THE Stage Experience 2015 show at the Grand Opera House in York will be Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim’s musical West Side Story.

Director and choreographer Louise Denison will run the summer theatre school for ten to 21 year olds from July 18 to August 1 and will hold auditions at the Cumberland Street theatre on Sunday, April 19 from 9am.

Auditionees must be available for all dates and those who are successful will be required to pay an entrance fee to the project: £160 for ages ten to 12 or £190 for ages 13 to 21, with a £20 discount for a sibling in the older age group.

The fee includes two weeks’ tuition in a professional theatre, set and prop hire, loan of most costumes, a souvenir T-shirt, social events and a souvenir programme for the performances that conclude the fortnight.

“Everyone must attend the free audition to take part in the project and need to send in an application form with four passport-size photos by April 3,” says project producer Clare O’Connor, who can be contacted on 01904 678702 or by emailing clareoconnor@theambassadors.com for more information and the form.

“Then just turn up on the day; auditionees do not need to prepare anything for April 19. Everyone will be notified by email after the audition as to whether or not they have been successful.”

Looking forward to this summer’s show, Clare says: “This year for Stage Experience we’ve gone back to the operatic musical which everyone loves. Inspired by the classic tale of Romeo And Juliet, West Side Story is a modern-day musical opera, which has an abundance of well-known songs such as America, Tonight and Maria. Guaranteed to show the wealth of talent we have, it will also show the skills of our production team to the max, and leave you wanting more.”

• All correspondence will be sent via email. Application forms must be sent to Stage Experience, Grand Opera House, York, Cumberland Street, York, YO1 9SW.