Epiphanies Musicals
Meet the 2026
Semifinalists!
tame the noise
By Benjamin Walton
An intimate, high-energy actor-musician ADHD musical. In the town of normal, life is defined by a quiet, predictable status quo. But when a chaotic force called the noise begins to paralyze the citizens by forcing their internal thoughts into the open, the town’s only person who isn’t bothered is sent on a mission to find the source and silence it forever.
Joined by three travelers and his best friend, the boy treks through a world of echoing canyons and shouting cities, eventually discovering that the mayor’s plan to "kill" the noise is actually a plan to kill something deeply misunderstood. With a foot-stomping folk heart and immersive storytelling, it’s a fable about finding harmony in chaos.
Benjamin Walton is a Georgia-raised, NYC-based theatre maker, composer, and writer. His one-act play Playground was a Region 1 finalist and national semifinalist for the John Cauble Outstanding Short Play Award through the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival in 2024, and was a part of Utah State University's reading series in 2024. He was a finalist for CRY HAVOC’s PlayList program in 2025. His fifteen-minute opera, the hands that planted (libretto: Zoe Ray Prawda), was presented in 2024 in collaboration with the American Opera Project, the Hudson Guild, and NYU’s Opera Lab. His mini-musical, Dive In (Book & Lyrics: Timothy Thomas Leech), had its premiere at the University of Central Florida in 2024 through Project Spotlight. His musical, tame the noise, was a New Musical Project Finalist in 2026 and has received dramaturgical development through a collaboration with Michigan State University. It is currently being developed through The Table Read Co.’s inaugural Writers Club and will receive four staged reading performances through the MilkyWay New Works Festival in September 2026. Other projects include Monster (Book: Hannah Z. Morley, Pegasus Playlab Finalist 2025) and I’m In Love With Bigfoot (Book & Lyrics: Timothy Thomas Leech, NWNV Semi-Finalist, SWATCH selection) . Outside of writing, he is the founder and artistic director of SandboxMusicals, an organization dedicated to the development and growth of musical theatre through experimentation and play. His songs have been performed at 54 Below, Joe’s Pub, SoHo Playhouse, and the Triad Theatre. He has his BFA in Musical Theatre Performance from the University of Central Florida and his MFA from NYU’s Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program.
This Side of the Door:
A Song (to break out of the) Cycle
By Ash
A one-act story-driven collection of daring moments for four queer and trans characters on the threshold of change.
Taylor just moved to NYC to be an actor and just came out as a trans woman. Her long-time friend Sam begins to navigate unexpected romantic feelings that find him out of his depth. Forest is stuck inside their depression, and their friend Kaiden tries to cheer them on, even while Kaiden is struggling to make ends meet. Each character must make the choice – again and again – to open the door to whatever is next…
Ash (they/she) is an active composer, arranger, playwright, and sound designer. As a writer, they are currently developing THIS SIDE OF THE DOOR (musical; table reads), Crumbs (musical; staged readings), FAIRY TALES FAIRY TOLD (short play anthology; writers’ intensive, dramaturgy), MOVE - BEND - FALL (short play trilogy; staged readings), FAIRY TALES FAIRY TOLD (short play anthology; writers’ intensive, dramaturgy), MOVE - BEND - FALL (short play trilogy; staged readings), Magnetic Electric and The Dark Stuff (two plays by Mikki Gillette with music by Ash; premiere productions in 2025 and 2026), and other projects. Ash was recently named an inaugural Writer-in-Residence for MusicalWriters.com. Previous: National Queer Theater’s 2025 Criminal Queerness Studio, Fresh Binder’s Spring 2025 Writer’s Cohort, The Workshop Theater’s Fall 2025 Writers’ Intensive, PlayGround NY’s 2025-2026 Writer's Pool, Musical Writers’ 2026 Next Level Writers Lab, 46 Minutes Collective’s Spring 2026 Writers Group, Digital Development Project’s 3-Month Dramaturg Match and 12-Month Playwright Cohort, and more. Her song “I’ve Heard the Stories” was a finalist in the 2025 Write Out Loud Contest. As a queer, non-binary, Persian, and hard-of-hearing artist, they value storytelling as a means of connection, revelation, and celebration. Ash is the former artistic director of Transpose PDX, and her choral work has been performed internationally. Portland raised, NYC based.
