Emerging Artists Theatre has announced the launch of the inaugural Spark Musical Theatre Festival NYC. Created in response to the evolving landscape of new musical theatre, the festival is dedicated to supporting the development of original musicals.
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The festival will showcase both short- and full-length musicals in various stages of development, providing writers, composers, lyricists, and creative teams with an opportunity to present new work before live audiences.
The company is now accepting submissions for the festival. The deadline is midnight EST on July 31, 2026, at emergingartiststheatre.org/submissions. As always, there are no submission fees and artists receive a box office split once the audience guarantee is met. Applicants must be from the New York Tri-State Area.
Artistic Director, Paul Adams shared why he is starting the new festival:
“For 33 years, Emerging Artists has always been dedicated to the creation of new work and providing artists with a home to let their diverse artistry fly free. Emerging Artists’ current launch to find the funding to create ARTCOOP, the first performing arts center for smaller theatre and dance companies, continues that mission.”
“Since the demise of NYMF and FringeNYC, there is no festival devoted exclusively to the development of new musicals. Emerging Artists plans to fill that void with our Inaugural Spark Musical Theatre Festival NYC. This 3-week festival can give so many composers and librettists the opportunity to hear their entire musical before an audience and have an interactive dialogue after.”
The festival will run November 2 – 22, 2026, at The 28th Street Theatre (TADA), located at 15 W 28th Street in New York City. Each participant has the option to do a talkback following their performance, during which they may ask the audience for feedback on their work.
The Musical Theatre Festival will complement EAT’s existing programming, including the biannual Spark Theatre Festival NYC, which showcases new plays, dance, solo performances, cabaret, and other theatrical genres. The next Spark Theatre Festival NYC will take place October 5–25 at the 28th Street Theatre.
Emerging Artists Theatre provides:
• A 99-seat off-Broadway theater in the heart of Manhattan
• After the audience guarantee of 1 ticket sold per minute of performance is met, artists receive 50% of the box office
• Professional/Equity stage manager and technical staff
• Piano and music stands
• Ticketing services
• Box office
• A projector
• Two dressing rooms
• Curated talkback (where you decide what feedback you need)
• Safe and supportive environment
• Nice, friendly staff
• Simple set pieces available (blocks, tables, chairs, small couch/bed)
• One technical rehearsal
• Rep light plot and sound system – typically, shows are limited to approximately 10 sound and 10 light cues for an hour-long performance
EMERGING ARTISTS THEATRE (EAT) is an award-winning theater company known as an incubator for new voices from the page to the stage. EAT was founded over 30 years ago to provide a dynamic home for diverse artists to explore their work and guide it through development to full artistic realization through our bi-annual Spark Theatre Festival NYC. Emerging Artists Theatre has built a reputation as a champion of equity and opportunity in theatre, ensuring that financial constraints do not dictate artistic opportunity.
Spark Theatre Festival NYC, under the direction of Artistic Director Paul Adams, has presented new work for the stage since 2006. Since its inception, numerous musicals, plays, solo shows, and dance pieces workshopped at the series have gone on to have full productions at the Edinburgh Fringe, NYMF, FringeNYC & Encores, Off-Broadway, as well as National and International productions. www.emergingartiststheatre.org
