Keen Company Announces 22nd Season

Today Keen Company Artistic Director Jonathan Silverstein announced his plans for the upcoming season, Keen's 22nd:

"To say I am excited to announce in-person programming for Keen Company's 22nd season is an understatement! After a year and a half of sharing virtual stories, it is a true thrill to be on the precipice of opening our theater doors again. However, the world has grown significantly since the last time we were on stage. So we took time to ask ourselves: how can Keen reflect where we've been and where we are today? The answer was clear: new work could best respond to this moment. With that in mind, I am so proud to announce a season of world premieres. From our 22nd Gala honoring frequent collaborator and playwright Pearl Cleage, to Hear/Now: LIVE! and the in-person recordings of two newly commissioned joyous pieces of audio theater, to the world premiere of This Space Between Us a timely comedy about intergenerational connections, to the debut of three new one-act plays for students through our Keen Teens program, and the on-going fostering of new work by mid-career playwrights in our Keen Playwrights Lab - this is truly a season celebrating new voices at Keen Company. We can't wait for you to get a front row seat to what these inventive artists have been working on. Never have I been more eager to look out on a house full of patrons and finally say in-person, 'Hello, and welcome to Keen Company!'" said Silverstein.

The season begins Monday October 25th with Keen Company's 22nd Annual Benefit Gala, honoring playwright Pearl Cleage (Blues for an Alabama Sky). This festive event will take place online, and tickets start at just $50. Packages include meal delivery, party favors, and access to the full evening of performances for up to three days. You can expect show-stopping moments, an exciting virtual auction, and a night of joyous celebration!

Next up will be Hear/Now: LIVE! Last season, Keen Company created Hear/Now: A Season of Audio Theater which reimagined the classic radio drama by commissioning new audio plays. This year, we are proud to produce Hear/Now: LIVE! featuring two newly commissioned audio plays by a??Keen a??Playwrights Lab alumni Mashuq Mushtaq Deen and Deb Margolin. Each exciting piece will be performed by a small cast live in front of an audience, with live foley sound effects, and live music. The piece is designed to celebrate the storytelling process, by showing the audience all of the individual elements behind an audio play coming together live on stage. The two 45 minute commissions will be presented together, creating one 90-minute evening. The plays will be recorded live during the run and then released free to the public on the Keen website as well as popular podcast platforms. Performances will be December 10th through 19th, with Opening night set for Wednesday December 15th. Tickets are $25 and are available at the Theatre Row box office, online at bfany.org/theatre-row/shows/hear-now-live/.

February will see Keen's first full Off-Broadway production since closing Blues for an Alabama Sky on March 12th, 2020. Almost two years later, Keen will present the World Premiere of This Space Between Us by Peter Gil-Sheridan, directed by Keen Artistic Director Jonathan Silverstein. Performances will begin February 22nd and continue through April 2nd, with Opening Night set for Wednesday March 9th. Tickets will be $60 with Premium Seats available for $85; to celebrate the return to live performance, Special First Preview tickets will be only $22 for 2-22-22! Tickets are available at the Theatre Row box office, online at https://bfany.org/theatre-row/shows/this-space-between-us/. Cast and design team will be announced shortly.

This Space Between Us is a new comedy about trying to change the world while admitting home could use a little change too. Keen Company is proud to present the World Premiere of This Space Between Us by Peter Gil-Sheridan (The Rafa Play). Nobody understands why Jamie wants to leave his cushy law office to work for a non-profit. His best friend is confused, his boyfriend is concerned, and his conservative Cuban-American family are sure they know what's best. As Jamie announces his plans to serve those less fortunate, one shocking afternoon at the racetrack sparks unexpected and irreversible consequences for them all. This intergenerational comedy follows a raucous attempt to reach for something more without leaving the people you love behind.

Later this Spring Keen will offer a special treat: an all-star benefit performance. Stay tuned for more details as they become available.

Keen's ongoing programs, undaunted by the pandemic, continue to thrive.

Under the leadership of Keen's Director of New Work Jeremy Stoller, the Keen Playwrights Lab is in its eight season, currently working with playwrights Carlos Murillo, Vicki Ramirez, and Harrison David Rivers. Each year, the Keen Playwrights Lab brings together three mid-career playwrights to develop new full-length plays that uphold Keen's mission to create theater that champions identification and connection. Virtual readings of excerpts of new works by all writers will occur in December 2021, more details to be announced.

Keen Teens the company's education program now in its 16th year, raises the quality of plays written for high school students by commissioning work from accomplished professional playwrights. The 2022 Keen Teens playwrights will be Bleu Beckford-Burrell, C. Quintana, and Stephanie Swirsky. This free program for teens provides invaluable mentorship opportunities - working alongside professional writers, directors, and designers to rehearse and premiere new work. Through Keen's partnership with Concord Theatricals, plays are published and licensed around the globe. The 2022 Keen Teens Festival of New Work will take place in May 2022; more details to be announced.

Keen Company creates theater that provokes identification, reflection, and emotional connection. In intimate productions of plays and musicals, we tell wholehearted stories about people striving to do their best and the decisive moments that change us. Keen has been honored with eleven Drama Desk nominations, two Drama Desk Awards, two Drama League nominations, and two Obie Awards. Keen Company is a Drama Desk and Obie Award winning Off-Broadway theater creating story driven work that champions identification and connection. In intimate productions of plays and musicals, the company tells stories about the decisive moments that change us. Keen also fosters mid-career playwrights through our Keen Playwrights Lab and mentors students from all five boroughs of NYC though our Keen Teens education program. In everything we do, Keen Company thrives through our welcoming ethos and community commitments.

For more information, visit KeenCompany.org.

To post a comment, you must register and login.