At MilkyWay Theatre Company, our purpose is to support artists in their growth and empower them to create original work while remaining grounded in the shared humanity that connects us all on this small planet we call home. This upcoming September we're premiering FIVE new works as stage readings for the second annual New Works Festival!

To that end, our goal is to raise $15,000 to support essential production costs, including rehearsal and performance spaces, artist compensation, props, costumes, and ongoing health and safety measures. Securing affordable, high-quality rehearsal and performance venues remains one of the most significant challenges in bringing new work to life, making this fundraising effort critical to our success.

From directors and stage managers to music directors, designers, crew members, orchestrators, musicians, and actors, each collaborator contributes an immense amount of time, talent, and dedication. We make it a priority to compensate every artist involved, and this initiative marks an important first step toward that commitment. Supporting the artists who make our work possible is both an honor and a responsibility we take seriously.

We are especially excited to provide this opportunity to five up and coming playwrights whose work stood out to us because of it's bold, passionate story telling. Too often, talented artists lack the financial resources needed to fully realize their vision. We are committed to changing that by doing everything we can to bring their stories to the stage.

Your support plays a vital role in making this possible. Thank you for helping us champion new voices and create original work in New York City. We invite you to contribute to our campaign and share our mission with your community.

Jamiel is an alumni of The Fame School and a well-known presence in both the New York City and regional theater scenes. He serves as Artistic Producer at MilkyWay Theatre Company, where he develops new musicals and plays premiering Off-Broadway and nationally, in addition to producing cabarets at venues including Green Room 42, Chelsea Table & Stages, and 54 Below. He's worked in multiple capacities with prestigious Off-Broadway companies such as MCC, EST, and Amas, gaining extensive experience in both performance and production. Select acting credits include: World Premiere production of Miss Maybelline’s Nocturnal Flights of Fancy (Trey Vanderkamp), Titanic the Musical (Frederick Fleet), World Premiere production of HipHop Cinderella (US Prince/Runka/Dance Captain), Grease (Danny Zuko), Into the Woods (Cinderella’s Prince/the Wolf), Pippin (Pippin/Lewis), and Jesus Christ Superstar (Caiaphas). Jamiel also works with The Araca Group, supporting Broadway productions in merchandising. He is passionate about creating and producing theater that inspires audiences and elevates new work. Connect: jamieltburkhart.com | Instagram: @jamielburkhart

Kayla Stewart - Co-Producer
Kayla is a New Jersey–based theater professional with nearly 20 years of experience in both performance and theatrical production. Throughout her career, she has held a variety of roles on stage and behind the scenes, gaining a comprehensive understanding of all aspects of theater. Kayla currently serves on the board of MilkyWay Theatre Company, where she is dedicated to supporting the company’s mission and helping it reach new artistic and organizational heights.

Joshua Blount - Co-Producer
Joshua T. Blount is an Actor, Writer, Director and now Producer from Queens, NY. Over the last several years he has spent his time helping to develop, direct and workshop plays and musicals. His life's goal is to help create, develop, direct and star in productions that not only mean something to him but also help to inspire and leave a lasting impression on the world when it is all said and done. "Creating my own legacy with every step that I take." Instagram: @_joshb4209

Benjamin Walton is a Georgia-raised, NYC-based theatre maker, composer, and writer. His musical tame the noise was a finalist for the New Musical Project in 2026, and his one-act play Playground was a Region 1 finalist and national semifinalist for the John Cauble Outstanding Short Play Award through KCACTF in 2024. Other projects include Monster (Pegasus PlayLab finalist) and I’m in Love with Bigfoot (NWNV semi-finalist, SWATCH selection). His songs have been performed at 54 Below, Joe’s Pub, SoHo Playhouse, and the Triad Theatre. He is the founder and artistic director of SandboxMusicals and holds an MFA in Musical Theatre Writing from NYU. 

