Published by New Jersey Stage
originally published: 05/16/2026
(NEW YORK, NY) -- Emerging Artists Theatre (EAT) is now accepting submissions for the Fall Spark Theatre Festival NYC. The festival will run October 5-25, 2026, at The 28th Street Theatre, located at 15 W 28th Street in New York City. The application deadline is June 14, 2026.
The Fall festival will be broken into two categories: workshop productions and fully developed new work. Throughout the Fall festival, a diverse selection of new work for the stage will be given a single performance, which select productions given more than one presentation.
Spark Theatre Festival NYC showcases polished works-in-progress. Many pieces showcased at the festival are presented in front of an audience for the very first time. Artists are welcome to present staged readings or fully produced off-book productions. Each participant is given the option of doing a talkback following their performance, during which they may ask the audience for feedback on their work.
Submissions of short plays, solo performances, dance, cabaret, sketch comedy, jazz, burlesque, monologues, storytelling, and subway musicians/acts are now being accepted. If you have an artistic discipline that isn’t mentioned or is “out of the box,” please submit.
Please note that the Spark Theatre Festival NYC is not accepting musicals for this round of submissions. In November, EAT will launch the first annual Spark Musical Theatre Festival NYC! Watch for further details to be announced soon. Applications for the musical theatre festival will be live at www.emergingartiststheatre.org on June 15th.
The Spark Theatre Festival presents work nightly throughout the three-week festival, Monday through Sunday, at 7:00pm, and on Fridays and Saturdays at 7:00pm & 9:00pm, and on Sundays at 2:00pm, 5:00pm, & 7:00pm. Presentation slots are 60 minutes. Artists submitting a short piece will be paired with another play or dance piece to create a 60-minute performance slot. Submissions must be a minimum of 5 minutes for dance pieces and monologues. Productions may not be performed within 3 months prior to the Spark Theatre Festival or within 1 month after the festival.
To submit a new work, please visit www.emergingartiststheatre.org/submissions
The deadline for submissions is midnight (EST) June 14th, 2026. Participants will be notified on a rolling basis starting in mid-July. There are no submission or festival fees, and participants receive a 50/50 box-office split when the required audience guarantee of 1 ticket per minute of performance is met. Past artists who have packed the house have made between $300 and $900 for a 30-minute to 1-hour presentation.
Application and submission guidelines are available at www.emergingartiststheatre.org/submissions
Spark Theatre Festival NYC is a bi-annual three-week developmental festival that provides artists of different disciplines the opportunity to present one night of a "work in progress" with audience feedback. Since its inception in 2006, successful FringeNYC, NYMF, Edinburgh Fringe, and Off-Broadway shows have emerged from this festival.
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; and Rep light plot and sound system - typically, shows are limited to approximately 10 sound and 10 light cues for an hour-long performance.
EVENT PREVIEWS
Ritz Theatre Cabaret Series presents "Dream On!"
(HADDON TOWNSHIP, NJ) -- The Ritz Theatre Company continues its Cabaret Series with Dream On! on Wednesday, July 1, 2026 at 7:30pm. Curated by Connor Twigg, this event features regional artists singing songs from their dream roles.
Liberty Arts Theatre presents "The America 250 USO Tour" featuring a star-studded cast from Abraham Lincoln to Thomas Jefferson with music, dance, comedy and after party!
(LEONIA, NJ) -- Liberty Arts Theatre will keep us all rockin' in the free world with the high-octane celebration America 250 USO Tour - where Vaudeville meets American history – featuring a star-studded cast from Abraham Lincoln and Thomas Jefferson to George Patton, a live orchestra, song-and-dance numbers and comedy sketches. The America 250 USO Tour will march into the American Legion Post #1 (399 Broad Street) in Leonia on Thursday, July 2, 2026 at 7:00pm.
Classic American Tales honors the 250th with "Margaret's Diary During a Revolution"
(CAPE MAY, NJ) -- "Before we retired to bed, an attempt was made to teach the children to pronounce 'vegates,' (how do you do?) like a German. Our good neighbors are a little concerned to think there is not one in the neighborhood who will be able to interpret for us when the Hessians are quartered here," wrote Margaret Morris in her diary on December 21, 1776.
American Theater Group and Union Arts Center present Spotlight on NJ: Play Reading Event
(UNION, NJ) -- American Theater Group (ATG), in partnership with the Union Arts Center, will present a three-day Spotlight play reading event featuring works by New Jersey playwrights at the DMK Black Box Theater at the Union Arts Center from July 6-8, 2026 with performances at 7:00pm each night.
Live On Stage Productions presents "Together Off-Broadway: Merman & Martin in Concert" at Cape May Stage
(CAPE MAY, NJ) -- Live On Stage Productions presents Together Off-Broadway: Merman & Martin in Concert at Cape May Stage from July 4-10, 2026. This show celebrates the remarkable bond between Ethel Merman and Mary Martin — two of Broadway’s brightest stars.
Gateway Playhouse presents Neil Simon's "London Suite"
(SOMERS POINT, NJ) -- Gateway Playhouse presents Neil Simon's London Suite with three performances from July 11-12, 2026. Witty, charming, and unmistakably Neil Simon, London Suite invites audiences into a series of hilarious and heartfelt encounters set in the same London hotel room.
The Light Opera of New Jersey presents "H.M.S. Pinafore" at the Sieminski Theater Cultural Arts Center
(BASKING RIDGE, NJ) -- The Light Opera of New Jersey presents H.M.S. Pinafore from July 11-12, 2026 at the Sieminski Theater Cultural Arts Center. This is a comic operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan that satirize the British class system.
Misfits Theatre Co. presents "She Loves Me"
(MATAWAN, NJ) -- Misfits Theatre Co., a community theater organization dedicated to producing bold, entertaining, and accessible theater for audiences of all ages, presents its inaugural book musical production, She Loves Me at Matawan Regional High School from July 10-12, 2026.
Dragonfly Multicultural Arts Center presents "Sense and Sensibility" outside duCret Center of Art
(PLAINFIELD, NJ) -- Dragonfly Multicultural Arts Center invites audiences to experience Jane Austen's beloved classic Sense and Sensibility in a charming outdoor production this summer at duCret Center of Art in Plainfield. Performances take place July 10-12, 2026.
Howell PAL Theater Company presents "Grease"
(OCEAN GROVE, NJ) -- Howell PAL Theater Company presents the classic musical Grease weekends from July 10-12, 2026 at the Jersey Shore Arts Center. Grease is a love song to the 1950s and a cornerstone of the American musical comedy form.
FEATURED EVENTS
