RCS graduates Noisemaker win major US musical theatre award
Scott Gilmour and Claire McKenzie, the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland graduates behind Noisemaker, have received one of the US musical theatre sector’s most influential honours for emerging writers.
The duo are among the latest recipients of The American Theatre Wing’s Jonathan Larson Grant, which supports exceptional emerging musical theatre composers, lyricists, librettists and writing teams. They are the first Scottish team to receive the award.
Alongside an unrestricted grant of US$20,000, Noisemaker will also receive a US$2,500 Saw Island Foundation Recording Grant to support new demo recordings.
Gilmour and McKenzie met at RCS in 2009 while studying on the BA Musical Theatre and Composition programmes respectively, later forming Noisemaker in 2012. Since then, they have built an impressive portfolio of new musical theatre work including Ceilidh, Scots, The Snow Goose, Oor Wullie, My Left/Right Foot, Atlantic: A Scottish Story and Hi My Name is Ben.
Speaking to RCS, Gilmour said the award would help the pair devote time to a new project that had been ‘on the shelf for years’, while also enabling professional recordings of existing work.
The recognition comes as Noisemaker prepare for a busy period ahead, with The Snow Goose premiering in August and Ceilidh opening in October at Pitlochry Festival Theatre before further performances in London and on tour.