Crimson Lit: Scarlett Letter Setlist
Music & Lyrics by Jill Sobule
Book & Lyrics by Krista Knight
Poetic justice has finally come for rebellious teen Winnie. She’s going to have to repeat the 11th grade unless she’s able to complete a book report. But that’s not the worst part. The worst part is that the book is Nathanial Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter—which Winnie does NOT want to read. Well, that’s too bad because she’s in a whole play about it.
Krista Knight is a playwright, screenwriter, and new media artist. She scripted a ride for Tokyo Disneyland, adapted Trolls for the stage for DreamWorks/Music Theatre International, pitched a movie to Janelle Monáe, and co-wrote a deadly dance-a-thon musical with Broadway composer Dave Malloy. Her New York Times–recommended VR puppet play CRUSH is streaming on the Emmy app. She’s also won the Heideman Award and the Concord Theatricals OOB Festival. Alum of EST’s Youngblood, P73’s Writers Group, Civilians R&D Lab, New Georges JAM and Audrey Residency, the Ingram New Works Lab at Nashville Rep, and The Orchard Project Lab. She has been in residence at La Napoule in France, Tofte Lake, Atlantic Center for the Arts, Santa Fe Art Institute, The Helene Wurlitzer Foundation in Taos, Writing Downtown Las Vegas, Millay Arts, UCROSS, Yaddo, and MacDowell. Krista holds degrees from Brown, NYU, UC San Diego, and Juilliard. She is currently Writer-in-Residence at Vanderbilt University. www.KristaKnight.com
Jill Sobule released a dozen albums spanning three decades of recording. Jill Sobule’s recording career began in 1990 with the album Things Here Are Different (MCA), produced by Todd Rundgren. Radio took notice thanks to the single “Too Cool To Fall In Love.” Her 1995 self-titled album (Atlantic) brought her mainstream commercial and critical success with two hit singles: the satirical gem “Supermodel” from the movie Clueless and “I Kissed A Girl” (the original), the first ever openly queer-themed Billboard Top 20 record. In November of 2019 Jill sang a song as herself on an episode of The Simpsons. Jill’s autobiographical show directed by two-time Obie-winner Lisa Peterson, (titled F**k 7th Grade!), has had multiple sold out runs at The Wild Project. It got rave reviews, including a New York Times Critics Pick. Jill passed away May 2025.
Puritanical!
Book & Lyrics by Noelle Donfeld
Music by Brian Leader
Prejudice is in the eye of the beholder in this farce about the challenges facing lovers in a mixed marriage (one living and one undead).
Goody Mercer’s husband has died of cholera, and his body is rotting in her living room, as the Church of England has forbidden the burial of Puritans in its churchyard. To escape such prejudice, Father Emden convinces Goody and her devoted son Degory to accompany other Puritans to the New World on the Mayflower.
Noelle Donfeld is a three-time semi-finalist at the Eugene O’Neill Musical Theatre Project, and her musical, The Revolution of Betsy Loring, was selected as the Tomorrow Project at Casa Manana Theatre. Other productions include: Mita, the Magnificent! (one-year tour by Walnut Street Theatre); Puritanical! (readings: Malibu Playhouse, NoHo Arts Center and DOMA Theatre); Miss Vulcan 1939, (commissioned by Red Mountain Theatre, Birmingham, AL - three seasons, also Actors Co-op Too); Powder Puff Pilots (UC Irvine and HiTech Charter High School); Ghost-s (Stages Festival, NMI; Lyric Theatre, Los Angeles; Skylight Theatre, Los Angeles.); Squeak! (La Canada Theatre); The Spark, Hannah Senesh (Pierson Playhouse and Theatre Building Chicago); Carjacked! (The Arts Center, Carroboro, NC); Twas, a commission by Next Stage Entertainment, (Cashman Center, Las Vegas and Lyndall Finley Wortham Theatre, Stuart Ostrow producer); Shahrazad, Heads or Tales? Theatre Museum at Covent Garden and LATC (for Playwrights Arena), and Aesop, Carpenter Center. She has had other productions at Musical Theatre West and Century City Theatre. Her first musical, Hands, written with Nathan Wang and selected for Stages 2000, Theatre Building Chicago, is the reason she writes musicals. Her latest musical is The Anything You Wish Antique Shop!, which was a semi-finalist at Wild Imaginings Festival, Epiphanies, in 2025. Noelle is a member of the Dramatists Guild and ALAP.
