Trusted with piloting the lucky octet of shows are Lonny Price, Susan H. Schulman, Will Frears, Joe Calarco, Steve Minning, Lee Summers, Daniel Kutner and Lee Sankowich.

The eight selections for this year’s festival are:

Ace
Book and Lyrics by Robert Taylor and Richard Oberacker
Music by Richard Oberacker
Directed by Steve Minning

Caraboo, Princess Of Javasu
Book by Marsha Norman
Lyrics by Beth Blatt
Music by Jenny Giering
Directed by Will Frears

The Funkentine Rapture
Book by Lee Summers and Ben Blake
Music and Lyrics by Lee Summers
Directed by Lee Summers I Love You Because
Book and Lyrics by Ryan Cunningham
Music by Joshua Salzman
Directed by Daniel Kutner

A Little Princess
Book and Lyrics by Brian Crawley
Music by Andrew Lippa
Directed by Susan H. Schulman

Meet John Doe
Book by Andrew Gerle and Eddie Sugarman
Lyrics by Eddie Sugarman
Music by Andrew Gerle
Directed by Joe Calarco

Party Come Here
Book by Daniel Goldfarb
Music and Lyrics by David Kirshenbaum
Directed by Lonny Price

River’s End
Book and Lyrics by Cheri Coons
Music by Chuck Larkin
Directed by Lee Sankowich

According to an festival spokesperson, last year's event directly led to five of the eight shows securing productions. They were: The Drowsy Chaperone (to be done at the Ahmanson Theatre, November 2005), The Flight of the Lawnchair Man (Goodspeed Musicals, May 2005), The Girl in the Frame (Goodspeed Musicals, November 2005), Striking 12 (TheatreWorks Palo Alto, December 2004) and Winesburg, OH (The Arden Theatre Company, October 2005).

The festival is funded by contributions to NAMT, a not-for-profit organization, and is supported in part by an award from the National Endowment for the Arts, which believes that a great nation deserves great art, and by public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State agency.

A Sept. 25 Songwriter Showcase will be hosted by Rachel Sheinkin, Tony Award winner for Best Book of a Musical for The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee and a writer of Striking 12.