(MILLBURN, NJ) -- Paper Mill Playhouse will hold auditions for students to be a part of its prestigious Summer Musical Theater Conservatory and Musical Theater Technique Intensive for 2024 on Saturday, January 20, and Sunday, January 28, at Paper Mill Studios, 20 Main Street, Millburn, NJ. Students who earn a place in the July Conservatory in the Senior (ages 15–18), Junior Plus (ages 13–14), and Junior (ages 10-12) companies are directed and choreographed by Paper Mill's professional artistic staff in a fully produced, original concert at Paper Mill Playhouse on July 26 and 27, 2024, titled New Voices of 2024: Endless Ovations Celebrating the Regional Theater's 85 Seasons! The concert is the culmination of the five-week program.
The Musical Theater Technique Intensive (August 5–16, half-day sessions) is a two-week invitation/audition-only program specifically designed for performers ages 10–18 to explore, strengthen and refine their unique, individual skills while learning from our professional staff and industry guest teaching artists. Intensive participants do not take part in the New Voices concert.
“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.”
The Summer Musical Theater Conservatory offers a unique opportunity for gifted and talented young performers to learn new skills and enhance their performance potential while expanding their theater experience and knowledge. Classes include Musical Theater Performance, Acting, Dance, Private Voice Lessons, and various workshops led by professional artists. Five weeks of study culminates with the annual New Voices Concert, held at the world-famous Paper Mill Playhouse.
“The Conservatory students work incredibly hard from the day they begin the program until the curtain falls on their closing night of the New Voices Concert,” stated Michele Mossay, Paper Mill Playhouse Director of Artist Development and longtime Conservatory director/choreographer. “Our faculty encourages the students to believe in themselves as professional artists and treats them as such. The number of former Conservatory students who say, ‘I would not be where I am today without Paper Mill’ 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.”
For audition guidelines and other important information including tuition and scholarship opportunities, click here. An audition appointment is required. To self-select an audition appointment please go to Paper Mill Playhouse Summer Audition sign-up.
As one of the nation’s leading regional theaters, Paper Mill Playhouse has a well-earned reputation for launching careers and shows on Broadway. Since their inception in 1996, the Paper Mill Playhouse Summer Musical Theater Conservatory and the New Voices Concert have ignited the careers of many acclaimed performers. Among the Conservatory’s alumni are Academy Award winner Anne Hathaway (Les Misérables), Tony Award winners Laura Benanti (Gypsy), Nikki M. James (The Book of Mormon), and Ali Stoker (Oklahoma!), Tony nominee Rob McClure (Chaplin), Jelani Remy (Back to the Future), Shanice Williams (NBC’s The Wiz Live!) and Olivier Award nominee Jared Gertner (The Book of Mormon). For the full list of notable alumni, click here.
Many noted Broadway talent agents and casting directors flock to New Voices every summer. Victoria Kress, A3 Artists Youth Theatrical Agent, remarked, “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 field trips of every summer.” Nora Brennan, children’s 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!”
The Summer Professional Training Programs and New Voices are generously supported by the Hearst Foundations, Paper Mill Playhouse's Education and 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 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.