Brian Leader has a unique and varied background, and has written music for jazz and rock bands, chamber ensembles, theatre, film, and video games. Puritanical! is Brian’s latest musical theatre effort and his seventh full length show. Among Brian’s previous efforts are music for the game Pet Pals – New Leash On Life, music for a new adaptation of Rapunzel (licensed by Steele Spring Stage Rights), and music for Houdini Among the Spiritualists. Brian’s work has been produced at the Colony Theatre, La Canada Theatre, and Stella Adler Theatre. Brian has performed with his own band as a guitarist and vocalist, and as a guitarist and keyboardist for shows such as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Company, and Seussical. Brian studied music composition at the University of Washington and Claremont Graduate University as well as participating in the ASCAP Film Scoring Workshop and various festivals around the U.S. Brian is a member of ASCAP.
Upline: A Multi-Level Musical
Book & Lyrics by Jackie Brenneman
Music by Lisa Sedares
Music & Lyrics by Nikki Yates
Set in the world of late-stage capitalism and peak social media, Upline follows four women as they become involved in Lumaplex, a multi-level marketing company selling... the dream. Kenzie and Alex, lifelong friends, join Lumaplex in pursuit of financial freedom and community, guided by Madison, the charismatic leader at the top of the pyramid.
The arrival of Vic, a struggling single mother, forces the women to confront uncomfortable truths about the system. When Kenzie discovers Madison using unethical sales techniques, she is ultimately forced to choose whether to sacrifice her principles for power (and money).
Jackie Brenneman is the co-writer and producer of Upline. She is President & CEO of the Independent Film & Television Alliance (IFTA) and the American Film Market (AFM), where she advocates for the global independent film industry. Previously, she served as Executive Vice President & General Counsel of the National Association of Theatre Owners and founding President of The Cinema Foundation, building a national reputation as a champion for artists, audiences, and the future of theatrical exhibition. As co-founder of Conundrum Theatre Company, Jackie has produced numerous LA-area musicals and new works. Upline brings together her passions for storytelling, leadership, and the complicated systems that shape our lives—with humor, heart, and sharp insight.
Lisa Sedares is a composer, music director, pianist, and aerospace engineer based in Los Angeles. She has spent the past fifteen years building a career across engineering, business, and the arts, discovering that the same questions about people keep showing up in every field. She is fascinated by the systems we build and the ways they shape our ambitions, relationships, and sense of identity. That eventually culminated in Upline, using the world of multi-level marketing to explore what happens when the systems we build (and the stories we tell ourselves about success) begin to fall apart.
Nikki Yates is a theatre-maker, actor, consultant, and scholar whose work bridges the performing arts, research, and community development. She holds a doctorate in educational psychology and a BA in drama from Stanford University, where she began developing original theatre. She is the co-owner of a consulting firm specializing in arts, equity, and economic development, leading feasibility studies for performing arts venues across the country, and serves on the Board of Directors of Conundrum Theatre Company. That perspective shapes Upline, bringing a deep understanding of human behavior to a story about ambition, belonging, and the search for connection.
2026 Shortlist
Pinteon the Musical
by Ana Vidina Hernández
Hijinx & Sue
by Jessi Pitts & Daniel J.F. Wolfert
Food for Thought
by Makena Metz & Zev Burrows
This Gorgeous Game
by Chandra McCelland & May-Elise Martinsen
The Geometry of Love
by Jaya S. Basu