For the 2026 residencies you should be aged between 16 and 22, on 17 August 2026. (You must be aged 16. This means that you may be able to audition aged 15, as long as you will be 16 by this date).  

For any questions about our eligibility criteria, please email us at: auditions@nyaw.org.uk 

Once you’ve clicked the Book Now button you will be taken to the booking form to complete.  

The application form will ask some questions about your school/college and performing experience that will help us at your audition.    

The form will ask you to upload a recent headshot of yourself (this can be a phone photo/selfie (Max 4MB).  

It should take no longer than around 10 minutes to complete.   

There is a £25 fee per audition, but you can choose a free audition if you face any financial barriers.    

If you are paying the audition fee, you will be emailed a payment link once you have submitted the form.    

Times may be subject to slight changes, but we’ll email you to confirm your audition date and time at least 2 weeks before the audition date.    If you have any questions, or problems with the form, please email auditions@nyaw.org.uk 

The 2.5-hour workshop audition costs £25 – this goes towards our administration; venue hire and panel fee costs.  
 
Tick ‘Bursary’ on the form if you cannot pay the audition fee for financial reasons. 

There is nothing to prepare in advance. All we ask is that you make the most of the session by being open, presenting work with your fellow performers and embracing the opportunity.    

The ethos of our auditions is to develop an environment where you feel confident to explore and discover your potential with the group. We’ve designed them as friendly 2.5 hour long group workshops led by a panel of professionals alongside NYAW staff.  

You can request an online audition if you are unable to make a face-to-face audition due to illness or for accessibility reasons.    

Auditions are run bilingually, and we welcome the use of Welsh, English and BSL in our auditions.     

Wear comfortable clothes that you can move around in easily.    

Bring water bottles and/or preferred cold drinks (not fizzy drinks), and any necessary fruit/snacks to sustain you through the audition.     

The audition will last 2.5 hours with a short break in the middle.   

PANELS  

Auditions will be led by a panel of National Youth Arts Wales associates who are industry professionals including NYAW staff.     

LANGUAGE  

The audition will be led bilingually, and we welcome the use of either Welsh, English or BSL.    

If you have any access or additional learning requirements, get in contact with us at auditions@nyaw.org.uk and the NYDW producer will get back to you. 

Once the application deadline has closed, we will email you to confirm your audition venue details, date, time and how to get there.  

 You will receive a short feedback email to let us know what you thought!  

You will receive the result and any offers in the week commencing the 1 March and we will ask you to confirm if you want to accept this offer by a certain date.   

£1,100

Your membership fee includes all tuition costs, accommodation, food and board, travel within the residency and social activities. Thanks to the generous support from our funders and supporters, National Youth Arts Wales subsidises a significant part of the costs of being a member of one of the national youth ensembles. 

However, we aim to make sure that money is never a barrier to participation in any of our ensembles or projects. We understand that for some applicants any contribution may be out of reach, which is why we run a generous bursary scheme that supports where support is needed.  

We consider each applicant’s household’s income, with the aim to offer help with some or all of the contribution. We also offer an instalment payment plan.

Our Bursary Fund could help to cover some or all of the membership fees, so that no-one is deterred from applying for the NYAW Ensembles for financial reasons.

Visit NYAW BURSARY FUND for full information including how to claim help toward audition costs and membership fees.