Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

If you can hold a note or two and fancy being part of a musical, then Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Newcastle wants to hear from you.

This weekend, the station will be holding open auditions in Sunderland and Newcastle and will be on the look out for budding singers to perform in Metro the Musical – a special filmed musical it has commissioned to celebrate 30 years of the Tyne & Wear Metro.

Metro the Musical will feature North East people telling their own stories and experiences of the Metro through song and music – with a lot of dancing too!

To take part, open auditions will take place at the following locations:

The Bridges Shopping Centre, Sunderland, on Saturday 4 December, from 1-5pm

Eldon Garden Shopping Centre, Newcastle, on Sunday 5 December from 1-5pm.

Singers of any ability are welcome to audition and will be selected to perform either individually or as part of a choir in the final production. On the day, singers will be asked to sing a verse and a chorus from their favourite song unaccompanied, or alternatively, can be accompanied on a piano. Auditions will last for no longer than 10 minutes, and successful performers will be notified a few days after the event.

Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Newcastle Editor Andrew Robson, says: "This is the chance to be part of something special. The Tyne & Wear Metro is part of so many people's lives, and we want to celebrate that with a project that everybody can be part of."

Over the last few months, Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Newcastle has been collecting listeners' stories and experiences of the Tyne & Wear Metro, like Pat from Gateshead who met her partner of 18 years on the Metro, and Chris who got to drive a test train at only 10 years old. These stories, and many more like it, could feature in the musical. Stories can be emailed to: Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔNewcastle@bbc.co.uk; alternatively the station can be contacted on 0191 244 1200.

The Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ is working on this project with composer Benjamin Till who produced Coventry Market the Musical with Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Coventry and Warwickshire and more recently A Symphony for Yorkshire with Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Yorkshire.

The musical will launch at a public event in Spring 2011 and will broadcast on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Look North and Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Newcastle; it will also be available on a special DVD to raise money for Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ Children in Need and then online.

RF