Malaika Tinashe is a writer, director, model and dancer based in New York City. Malaika's passions are rooted in creativity and humanity. She published a poetry book titled “My Words, My Rules” in 2019 that is available on Amazon. She has written several plays that tackle issues like racial dynamics, queer identities, gender identity, abuse, and more. She produced her workshop reading “Don’t Look So Damn Surprised: A Greek Myth Hidden In the Homes of St. Louis” in 2024 and 2025 and directed her short play “Going Over It Again” in the New York Theatre Festival in 2025. Seeing and experiencing injustices allowed Malaika to develop the skill set to advocate for marginalized groups through creative expression in order to encourage equity and liberation for all, but especially Queer Black Women/Femmes. 

www.malaikatinashe.com Social Media: @malaikatinashe on all platforms. 

Richie Altmanshofer strives to tell stories that entertain and inspire self-reflection. 

His short plays include Date Debate (Village Playwrights Love is Queer Festival ‘26; OUT/PLAY Summer Shorts Festival ‘25), True Colors (Studio Players 12th Annual 10-Minute Play Festival ‘25; The Roving Peregrine Theatre Company Coming Out Day Play Readings ‘25), An Ending, A Beginning (South Street Players Tri-State Theatre Festival ‘25), A Wandering Life (Players Theatre Short Play Festival ’24), and A Gift for the Unknown (FRIGID Holiday Spirits Readings ‘24; Spartan Theatre Haunting Holidays Play Festival ‘24). 

Richie’s full-length plays include A Comet Hangs Over Iowa (semi-finalist, Theatre503 International Playwriting Award ‘25; semi-finalist, Utah Shakespeare Festival, Words Cubed ‘25) and Gay Husbands (OUT/PLAY OUT/LOUD table read series).

You can connect with Richie on Instagram @altmanshofer or at playsbyrichie.com.

Alejandro Postigo is a London-based actor, theatre-maker, and academic whose work explores the intersection of musical theatre, performance, and intercultural exchange. Born in Spain, he has been based in the UK since 2009, training in Musical Theatre across Spain, the United States (Illinois Wesleyan University), and the UK (Royal Central School of Speech and Drama), with additional training in dance and physical theatre. As a creator, Alejandro is the founder and artistic lead of HisPanic, an Anglo-Spanish performance collective committed to re-examining folklore, music, and popular performance through contemporary, intercultural perspectives. The collective's flagship production, COPLA, has toured internationally as both a full-length musical and acclaimed cabaret show, receiving critical acclaim and awards for its innovative fusion of Spanish Copla folk songs with Anglo-American musical theatre traditions. His practice spans acting, movement direction, music-theatre performance, and devised work, with experience across stage, opera, cabaret, and interdisciplinary performance contexts. He has worked as choreographer and movement practitioner, contributing to large-scale productions in advisory and creative roles. Alejandro is also an academic researcher specializing in intercultural approaches to musical theatre and performance. He completed his PhD at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, where his research focuses on how music-theatre practices travel across languages, cultures, and political contexts, and how embodied performance acts as a site of cultural translation. He currently lectures in Musical Theatre at the London College of Music, combining practice-based research with performer training. Alejandro works fluently in English and Spanish, with professional proficiency in French and Italian. His collaborative practice regularly engages with international artists and institutions, centering on multilingual performance, migration, memory, and identity.

Twins Christopher Inniss and Charles Inniss are musical theatre playwrights, lyricists, and essayists whose work centers the thriving spirit of Black folks fighting against oppression in America.Together they wrote WITS, a musical which was featured at Drama Club Camp, a Maine residency for new works. It was also presented as part of the 2024 Cannonball/Philadelphia Fringe Festival and the 2023 Polyphone Festival at University of the Arts in Philadelphia. They also wrote The Chest, a full length musical that received a reading in 2019.

Additionally, Christopher and Charles wrote a short musical piece adapted for film called “The

Answer,” which in 2020 was commissioned by Prospect Theatre Company in New York City. Their other musical film produced in 2020, “Black Superman,” premiered as a part of the Astoria Performing Arts Center’s online series.