Emerging Artists Theatre Accepting Submissions for SPARK THEATRE FESTIVAL NYC
The festival will take place at The 28th Street Theatre, welcoming short plays, dance, cabaret, and more.
Emerging Artists Theatre (EAT) is now accepting submissions for the Fall Spark Theatre Festival NYC. The festival will run October 5th - 25th, 2026, at The 28th Street Theatre, located at 15 W 28th Street in New York City.
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, because we have some exciting news to share! 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 emergingartiststheatre.org on June 15th.
The Spark Theatre Festival presents work nightly throughout the three-week festival, Monday through Sunday, at 7 pm, and on Fridays and Saturdays at 7 pm and 9 pm, and on Sundays at 2 pm, 5 pm, and 7 pm. 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 https://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. In the Fall of 2023, EAT produced three Off-Broadway World Premieres that were previously showcased at Spark Theatre Festival NYC, including Anne Being Frank by Ron Elisha, Doris Day: My Secret Love by Paul Adams, and Sex Work/Sex Play by Caytha Jentis.
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
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