British Youth Music Theatre is a national performing arts education charity and the largest commissioner of new musicals in the UK, celebrating its 20th anniversay in 2024. Every year it engages around 2000 11-21 year olds in auditions, workshops, Young Company and projects. It’s an Arts Council England National Portfolio Organisation and National Youth Music Organisation. Its mission is ‘to create opportunities for young people and early career creatives from all backgrounds to develop theatre skills and enhance wellbeing, through the collaborative and inclusive process of making original music theatre.
We invited Cerys Jones, who is the writer and lyricist of The Power of Camelot and is also BYMT’s young company manager, to facilitate a conversation between Lewis Cornay, a BYMT alumnus and West End performer and Emeli Mumford a current BYMT young performer to find our more about being part of BYMT, its work and impact no the lives of young people.
Cerys: Do you remember why you wanted to join BYMT?
Lewis: Because everyone at my drama club had done BYMT. My friend and I were like: we need to sign up! I don’t think there was anywhere else at the time that gave you the opportunity to make a new musical. I don’t think there’s anywhere else now. We took it so seriously, when we both got in we thought, "We’ve made it!’
Cerys: For your audition, did you arrive ready to go?
Lewis: Yes, in my jazz flares! I remember we did a stripped-back acoustic version of a song from Out There, another BYMT musical. They asked us if anyone wanted to sing a solo and my hand shot up. "I am ready." I was fifteen and gave it full X Factor!
Cerys: Emeli how was your first audition? Were you also very ready?
Emeli: No! I had a very similar story in that my best friend had done Maelstrom the year before and she showed me some of the dances in my living room one time and I was so intrigued. I was worried about staying away from home, so it took me two years to pluck up the courage to do the audition. On my first audition I was put on the second stage casting list, and then was offered a dance-heavy production, which was interesting as I didn’t class myself as a dancer! I very much saw myself as a singer.
Lewis: Same! And then, on Salsa Sisters, I was challenged to do ballroom. I struggled with it then and I’d struggle with it now! But it was so good to be pushed out of my comfort zone and build my confidence.
Emeli: Exactly. I worked with Jo Meredith on my first show who taught at Urdang at the time. After all the dance training I received, I ended up getting into Urdang, which I never thought I would do.
Cerys: On that topic, you meet so many people, both creatives and other young people, on a BYMT project. Do you still stay in touch with people now?
Emeli: Funnily enough, I’m about to move in with someone I met at The Dickens Girls in 2019.
Lewis: I’m still in touch with a few people who are in the industry, we go to each other’s productions and support each other. As a creative with BYMT, I worked with a lot of students from Leeds Conservatoire. I’d love to work with them again on some new material.
Cerys: Speaking of being a creative, Emeli is joining us as Assistant Choreographer on When We Strike this year. Emeli, what are you looking forward to?
Emeli: As nosey as it sounds, I’m looking forward to seeing behind the curtain, and understanding the other side of productions. I’ve been part of BYMT casts for so many years, I can’t wait to see how it all works. I’m working with Jane McMurtrie [associate choreographer on Olivier award winning production Newsies], which I’m so excited about! It’s a great opportunity to contribute to the creative process, to have a safe space to share my thoughts and I can’t wait to be in the BYMT bubble again.
Cerys: And Lewis, as someone who’s worked as a creative with BYMT, what advice would you give to Emeli?
Lewis: In terms of creating things with young people, allow for the unexpected. We know this as alumni. Plans can shift during rehearsals, often times for the better. Let it be a creative process, rather than a rigid process. Also making changes to suit the young company, allowing them to move, sing and perform in an authentic way, will push you out of your comfort zone as a creative. Finally, because you’re working so hard and so quickly, you don’t have the time to judge yourself, which is a nice experience!
Cerys: Individual development is such a huge part of BYMT culture, what would you say is the biggest development you had?
Emeli: I always say that the thing I learnt from BYMT, more than anywhere else, is how to work in a rehearsal room, to sense a vibe from a creative team on how they want to work and how to help them do that. BYMT is such a professional environment, where you need to be focused and reliable, and that training has been so transferable to drama schools and other projects I’ve done. It gives you a head start for working in this industry.
Lewis: Socially, for me, it was really important. I don’t think I’d been around people who had the same energy and passion for musical theatre as me. That was huge! It inspired me to go to drama school, because I realised I could thrive in that kind of environment. Also, creating something brand new was massively inspiring. I was already writing music and lyrics before I went to BYMT, but I was watching the Musical Director write songs on the fly and thinking, "That is wild! I want to do that!’ It’s like BYMT was my first workshop! It taught me everything I needed to know as a performer and writer on how to be present in the room and also how to lead a room.
Cerys: Speaking of inspiration, what or who inspires you now?
Lewis: Any kind of theatre that takes a risk inspires me, especially with comedic musicals. People think comedy is so easy but it’s the hardest thing to get right. I can appreciate how much work has gone into refining every moment. The bravery of sharing things in development is also so inspiring, it can be so easy in the industry to not put yourself out there, but when I see people creating their own gaps, it makes me want to join them! I’ve been working with Birmingham Hippodrome’s New Musical Theatre Department this year, and it’s exciting to see the spaces for development that are being cultivated. You’re allowed to throw things at the wall with no judgement, just like BYMT.
Emeli: I agree, I’m always in awe of writers and composers who have the courage to share their work. It’s such a vulnerable thing to do.
Cerys: Why do you think new writing is important for musical theatre?
Lewis: Art has the ability to reflect the world that we live in. You can do this with revivals of course, but if we don’t keep creating new stories and platforming new voices, then we miss out on something exciting. Art is meant to be transitory, and always moving forward.
Emeli: And if you look at other art forms, you’d think it strange if no new songs were released, or no new paintings were made. Everyone learns something new from what’s come before, that helps them find their own voice. It’s a constant collaboration across the whole artform.
Cerys: Over the 20-year history of BYMT, there has been a huge variety of productions. Do you have a favourite production?
Lewis: Yes, other than the one I was in! I went to see Soul Music at the Rose Theatre in 2014, and everything, from the set to the music, was incredible.
Emeli: Babies!
Lewis: (singing) Baby, baby, baby!
Emeli: BYMT commissioned it in 2021 and my friend was part of that cast. It was so catchy and flowed so well, and felt very much like a finished product, even then. It’s great to see it doing so well now.
Cerys: Finally, what would you like to see BYMT do for the next twenty years?
Lewis: You already do so much! In the last few years, it feels like BYMT has exploded with more productions, more challenging material that subverts the genre. I love that BYMT makes shows for young people but treats them like professionals and gives creatives the chance to take risks and to then show other producers that their work is valid.
Emeli: I agree, the New Music Theatre Award gives opportunities that so many creatives don’t usually get. I also love the Young Company Panel, where young people can share their ideas and shape the programme. These are the performers of the future, and it’s great you’re listening to them. Keep going, and well done, you’re doing great!
GET INVOLVED
On Monday 8 July, Lewis Cornay hosts the BYMT 20th anniversary gala at The Other Palace, featuring performances from BYMT alumni West End performers and its current young company.
A BYMT convention takes place during the day on Monday 8 July, for 11 – 21 year olds to learn from musical theatre industry experts and network.
The 20th anniversary summer season of shows features six brand new musicals performed by BYMT companies around the country, from Exeter to Bolton, from 2 – 31 August.
Links:
BYMT https://britishyouthmusictheatre.org
GALA https://britishyouthmusictheatre.org/shows/bymtgala
CONVENTION https://britishyouthmusictheatre.org/shows/bymtconvention
SUMMER SHOWS https://britishyouthmusictheatre.org/current-shows
