036.

THIS CONTEST IS VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW.  CONTEST IS GOVERNED BY U.S. LAW AND SUBJECT TO ALL APPLICABLE FEDERAL, STATE AND LOCAL LAWS AND REGULATIONS.