EPIC Players is a neuroinclusive non-profit theater company and theater educational institution. EPIC players consists of neurotypical and neurodivergent members. It is bicoastal, with one company in New York City and one in Los Angeles.

History EPIC was founded by Aubrie Therrien in 2016. EPIC celebrated its 10-year anniversary in September 2026. In 2026, EPIC has 250 members.

Every theater season, EPIC puts on multiple mainstage productions, cabarets, and concerts in addition to running classes for its members. Classes are free for its members. They rehearse and have classes at the A.R.T./NY South Oxford Space.

EPIC pairs each member with an EPIC Advocate to help support them in classes, auditions, and show preparation. The advocate is "another professional actor, teacher or coach."

Founded in 2023, EPIC Junior is a free program for New York middle and high schoolers. EPIC also expanded to Los Angeles in 2023.

Mainstage Productions EPIC put on their first full-scale show, a production of Dog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage Blockhead in mid-2017. Dog Sees God by Bert V. Royal is a dark reinterpretation of Peanuts and its characters. EPIC's second production was You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown. It premiered in November 2017 at the Flea Theater and was directed by Therrien. In March 2018, members of EPIC rang the opening bell of the New York Stock Exchange.

EPIC finished out its first season with a production of Shakespeare's The Tempest. Bedford and Bowery wrote that "EPIC Players’s version of The Tempest stands out in a way that feels genuinely notable" and that the neuroinclusive casting "adds a new layer to Shakespeare’s story of manipulation and sorcery."

For the 2018-2019 season, EPIC put on The Little Prince and Little Shop of Horrors. According to theater critic Cathy Hammer's review of the latter, EPIC's "production of Little Shop of Horrors radiates joy from its very roots, serving to shatter any preconceived notions held by uninitiated theater-goers."

For the 2019-2020 season, EPIC performed Peter and the Starcatcher at the HERE Arts Center. Jen Taphorn, in her review for My Entertainment World, wrote that the EPIC cast "along with the smooth direction of Travis Burbee and the creative props design by Wells Thorne, do an outstanding job of bringing the audience into their collective imagination as a plunger becomes a sword and a ladder transforms into a crocodile. Part of the magic is that you can feel the true passion and teamwork that went into this production."

In the 2021-2022 season, EPIC performed Almost, Maine and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee.

In 2023, the first EPIC member starred in a Broadway musical. EPIC cast member Conor Tague played Tommy in the original cast of How to Dance in Ohio. Hunter Hollingsworth, a swing and understudy in How to Dance in Ohio, would later join EPIC.

In the 2022-2023 season, EPIC performed Tartuffe and Into the Woods. The 2023-2024 season consisted of Romeo and Juliet and Spring Awakening.

When explaining to Thinking Theater NYC why EPIC chose Spring Awakening, Assistant Director Gabe Girson said “Neurodiverse people go through sexual awakenings too. It is a universal show.” Therrien told the The Hollywood Reporter that "There are striking parallels with the disabled community and the characters from Spring Awakening, not only what they’ve gone through in terms of sexual abuse or disregard, but infantilization, the withholding and restricting information or restricting exploring aspects of the human condition.”

In the 2024-2025 season, EPIC presented A Christmas Carol and Seussical. EPIC also produced the world premiere of Dave Osmundsen's BUM BUM (or, this farce has Autism) in December 2025.

EPIC Players presented their first full-scale production in Los Angeles in May 2026. They put on a production of Peter and the Starcatcher.

EPIC began the 2025-2026 NYC season with a concert production of 504 the musical at Joe's Pub. It was followed up in 2026 with an off-broadway production of Rent.

EPIC will perform A Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime to begin their 2026-2027 season.

Productions

ShowFirst PerformanceLast PerformanceLocationDog Sees God: Confessions of a Teenage BlockheadJuly 27, 2017August 6, 2017The Kraine TheaterYou're a Good Man, Charlie BrownNovember 16, 2017November 19, 2017The Flea TheaterThe TempestMay 31, 2018June 10, 2018The Flea TheaterThe Little PrinceNovember 10, 2018November 18, 2018The Flea TheaterLittle Shop of HorrorsJune 5, 2019June 16, 2019The Sheen Center for Thought and CulturePeter and the StarcatcherDecember 5, 2019December 15, 2019HERE Arts CenterShe Kills Monsters: Virtual RealmsDecember 4, 2020December 6, 2020VirtualAlmost MaineDecember 3, 2021December 12, 2021A.R.T./New York TheatresThe 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling BeeMay 12, 2022May 22, 2022A.R.T./New York TheatresTartuffeDecember 1, 2022December 11, 2022A.R.T./New York TheatresInto the WoodsJune 8, 2023June 18, 2023A.R.T./New York TheatresRomeo and JulietNovember 9, 2023November 19, 2023A.R.T./New York TheatresSpring AwakeningMay 9, 2024May 19, 2024A.R.T./New York TheatresA Christmas CarolDecember 10, 2024December 15 2024A.R.T./New York TheatresSeussical the MusicalMay 8, 2025May 18, 2025The Mezzanine Theatre504 the MusicalAugust 3, 2025Joe's PubPeter and the StarcatcherMay 14, 2026May 17, 2026Odyssey TheatreRentJune 4, 2026June 20, 2026A.R.T./New York TheatresCurious Incident of the Dog in the NighttimeNovember 20, 2026December 6, 2026The Mezzanine Theatre504 the MusicalApril 16, 2027May 23, 2027Theatre Row, Theatre 3

Cabarets and Concerts

April 2, 2018 – Epic 4 Autism October 9, 2018 – EPIC Players: Songs About Ourselves September 22, 2019 – EPIC Players: Songs About Ourselves Live at Joe's Pub August 7, 2020 – EPIC's Big Summer Musical October 24, 2021 – EPIC Players: Epic Villains - A Wickedly Inclusive Cabaret April 2, 2022 – EPIC Heroes: Live at Lincoln Center October 22, 2022 – EPIC Players: Masquerade Ball April 2, 2023 – EPIC Sings for Autism: Let’s Duet October 10, 2023 – Once Upon A Cabaret February 21, 2024 – EPIC Underground: Storytellers April 2, 2024 – Miscast Cabaret July 22, 2024 – Greatest Summer Bops Cabaret October 26, 2024 – EPIC Does the 90’s: A Neurodivergent Costume Party Cabaret February 24, 2025 – The EPIC Underground: Passions & Appetites April 2, 2025 – EPIC Players: Dream Roles – A Neurodiverse Cabaret October 26, 2025 – Y2Kabaret March 22, 2026 – The EPIC Originals: Revolutions and Revelations

References

External Links

EPIC Players Profile on "March 2022 | Arts in the City", CUNY TV