Jonathan Silverstein Will Depart Keen Company as Artistic Director Following the 2024-2025 Season

Keen Company's Artistic Director Jonathan Silverstein will step down following the completion of the 2024-25 season.  Jonathan has held the position for the past 12 years starting in 2012.

Silverstein says “For the past 12 years, it has been a joy and privilege to lead Keen Company. When I first took over from founding Artistic Director Carl Forsman, I had three goals in mind: bring musicals to our stage, develop and produce new work, and cultivate greater diversity both on and off stage. I am proud to say I have taken great strides in all three areas, while at the same time fostering a community where joy is paramount, and all are welcome.  Over the past several years, Keen has showcased an ever-widening breadth of stories, so it seems only fitting that I now hand the reins to a new leader who will further define Keen's unique mission into its next quarter century. Personally, I look forward to other challenges and opportunities outside of Keen including focusing on my directing and teaching work.”.

“I have loved every minute of my time working with Jonathan Silverstein as a director. Our first collaboration was A Walk in the Woods, and we have been collaborating on Joan Didion’s The Year of Magical Thinking for the past two years. It was Jonathan’s brilliant idea to do it in intimate settings, usually in people’s living rooms. His tenure at Keen has been equally successful and revelatory. He’s just the best there is." -Kathleen Chalfant, Actor

“I fell in love with Keen Company, its mission and Jonny Silverstein several years ago doing a play for them and have had a wonderful time serving on their Board and supporting Jonathan’s vision for Keen.” -Marsha Mason, Actor, Director, and Board Member 

“Jonny personifies Keen Company ethos—he’s a passionate, insightful leader genuinely interested in connecting with audiences and artists. He made Keen Company a much-needed home for intimate musicals; the roster artists who have graced the Keen’s stage is a testament to his talent, vision, and the importance of Keen’s work. I know Jonny will carry that Keen spirit with him wherever his next chapter takes him.” -Adam Gwon, Composer

"Jonny is a star. Not in the celebrity way, but in the sense that he’s got a gravitational pull, keeps people orbiting, and both warms and lights up entire worlds. So, if you ask me how I feel about him leaving Keen, you could understand why I’ll miss him and why I feel like my world is dimming a little.” -Chisa Hutchinson, Playwright and Board Member.

Jonathan Silverstein has been the Artistic Director of Keen Company for the past twelve seasons, during which he produced acclaim revivals from a diverse roster of playwrights including Pearl Cleage, Brian Friel, A.R. Gurney, Jonathan Larsen, Lynn Nottage and Stephen Sondheim, as well as world premieres by Courtney Baron, Kia Corthron, Kenny Finkle, Chisa Hutchinson and Anna Ziegler.  Some of his directing credits throughout his tenure also includes The Year of Magical Thinking (starring Kathleen Chalfant), Tick, Tick…. BOOM!, Ordinary Days (Drama League Nomination), John and Jen (starring Kate Baldwin), A Walk in the Woods (starring Kathleen Chalfant and Marry Me a Little (Drama Desk nomination). As Keen Resident Director, Lemon Sky, The Dining Room (Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Ensemble), Tea and Sympathy, and The Hasty Heart. Selected Off-Broadway: The Tempermentals (Drama Desk Award Outstanding Ensemble) Red Herring (FringeNYC; Outstanding Direction Award), Blueprint (Summer Play Festival), and The Train Play (Clubbed Thumb).   Regional: Long Wharf, Bucks County, Huntington, Old Globe, Cleveland Playhouse, Merrimack Rep, Dorset Theatre Festival, Cape Rep Theatre. Alumnus, The Drama League Directors Project. MFA, UCSD. Member SDC.

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