Dedos LibresSeptember 8–28 at The Chain Theatre in midtown NYC

The bi-annual festival will feature over 60 eclectic new shows, including dance, plays, storytelling, sketch comedy, solo performances, and musicals.

New York, N.Y. - Award-winning Emerging Artists Theatre (EAT) returns with their bi-annual Spark Theatre Festival NYC this fall with a bold new lineup of innovative and original works. Running from September 8–28 at The Chain Theatre, the three-week festival will showcase over 60 new pieces, including musicals, plays, solo performances, storytelling, dance, and sketch comedy. 

In an exciting first for the festival, this year’s lineup will be presented in two distinct formats: workshop productions and fully produced shows, giving audiences a chance to experience new works in all stages of creative evolution.

During the festival, performances run nightly, with multiple performances on the weekends. Most productions receive one performance, with shorter shows grouped together to form a full evening of entertainment. Short talkbacks with the artists will follow some of the performances. Tickets range from $20 to $40. Tickets and the full lineup can be found here. All performances take place at The Chain Theatre, located at 312 W 36th Street, 3rd Floor, New York, NY, 10018.

Seven musicals–both short and full-length–will be presented, including Earth Icon: The Climate Meets AI Musical, (by Abhishek Pandit & Laurence Warner), about a climate change music contest between a country singer and a Puerto Rican rapper in a pop music contest; The Story of the Bagel (written by John Brautigam), a flavorful journey through the vast and complicated history of the bagel; The High School Reunion That Never Should Have Happened (written by Rebecca Lynn Goldfarb), a tale of friendship and lingering high school baggage; and A Leaf in the Wind (written by Jeffery Chen), which explores grief, mental health, and the people we leave behind.

Ten solo shows will be featured, including Escape to Ravioli Mountain (written by Bobby Hedglin-Taylor), one-man’s journey through growing up gay in a loud Italian family on a rural Pennsylvania farm; Learning Curves (written by Jake Lipman), in which a middle-aged rule follower at her middle school reunion must confront her childhood demons before the building is demolished; and Yo Taxi (written by Gabriel Castillo), where a struggling actor driving a yellow cab finds himself trapped in a time loop and must rediscover his humanity to break free.

Over two dozen dance works will light up the stage, including rendezvous der Sterne (choreographed by Amélie Parczany), set on a subway where strangers’ lives intersect; Dedos Libres (choreographed by Ashley Mariani), inspired by El Coquí, Puerto Rico’s beloved cultural symbol for over 30 million years; and Can You Feel It? (choreographed by Alexandria Francois), a powerful reflection on the strength of community in times of personal upheaval.

Numerous short and full-length plays will be presented, including Consequences of the Castro (written by Bram Hartman), about Oliver “Billy” Sipple—who saved President Gerald Ford from assination and was subsequently outed—he is visited by Harvey Milk’s ghost on his final night; Sybil Creepe’s House of Mysteries (written by Laurel Andersen), in which a young scholar must face the strange and unsettling inhabitants of a gothic mansion, and Funeral for a Fish (written by Bambi Everson), where a child’s funeral for a fish turns into a reckoning for two squabbling parents.

And for the first time, this year’s festival will feature not one, but two shows about milk. Audiences can catch the sketch comedy 98% Boy 2% Milk and the dance piece Glass Half Full (of Milk), both offering their own unique (and udderly original) take on the theme.

To see the full lineup, please visit www.emergingartiststheatre.org/spark-theatre-festival-fall-2025.

Award-winning Emerging Artists Theatre, now in its 33rd year of producing new work, started Spark Theatre Festival NYC (formerly called the New Work Series) in 2006. Since its inception, numerous musicals, plays, solo shows, and dance pieces workshopped at the festival 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

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LISTING INFO:

Spark Theatre Festival NYC 2025

Presented by Emerging Artists Theatre

Emerging Artists Theatre (EAT) returns with its bi-annual Spark Theatre Festival NYC, running September 8–28, 2025 at The Chain Theatre (312 W 36th Street, 3rd Floor, NYC). The three-week festival will showcase over 60 brand-new works spanning musicals, plays, solo performances, storytelling, dance, and sketch comedy.

This year’s lineup includes seven musicals, among them Earth Icon: The Climate Meets AI Musical, The Story of the Bagel, The High School Reunion That Never Should Have Happened, Friday Night in a Bookstore, Illusions, and A Leaf in the Wind. Audiences will also experience ten solo shows, including Escape to Ravioli Mountain, Learning Curves, and Yo Taxi. More than two dozen dance pieces will light up the stage, with highlights like rendezvous der Sterne, Dedos Libres, and Can You Feel It?, while numerous plays round out the festival, from Consequences of the Castro and Sybil Creepe’s House of Mysteries to Funeral for a Fish.

Presented in both workshop productions and fully produced shows, performances run nightly, with multiple performances on weekends. Most productions receive one performance, with shorter shows grouped together to form a full evening of entertainment. Short talkbacks with the artists will follow some of the performances. 

All performances take place at The Chain Theatre, located at 312 W 36th Street, 3rd Floor, New York, NY, 10018.

Tickets are $20–$40. For tickets and the full lineup, visit: www.emergingartiststheatre.org/spark-theatre-festival-fall-2025.

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Photo: Dedos Libres performs on Saturday, September 20, at 5pm. Featuring Leann Gioia, Ashley Mariani, Brandon Woods, and Angela Weigel. Photo by 530 Dance Photography.