Echolocation

We are thrilled to announce our cast and theatre partner for the first ever workshop and performance of Echolocation! Rachel Michelle Jones @rachelmichellejones will play Sadie Shem Omari James will play Ethan We will workshop the show at Theatre Royal Plymouth @theatreroyalplymouth thanks to their incredible support via their Artist Development Programme. Our work will culminate in a public work in progress performance on 14 November in The Lab, then we’re back to London for a few development days with @stilesanddreweofficial and @mmd__mtn as part of the Stiles and Drewe Mentorship Prize. A big thank you also to @aceagrams for their grant support. Alt text for visual description: Image 1 - Shem Omari James is a black man with short black hair, wearing a cream coloured t-shirt. Rachel Michelle Jones is a white woman with blonde hair, wearing a white blouse. Image 2 - Sam Norman is a white man with short brown curly hair, wearing a striped collared shirt. Eliza Randall is a white woman with straight long light-brown hair, wearing a green shirt. Sam Hooper is a white man with short brown hair, wearing a black shirt. Alie B. Gorrie is a white woman with long blonde hair wearing a pink collared shirt. Maryann Wright is a white woman with short brown hair wearing a blue turtle neck top. Image 3 - The echolocation poster has rows of golden yellow trees like in a forest, looking from above, with a road running down the middle. There’s a car driving up the road, and white sound waves coming out behind the car, in an abstract way.

Discover A New Musical Be Our Guest with Sam Norman, Eliza Randall and Alie B. Gorrie (Echolocation) Take a listen to our great interview here: /podcast Episode #398 #SupportNewMusicals #musicaltheatre #musicals

We are overjoyed that Echolocation has been selected as the winner of the 2025 MTI Stiles + Drewe Mentorship Award! The MTI Stiles + Drewe Mentorship Award was launched in 2016 by the multi award-winning musical theatre writing partnership George Stiles and Anthony Drewe (Honk!, Mary Poppins, Betty Blue Eyes, Half A Sixpence, Identical) and Mercury Musical Developments. Generously supported by Musical Theatre International (Europe), the Mentorship Award is presented biennially to a writer or writing team who have submitted the first full draft of a new musical. Stiles + Drewe, along with a panel of judges, select the winning project – the writers of which then benefit from bespoke mentorship and support over a 12-month period. As the recipient of the MTI Stiles + Drewe Mentorship Award, @samcreatesdrama and @elizarandallmusic will receive: - A fully funded, one-week development residential retreat in France to work on the musical. - Two funded one-day readings or R&Ds - After 12 months, the above culminates in rehearsal provision for a workshop followed by a full industry showcase presentation with a professional cast, director and musical director To Mr Stiles & Mr Drewe @stilesanddreweofficial , and to all the amazing people at @mmd__mtn and @mtieurope — thank you so much for making this incredible opportunity possible, and for putting your faith in Echolocation! We can’t WAIT to get back to work ✨ [Image description: An aerial shot of a lone car driving down a dark road through golden autumn trees. Overlaid text reads: “MTI Mentorship Award Stiles + Drewe Prize” at the top, “echolocation” in the center, and the “Arts Council England” circular logo at the bottom.]

We are thrilled to announce that Arts Council England @aceagrams have awarded Echolocation a £20,000 lottery grant to support our development of the show. As part of the grant, we are looking forward to working with our charity partners: @extantltd (the UK’s leading company of visually impaired artists and theatre practitioners) and @boptheatre (the inclusive touring theatre company working with disabled professional artists). This grant will allow us to continue dramaturgy on the script, with valued participation and feedback from the blind and low-vision community, and to explore what it takes to stage a musical in the dark. Exciting times ahead! [Image Description: A promotional image for Echolocation set over an aerial view of a car driving through autumnal trees. The title “echolocation” appears at the top, with the text “We are in development!” below. The Arts Council England logo and “Supported using public funding by Arts Council England” appear in the center. At the bottom are the logos of charity partners Birds of Paradise Theatre Company and Extant.]

ALIE B. GORRIE (Disability Inclusion Consultant) is an American performer and disability inclusion consultant. She travels to regional theatres, arts organisations, and universities, working to make the arts inclusive and accessible for all. Alie B. is the founder of Songs for Sight, an organisation helping young people with low vision live more independent lives. [Image Description: A headshot of disability inclusion consultant Alie B. Gorrie, a white woman in her 30s. She has light-brown shoulder-length hair and is smiling warmly. She wears a bright pink shirt under a denim jacket and is set against a solid pink background. The photo is framed in white and centered on a background of autumnal treetops.]

MARYANN WRIGHT (Producer and Dramaturg) is a producer of new musicals and plays in the UK and Australia. Shows currently in development: DREAMSONG (supported by Kindred Partners + House of Oz), ACE-funded ECHOLOCATION, and newly commissioned WE INTERRUPT YOUR REGULAR SCHEDULED PROGRAMMING. She is a 2024 Stage One Producers Bursary recipient and a Trustee of Aus-NZ arts charity, FANZA. [Image Description: A headshot of producer and dramaturg Maryann Wright, a white woman in her 30s. She has short, dark hair with bangs and is smiling brightly. She wears a navy sweater and gold earrings, and stands in a warmly lit indoor space. The photo is framed in white and centered on a background of autumnal treetops.]

ELIZA RANDALL (Music) is an American composer, pianist, and music director. Credits include BLACK HOLES LIKE DONUTS (Symphony Space for Prospect Musicals Lab) and THE YELLOW WALLPAPER (Harp Theatricals, Irvington Theatre, and Alleyway Theatre). Other compositions have been performed at The Other Palace, Hackney Empire, Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre, and the Lincoln Center. She recently finished performing on the U.S. national tour of WICKED. [Image Description: A headshot of composer Eliza Randall, a white woman in her 30s. She has long, light brown hair and is smiling. She wears a dark green top and stands in front of a blurred, grey metal backdrop. The photo is framed in white and centered on a background of autumnal treetops.]

SAM NORMAN (Book/Lyrics) is a British writer for the stage and screen. Recent credits include COME DINE WITH ME: THE MUSICAL (Norwich Playhouse, Edinburgh Fringe, Turbine Theatre) and HAIRPIECE (Kennedy Center). He is a Resident Artist at the American Lyric Theater, a Johnny Mercer Foundation Songwriter, an alum of the American Opera Initiative and a three-time finalist for the Stiles & Drewe Best New Song Prize. His screenplay GAMESTOP won the ScreenCraft TV Pilot Fellowship 2024. His work has been described as “remarkable… genius writing” (StagetoPage), “witty, hilarious and completely delightful” (Huffington Post) and “crushingly cheese, but satisfying” (The Times, a personal highlight). [Image Description: A headshot of bookwriter/lyricist Sam Norman, a white man in his late 20s. He has short, wavy light brown hair and blue eyes, and wears a patterned button-down shirt. He is smiling softly and is set against a plain black background. The photo is framed in white and centered on a background of autumnal treetops.]

[Image Description: An aerial photo of a car driving along a straight, dark road cutting through a forest of autumnal trees in vibrant orange and gold. Directly behind the car is a white vertical sound wave, resembling car exhaust.]