Edinburgh Music Theatre Company (EMT) was formed in 1982 and has gone from strength to strength to become one of the best adult amateur musical theatre companies in the capital. Managed by a Board of Directors we aim to stage musical theatre performances of the highest standard through commitment, dedication, hard work and talent.
Working with professional directors, choreographers, and musical directors EMT has produced an incredible array of large-scale musicals, as well as showcase productions as part of the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Auditions are held for each new production, and we are always delighted to welcome new members into the EMT family. We perform a main stage musical each year for one week between March-May and perform in August as part of the Edinburgh Fringe. Recent productions have included Footloose, Beauty and the Beast, The Addams Family, 9 to 5: The Musical, The Drowsy Chaperone and various performances in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Our last production was Beauty and the Beast at the Churchill Theatre 1st – 5th April 2025.

EMT is a registered charity, registration number SC008131.

As an adult amateur musical theatre company, we regret that only those individuals over 18 are eligible to join/audition. 

The information in the rest of this document outlines what you can expect as a member of an EMT cast. Please read all the information provided before booking your audition. If you have any questions about absolutely anything, please don’t hesitate to drop us an email at hello@edinburghmusictheatre.co.uk , or send us a message on one of our Social Media Channels, and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

‘A Brief History of Musical Theatre’ is an ensemble-driven fringe production celebrating the evolution of the musical. This high-energy 90-minute show features extensive stage time for the full company, with numerous large-scale ensemble numbers at its heart.

The journey begins in 1866 with The Black Crook, widely considered the first musical, and travels through the defining eras that have shaped the art form as we know it today. Guiding the audience are two narrators who lead us through these transitions. While they provide wit and comic relief, they also anchor the piece, connecting each era and illuminating how musical theatre has continually evolved.

Although there is a scripted framework for the narrators, performers auditioning for these roles should feel confident with improvisation and responsive performance. The ability to collaborate, think on your feet, and create dynamic chemistry with a scene partner will be essential in bringing depth, contrast, and spontaneity to the storytelling.

The production will include full ensemble numbers, smaller group pieces, and selected duets/solos. Not all musical numbers are predetermined; we are eager to see what each performer brings to the audition room. Following auditions, the final set list and narrator script will be tailored to the strengths of the cast.

We look forward to seeing your individuality, creativity, and passion for musical theatre. 

Our Fringe production will be an approximately 90 minute long show. This will be performed by a cast who will be selected via an audition process.

EMT’s 2026 Fringe performance will be staged at Edinburgh New Town Church (formerly known as St Andrew's & St George's West Church), George Street, Edinburgh on Wednesday 12th to Friday 14th August 2026 at 7.45pm each evening.

Rehearsals will commence on 13th May and will be every Wednesday (7pm-10pm), with one added Saturday morning (10am-1pm) date per month(16th May, 27th June and 25th July). The final Saturday, 8th August, will be a 10am-5pm rehearsal to include time with the band and costumed run. This rehearsal is mandatory. Dress rehearsal in the venue is on Tuesday 11th August from 6pm and is also mandatory.

Acceptance into the cast will be announced before the first rehearsal. However, full casting for solos/small group numbers will be announced by the end of May. Some casting may be announced in staged phases after this time. This is because the specifics of the Fringe programme are still at design stages, and we need to allow the Creative Team some flexibility to come up with the best possible programme.

Rehearsals take place in Barclay Church Hall, 2 Barclay Terrace, Edinburgh, EH10 4HR, unless otherwise advised.

In terms of the performance itself, the show includes an arrangement of ensemble and solo pieces, with a combined total of around 28 musical numbers. Choreography tends to be limited towards creative movement rather than elaborate routines, although naturally some numbers may be more complex than others.

Individuals interested in joining EMT as a cast member for our 2026 Fringe production are required to attend a company audition. EMT alumni who have acquired 12 points over the last four shows (Footloose, Fringe 2025, Beauty and the Beast and Fringe 2024, with 3 points awarded per fringe show and six points awarded per main show*), who wish to join the Fringe 2026 show as ensemble only are not required to undertake a company audition. You must, however, still notify us of your desire to join the company ensemble by emailing hello@edinburghmusictheatre.co.uk by no later than 7th May 2026, to ensure a place is reserved for you. You will still be required to audition should you like to be considered for a solo.

*Where minimum ticket sales have not been achieved and/or rehearsal absence limits were exceeded following participation in one of EMT’s recent productions, automatic entry to company ensemble may be subject to Board approval.

