Finalists Announced For SOUND BITES X, 10th Annual Festival Of 10-Minute Musicals

Theater Now New York, one of the nation's leading producers of original short form musicals, has selected 10 finalists to be presented in its SOUND BITES X Festival of 10-Minute Musicals. The festival will take place on May 8th at 7pm at Merkin Hall at Kaufman Music Center (129 W 67th St, New York).

Now in its tenth year, the SOUND BITES Festival of 10-Minute Musicals is a fast-paced evening featuring a diverse lineup of stories and styles from emerging writers. Shows presented in past years of the festival have gone on to be licensed through Music Theatre International and produced around the world. Theatre Now's Managing Director Colleen Harris describes the event as "an incredible opportunity to experience the future of musical theatre, with both traditional and genre-bending shows that showcase the next generation of writers."

The 10 finalists chosen for this year's festival are:

BIG ASS SECRET

Book, Music, and Lyrics by Justin Anthony Long, Orchestrations by Noah Prizant

Jimmy is an average high school teenager with one big ass secret and today might finally be the day when he tells someone.

BLACK HOLES LIKE DONUTS

Book and Lyrics by Sam Norman, Music by Eliza Randall

When a star collapses, a black hole forms. When a beloved mother dies, her astrophysicist husband and daughter must learn how to live with the void in their lives.

DEATH OF AN UNDERLING

Book, Music, and Lyrics by Kit Goldstein Grant

A petty government clerk accidentally sneezes on his boss, and desperately tries to make amends before he loses his job. Based on a story by Anton Chekhov.

FAITH

Book by Simon Broucke, Book, Music, and Lyrics by Pance Pony

An ambitious and naïve young person signs an agreement with the devil in order to write the next global pop hit.

HEADSPACE

Book, Music and Lyrics by J. Quinton Johnson

A young man struggles with his parents' imminent divorce via a journey inside his own mind.

HOUSE CALL

Book and Lyrics by Danielle Koenig, Music and Lyrics by Utsav Bhargava

Theatre-goer, you haven't bought your TICKET yet and we critically need YOU in the AUDIENCE of HOUSE CALL to watch as a relationship is put to the TEST after an INFLUX of Nancy Pelosi texts. Can I count on you? Signed, Nancy Pelosi. (Text STOP to quit)

THE PROBLEM TROLLEY

Book by Cameron Reese, Music and Lyrics by RJ Christian

In the famous ethical dilemma, a trolley is barreling towards tragedy. But who the hell set that trolley loose?

SPARKS

Book and Lyrics by Gabe Caruso, Music by Enzo Veiga

Atto and Tera, two housekeeping androids in neighboring households, yearn for something more human than their pre-programmed AI lives.

STARSONG

Music by Erika Ji, Words by Andrew Strano

Through light and puppetry, STARSONG tells the story of twin stars, born in a beautiful nebula at the heart of the Milky Way.

THE VELOCIRAPTOR'S VERY GOOD DAY

Book, Music, and Lyrics by Shane Dittmar and Sarah Kaufman

When an impossible-to-predict tragedy strikes, it's up to Velociraptor to embrace who he really is and make a discovery that will change the world forever.

Runners up for this year's festival are THE MASTERPIECE (Book & Lyrics by Allison Light, Music by Lorrie Doriza) and WHAT DO YOU DO WITH YOUR ARMS? (Book, Music, and Lyrics by Zach Spound).

SOUND BITES X is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Additional support is provided by Music Theatre International and A.R.T/NY. Theatre Now is an artist service organization dedicated to the development, production, publication, and circulation of short and long-form musicals, by providing ongoing support for writers and their work in order to nurture voices and forms that push the boundaries of musical theatre.

Tickets go on sale March 26 and can be purchased at www.tnny.org/sound-bites-x. For more information about Theatre Now New York, visit www.tnny.org.