Submissions Open for Southern Hemispheres’ Largest Cabaret
Submissions Open for Southern Hemispheres’ Largest Cabaret
The Your Theatrics International Cabaret Contest
(YTICC), previously the Australian Cabaret Showcase, will
once again undertake heats in major cities across Australia
and New Zealand in January 2015. The 12th annual contest
will offer contestants a number of exciting developments
including a number of new sponsors who will contribute to
the ever growing prize package. Executive Producer Jeremy
Youett said “I’m thrilled to announce that our
submission period has opened, with the addition of Grayboy
Entertainment as a
Principal Sponsor and Hal Leonard as
a Major Partner this year! We are also pleased to welcome
back our line-up of returning partners and sponsors, who
have each been incredibly supportive of the contest and new
talent over the years!”
The contest provides artists
with the opportunity to further develop their skills in the
cabaret genre in front of a panel of industry professionals,
including producers, agents and artistic directors, as well
as family and friends. This year, contest producers have
launched a brand new YTICC-dedicated website, as well as a
YouTube channel featuring footage from the Grand Finals of
the past 3 years. Youett said, “We wanted to create
additional tools to give potential contestants a better
sense of what the judges are looking for from an 8 minute
cabaret “snapshot”—which is no easy task.”
YTICC will again hold heats in Sydney, Adelaide,
Melbourne, and Auckland, as well as both Brisbane and Noosa
this year. “The winner of the 2012 contest, Bradley
McCaw, made his way in the Noosa heat, so to have the city
back on the roster and allow both Brisbane and Sunshine
Coast contestants a chance to compete, is an exciting
opportunity for Queensland residents,” said
Youett.
Previous contest winners include Tom Sharah,
James Millar, Marika Aubrey, Nick Christo, Gillian Cosgriff,
Sheridan Harbridge, Elenoa Rokobaro, and Toby Francis who
have all made names for themselves on both stage and screen
since their respective successes. 2014 winner Melody Beck
who recently completed her extensive tour of Australia and
New York said, "YTICC has been a completely wonderful
experience! Winning this amazing prize package has opened
doors and presented opportunities I never dreamed
possible!” Beck’s show, Unseen: A Tribute to Marni
Nixon, toured multiple festivals to high praise. YTICC
Producers were able to connect her with her chosen
biographical subject, Marni Nixon, who not only came to see
Beck’s show, but also gave her vocal coaching while in New
York.
In 2015, a runner-up prize will be reintroduced,
and both the Grand Prize winner and runner-up will be
eligible to be offered performance opportunities from our
Major Festival Partners. These will include invitations to
perform at the Cabaret Festivals of Adelaide, Melbourne,
Ballarat, and Queensland, as well as the Festival of Voices
in Tasmania and the Noosa Long Weekend Festival,
which all guarantee flights and accommodation. In
addition, we are able to offer an Australia/Pacific cruise
ship booking as part of the Grand Prize package, thanks to
new Principal Sponsor Grayboy Entertainment. The Grand Prize
winner will also have the opportunity to present their show
at the New York Musical Theatre Festival, with flights and
accommodation for their appearance to the value of $3000
generously contributed by The Ron and Margaret Dobell
Foundation, a cash prize of $1000, a photographic and
marketing package from Blueprint Studios valued at $1000, a
Music Theatre and Cabaret music and book package from Hal
Leonard, as well as tour publicity from AussieTheatre.com
which will spotlight the winner’s creative process as they
develop and tour their show. The runner-up will also receive
a $500 cash prize, and a photographic package from Blueprint
Studios valued at $500.
Youett states “I am always
heartened by the support of our industry sponsors and
partners. To be able to provide this unique platform for
artists to be seen, as well as a career changing prize for
the contest winners is truly my favourite part!”
Performers will once again be asked to perform an
eight-minute ‘preview’ of the hour long show they would
like to have produced including music and interlinking
dialogue (patter). The winners of all heats are then
invited to the Grand Final in Sydney, with flights and
accommodation provided, so they may compete for the largest
prize package to date to be held Saturday 17th January at
Sydney’s acclaimed live music venue The
Basement.
This year’s contest is open to performers
18+, although performance spots in the heats are limited;
Submissions close Wednesday December 24th at 5pm and
performers of all experience levels are encouraged to enter.
For more information or the official YTICC 2015 Contestant
Entry Form, visit
www.yticc.com.
ends