NYMF's Next Broadway Sensation
THE NEXT BROADWAY SENSATION (NBS) is a contest designed to give young musical theater performers the opportunity for vital industry exposure. Modeled (in part) on the incredibly successful television show ‘American Idol’, NBS begins with a large audition open to anyone aged 18 or over who has not yet performed on Broadway. A panel of industry professionals, including Broadway actors, directors, composers, and casting directors, oversees the auditions and a series of callbacks, whittling the group down to 10 finalists.
Armed with behind-the-scenes help and support from a musical director and a director, who help them select material according to weekly themes, the finalist contestants have showcase their talent to both live and online audiences and to a panel of theater industry judges (who have included performers Anthony Rapp, Marc Kudish, and Stephanie D'Abruzzo; composers Marc Shaiman and Paul Scott Goodman; director Lonny Price; casting director Michael Cassara; and others). NBS’s judges provide supportive and constructive advice to the performers, more like a master class than like ‘American Idol’. As on the TV show, however, it is audience members rather than industry judges who determine (via text message vote) who will advance in the competition.
NBS’s audience includes those at the theater (100-150 each night) and a much larger online audience, because NBS is aired on the internet in partnership with TheaterMania.com (whose monthly traffic is over 1 million people). Every stage of the competition -- from auditions to the final round of performances -- is aired on the internet; each round of competition is streamed live (for online voters), then edited and stored online indefinitely, along with short videos “spotlighting” each of the finalist performers (an additional tool to help them build a fan base).
Over three successive weeks, the 10 finalists are narrowed down to a single winner – who is awarded a solo showcase concert at a respected performance venue (Ars Nova and Joe's Pub have been past venues), produced by NYMF and promoted by theater news and ticketing site TheaterMania.com. The benefits to performers are obvious – NBS alums have subsequently appeared on Broadway in the casts of South Pacific, West Side Story, and Hair. The benefits to the audience are clear as well, in the outpouring of support from those who have discovered favorite new artists to follow throughout their careers.
For information about this year's competition, click here.
