(MILLBURN, NJ) -- Paper Mill Playhouse will hold auditions for students to be a part of the theater’s prestigious Summer Musical Theater Conservatory and Musical Theater Technique Intensive for 2023 on Saturday, January 21, 2023 and Sunday, January 29, 2034 at Montclair State University, College of the Arts/Life Hall, 1 Normal Avenue, Montclair, NJ. 

Students who earn coveted spots in the July Conservatory in the Senior (ages 15-18), Junior Plus (ages 13-14), and Junior Companies (ages 10-12) are directed and choreographed by Paper Mill’s professional artistic staff in a fully produced, original concert at Paper Mill Playhouse on July 28 and 29, 2023 titled New Voices of 2023: We Will Rock You!  The concert is the culmination of the five-week program. 

For audition guidelines and other important information including tuition and available scholarships, click here.  An audition appointment is required.  To self-select an audition appointment please go to Paper Mill Playhouse Summer Audition sign-up. 

“Paper Mill Playhouse’s Summer Musical Theater Conservatory and Technique Intensive are the finest young artist professional development programs for musical theater in the nation” stated Mark S. Hoebee, Paper Mill’s Producing Artistic Director. “It is amazing to see these young performers learn and grow into professional artists with a culminating performance produced by leading industry professionals.”

As one of the nation’s leading regional theaters, Paper Mill Playhouse has a well-earned reputation for launching careers and shows to Broadway. Since its inception in 1996, the Paper Mill Playhouse Summer Musical Theater Conservatory and the New Voices Concert have ignited the careers of many notable performers.  Among the Conservatory alumni are Academy Award winner Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables), Tony Award winners Laura Benanti (Gypsy), Nikki M. James (The Book of Mormon), Ali Stoker (Oklahoma!), Tony nominee Rob McClure (Chaplin), Jelani Remy (Ain’t Too Proud), Shanice Williams, star of NBC’s The Wiz Live! and Olivier Award nominee Jared Gertner (The Book of Mormon).  For the full list of notable alumni, click here.  

The Paper Mill Playhouse Summer Musical Theater Conservatory is a program of rigorous study allowing students to enhance their individual performance potential while developing a broad base of theater experience and knowledge. Students participate in highly focused classes including: Musical Theater Performance, Acting, Dance, Private Voice Lessons, and Improvisation; including various workshops led by professional artists and  industry artistic leaders. The Conservatory offers the unique opportunity for gifted and talented young performers to learn new skills, hone, and refine their existing skills, all while challenging themselves to achieve new goals. Key to the curriculum is respect, teamwork, reliability and a commitment to excellence that will serve these young artists throughout their lives. Five weeks of study at the Summer Musical Theater Conservatory culminates with the annual New Voices Concert, held at the world-famous Paper Mill Playhouse. New Voices also features numerous winners and nominees of the 2023 Paper Mill Playhouse Rising Star Awards, presented by the Investors Foundation, who win scholarships to attend the Conservatory.

Noted Broadway talent agents and casting directors flock to New Voices every summer.  Victoria Kress, A3 Artists Youth Theatrical Agent states, “I’m always super excited to head to Paper Mill Playhouse for their New Voices show! Having trained some amazing performers, I know this night will prove to be no different! It’s one of my best scouting fields trips of every summer.”  Nora Brennan, casting director for Matilda, Billy Elliot, and The Radio City Christmas Spectacular agrees, “The kids were great, the show was fun and entertaining, and the material was tailored so that each student could shine. Well done!”  Talent agent Barry Kolker of The Carson Kolker Organization Ltd agrees, “I loved the production. Congratulations!”

Students can also audition for the theater’s Musical Theater Technique Intensive Program. This two-week program (August 7 to 18) allows performers between the ages of 10 and 16 to explore, strengthen and refine their individual skills while building technique. The Technique Intensive program offers smaller class sizes, half-day sessions and complete attention to building, honing, and refining Musical Theater skills. The Technique Intensive program attendees do not perform in New Voices, this program is specially designed to build individual development, skills and personal growth. Admission to the Technique Intensive program is by audition only. 

“The Conservatory students work incredibly hard from the day they begin the program all the way until the curtain falls five weeks later on their closing night of the New Voices Concert.” stated Michele Mossay, Paper Mill Playhouse Director of Artist Development and long-time Conservatory director/choreographer. “Our faculty encourages the students to believe in themselves as professional artists and treats them as such. The amount of former Conservatory students that say, ‘Paper Mill changed my life.’ or, ‘I would not be where I am today without Paper Mill.’ or, ’The friends I made while studying at the Conservatory remain some of my closest and dearest friends.’, is astounding. This program educates, cultivates, and enriches the whole student, the entire young performer; from their individual talents and skill sets to their role and responsibilities within an ensemble company, and ultimately, to the performance community at large.  

Summer Professional Training Programs and New Voices are supported by the Investors Foundation.  The Hearst Foundations are Paper Mill Playhouse’s Education & Outreach Partner.

Paper Mill Playhouse, recipient of the 2016 Regional Theatre Tony Award, is a nationally renowned, not-for-profit theater under the direction of Mark S. Hoebee (Producing Artistic Director) and Mike Stotts (Managing Director). A beloved NJ arts institution since 1938, Paper Mill creates and produces groundbreaking new musicals and reimagined classics. Several productions have gone on to Broadway and launched national tours, including Disney’s Newsies, Les Misérables, Honeymoon in Vegas, A Bronx Tale, and Bandstand. The theater is also the home of an award-winning center for musical theater education and artist training, with outreach programs that impact tens of thousands of students each year. As one of the nation’s premier musical theaters, Paper Mill fosters a creative environment to advance the art form, educate students, develop future theater lovers, nurture inclusion, and provide access for all. Paper Mill Playhouse programs are made possible, in part, by funds from the New Jersey State Council on the Arts, a partner agency of the National Endowment for the Arts. Paper Mill Playhouse is a member of the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, the Council of Stock Theatres, and the New Jersey Theatre Alliance.  

PHOTOS BY Jerry Dalia