Will Shishmanian is a musical theatre composer, lyricist, and singer/songwriter based in Queens, NY. He most recently has written music, book, and lyrics for “Amberland: A Folk Musical”, which was most recently performed in concert as part of Prospect Musicals’ IGNITE Festival in April 2025. This show pulls from Shishmanian’s own experience as a transgender man, and was recently featured as part of Playbill’s Songwriter Series. Shishmanian also wrote the music and lyrics for “Addy & Dahlia: A Fairytale Musical,” which was performed at the Secret Theater in NYC in January 2019, as well as twice in Ithaca, NY in 2012.
In November 2023, Shishmanian was chosen amongst one of the writing teams for Prospect Theater Company’s Musical Theater lab to write a 10-minute musical, alongside collaborator Brooke Trumm. Their show A Piece of the Past was also performed at Theater Now NY’s SOUND BITES XI in May 2024. The song “Fade Away” from A Piece of the Past was chosen as one of the winners of the Write Out Loud contest in 2024, and was recorded in studio with Betsy Wolfe. The writing duo is currently working on a new musical called “Female Husbands” which was partially performed at SoHo Playhouse in July 2025.
Outside of his work as a composer, Shishmanian also plays guitar for concerts, cabarets, new musical development, and cruises. His most recent solo EP “Never Far Behind” was released in 2023, which can be found with the rest of his singer-songwriter work on streaming platforms under the artist name “Will Shish.”
Will Shishmanian 