TYPE OF AUDITION
We'll be hosting hybrid auditions this year, with two in-person evenings while also accepting video auditions.
- In-Person Auditions can be booked using the link at the end of this Information Pack.
- Video auditions should be submitted to hello@edinburghmusictheatre.co.uk by 11:55PM on Wednesday 6th May.

WHAT TO SING
Choose a song that celebrates an era of musical theatre - whether it’s Golden Age glamour, rock revolution, mega-musical drama, or contemporary brilliance. Choose a number that truly showcases your voice, personality, and storytelling. Please prepare a cut version lasting no longer than 2 minutes. Make it bold. Make it dynamic. Make it memorable.

WHAT TO BRING (TO AN IN PERSON AUDITION)
Please bring along a backing track that can be connected via Bluetooth to a speaker or that the prod team can search for on their phones (i.e a YouTube track). You are also more than welcome to send this in advance to Flick or Emily.

NARRATOR AUDITIONS
Auditioning for one of our Narrator roles? Be sure to prepare the reading piece included at the end of this pack. We’re looking for charisma, quick thinking, and performers who can command the room while bringing wit and energy to the journey through musical theatre history. You are also more than welcome to audition as a duo - we are looking for two narrators in total.

THE PANEL
The audition panel will consist of three people and will be a combination of creative team and board members.

No previous stage experience is necessary. The audition panel will be looking for a demonstration of both your singing and general performance abilities.

Both successful and unsuccessful auditionees will be notified by email no later than 8th May 2026. Rehearsals will commence from Wednesday 13th May 2026.

EMT is a very friendly amateur musical theatre group and as auditions progress, we look forward to welcoming back our alumni and introducing new EMT members into our extended family.

Naturally, as with any company, we have some expectations of our cast members. To help you decide whether EMT and our production is right for you, it’s important to understand the expectations EMT have of successful auditionees.

Cast Subs: Successful applicants are required to pay a subs fee for their participation in each production. For the Fringe this is £50. A minimum of £30 is due by no later than 13th May, with the full balance payable by no later than 3rd June 2026. We will consider alternative arrangements on a case-by-case basis, but these must be discussed, agreed and in place by 13th May 2026. Otherwise, the subs fee will be due in full by 3rd June 2026.

Attendance: Fringe rehearsals are fast paced but a lot of fun. However, with so much to learn in a relatively short space of time a commitment to maintain regular attendance by all cast members is mandatory. All known absences must be advised prior to auditioning (you must detail these in full on your auditions form). Please be aware that failure to do so may result in offers to join the cast being withdrawn. Cast members must notify timeously of any new absences as soon as they become aware there may be an issue in attending any given rehearsal. This is to ensure time is not wasted scheduling activities for participants that will not be present. Given past feedback on the impact on cast preparations, we regret that we are unable to accommodate cast members missing more than 20% of the rehearsal time (3 absences overall). We are sorry for any disappointment this mandatory condition might cause, but with a limited amount of time to rehearse we must take the entire casts needs into consideration in what is a very rewarding, but equally challenging, rehearsal schedule.

Timekeeping: We understand there are occasionally unforeseen circumstances, and life gets in the way. However, we ask that all cast members do everything reasonably practical to ensure they are at rehearsals to start 7pm sharp (10am in the case of Saturday rehearsals). Repeated late comers and delays in commencing rehearsals causes a lot of frustrations which ultimately has a negative impact on cast preparations on the whole. Please do what you can to respect your fellow cast members and the Creative Team by being on time for rehearsals. In extreme circumstances the Board reserves the right to ask those cast who are repeatedly and habitually late, without good cause, to leave the production.

Home Practice: With around 25-30 numbers in the Fringe programme, and around half of these involving the whole cast, there is a lot to learn. Our Musical Director provides sheet music and online support tools to help you, but you should anticipate putting aside additional time for practice. Singing in the shower counts! Similarly, our Choreographer will provide video clips of what has been practised at rehearsals for you to go over in your own time. Those who have planned absences will need to ensure they use online resources available to review what they’ve missed and take personal responsibility for catching up.

Ticket Sales: It goes without saying that sales are hugely reliant upon ongoing and proactive promotion by the cast from the outset. There is an expectation that each cast member will sell a mandatory minimum 15 tickets, and you undertake a personal responsibility to honour this commitment when joining EMT. A huge amount of money goes into the organisation of each EMT production, and without good ticket sales we will be unable to continue as an amateur company. Failure to meet the minimum ticket sales target may impact on an individual’s ability to join future EMT productions.

