Research and development, testing and exploring new ideas is at the heart of what Mahogany Opera Group does, and in early 2017 we presented the third edition of our Various Stages Festival.

A showcase of our R&D process, the festival opens a window on to the programme in a series of curated workshops, in-progress sharings and feedback sessions. We want people to discover our work that’s in the process of being made and to see how we interrogate ideas to make new opera and music theatre.

This year we are opening up the festival and inviting other artists to join us for the first time, offering the opportunity to workshop and share in-progress ideas as part of our Various Stages process.

We would like to hear from artists who wish to develop a new, innovative, boundary-pushing idea combining music and theatre.

‘The work I create cannot be made without the workshops which happen at Various Stages. As a composer I need to learn how the minds and bodies of the performers work by being with them and feel how my music and words work in real time and space.’
Jamie Man, composer – Various Stages participant

For Mahogany, music theatre is music-driven work where the musical and theatrical dramaturgies are held in equal importance. Music theatre builds on, but is distinct from, traditional opera.

Our definition of ‘artist’ is loose. Artists might be music theatre, opera, theatre, dance, performance artists, individuals or groups/companies. Experience in traditional or contemporary opera is not necessary.

If you’d like to find out more about this opportunity, including how to submit a proposal, head to our website. The deadline for submissions is Friday 29 July, 12pm.

We hope to share details of the successful projects in September, with in-progress showcases in February 2017.

The Mahogany team