Volunteering: When everyone in EMT pulls together there really is no stopping us. Whether volunteering to bake treats for breaktime in rehearsals (the £1 donation from each cast member also contributes to much needed funds), helping with organisation of our annual social/fundraising events or even organising your own show promotion activities, all of this contributes to EMT’s success. EMT is a highly participative company. That means we all have a part to play in the achievements and prosperity of the company, and we encourage cast to become active participants in this. There are always ways to become more involved, including occasional opportunities to contribute towards the implementation of wider initiatives set by the Board that impacts upon EMT’s longer term success.

Costume: In our Fringe performances the cast are required to provide their own outfits and footwear. Items of clothing tend to be either something that is easily sourced from your own wardrobe or can be purchased relatively cheaply. For example, in our 2025 Fringe production cast members wore all black for productions and were asked to accessorise with sparkly accessories for each performance, or we might ask you to wear something in a block colour. Shoes tend to be black / character shoes.

Conduct: We are grateful that this is something that we rarely need to address in EMT. However, it’s important to highlight that we have a non-negotiable expectation that we treat each other with respect. 

In Person Auditions will take place on:
- Wednesday 6th May 2026 at Barclay Viewforth Church, Bruntsfield, Edinburgh, EH10 4HN
- Thursday 7th May 2026 at Quaker House, 7 Victoria Terrace (above Victoria Street), EH1 2JL

Interested applicants can sign up through this link: https://calendly.com/edmusictheatre/fringe2026

Please keep your confirmation email handy as a reminder of your booking date/time.

If you are unable to make your audition slot for whatever reason, please do ensure you cancel this as soon as you become aware of being unable to attend. This ensures as many potential applicants as possible get an opportunity to audition. If you have difficulties on the day, please notify us by emailing hello@edinburghmusictheatre.co.uk.

Video Auditions should be sent to hello@edinburghmusictheatre.co.uk by 11:55PM on Wednesday 6th May 2026

WHO IS ELIGIBLE?
To reward long-standing company members who have contributed to the company over a number of years, we offer automatic entry into the Ensemble. Anyone eligible, but wishing to go for a Principal or Featured role must complete a full audition.

HOW WILL I KNOW IF I HAVE AUTO-ENTRY?
If you are unsure if you meet the criteria for auto-entry into our Fringe 2026 show, please contact us at hello@edinburghmusictheatre.co.uk.

CHANGES FOR 2025
We recently changed the auto-entry to a new points-based approach that recognises both on and off-stage contributions to the company. More information can be found on the Auto-Entry page:

WE'RE ALWAYS HERE TO ANSWER ANY OTHER QUESTIONS YOU MAY HAVE!

You can either:

Send us a message through our Social Media - Facebook and Instagram! (HINT: You can use the links in the footer of this page to go directly to our pages.)

OR

Send us an email and we'll get back to you as soon as possible - send your message to hello@edinburghmusictheatre.co.uk

[NARRATOR]
Good evening, fabulous humans, theatre lovers, and anyone who’s ever burst into song like they’re center stage in a musical. Welcome to our slightly mad, highly ambitious, and probably ill-advised attempt to do the impossible:
We’re going to tell the entire story of musical theatre, all in just ninety minutes, through song and dance, all while sticking to incredibly ruthless rights stipulations.

Disclaimer before we start: For the benefit of anyone that works for the Broadway gods, I am not a character, this is not a dramatic piece, and this is simply a revue show with spoken segues between songs to provide historical fact and context.

Now, musical theatre didn’t start with tap shoes, glitter cannons, or someone dressed as a green witch belting a high F while being lifted into the air on a backstage forklift. No, it began with an accident. A happy accident. In 1866, to be exact. The director of a melodrama met the director of a ballet company, and someone thought…
Why not?
…and BOOM the first modern musical was born.

It was chaotic, strange, and only four-and-a-half hours long! And you thought Act One of Into The Woods was a stretch.

I promise, we’ll keep this a bit shorter and have you back in some overpriced bar in no time.

Over the next hour and a half, we’ll travel from those early spectacles, to operetta, take a speed-run through the Golden Age, and we’ll end up amongst megamusicals, rock operas, hip-hop and pop.

And, SURPRISE, we’ll do it all with live singing, real dancing, questionable accents, and absolutely no time to breathe between numbers.

Throughout the show, I’ll be your guide, your narrator, your enthusiastic tour conductor.

So. Enough talking.

Let’s rewind all the way back to the show that accidentally started it all.”