Keen Company Announces KEEN ON NEW WORK: A DISCUSSION WITH THE 2020 PLAYWRIGHTS LAB WRITERS

Keen Company Artistic Director Jonathan Silverstein today announced his plans for Keen's Playwrights Lab, including readings from the 2020 participants as well as the playwrights for the 2021 Lab: "I am thrilled to announce this year's Playwrights Lab presentation as well as our incoming writers for 2021. Under the guidance of Jeremy Stoller, Keen's Director of New Work, the Keen Playwrights Lab is a crucial part of Keen's commitment to developing new work. Not only is the Lab a supportive and collaborative space for these talented writers to develop their plays, but it also points to new horizons for the Keen mission. This year's writers have given us inspiration throughout this challenging year and met the moment with their unique work. I am very much looking forward to amplifying their voices in this brand new format. At the same time, I welcome the 2021 writers to the Keen family and eagerly anticipate working with them throughout this coming year."

Join Keen Company on Tuesday January 26th at 4pm for a discussion with the 2020 Playwrights Lab writers featuring an insight into the plays they have been developing over the past year and a sampling of exclusive excerpts from their work read by top-tier actors, moderated by Keen's Director of New Work Jeremy Stoller. Tickets are FREE and open to the public, but require a reservation.

Keen on New Work: A Discussion with The 2020 Playwrights Lab Writers will be streamed on the company's website on Tuesday January 26th at 4pm via reservation only. It will run approximately 75 minutes including interviews and exclusive excerpts of new work by Karen Hartman, Lisa Ramirez, and Ken Urban.

Selections will include:

ALL FALL DOWN by Lisa Ramirez

performed by Ellen McLaughlin

THE TENURE ITCH by Ken Urban

directed by Tiffany Nichole Greene

performed by McKinley Belcher III, Mark Junek, Greg Keller, Vero Maynez, Annie Scurria

NEW GOLDEN AGE by Karen Hartman

directed by Jackson Gay

performed by Molly Camp, Angel Desai, Lorenzo Robert, Noah Zachary

For more information on the 2020 Playwrights Lab and to reserve tickets visit http://www.keencompany.org/readings

The 2021 Lab Playwrights will feature Carlos Murillo, Harrison David Rivers, and Vickie Ramirez. "Knowing we would have to conduct our Lab meetings online for at least the first half of 2021, we quickly realized that we were no longer bound by geography. For the first time we could welcome writers beyond the New York area into our Lab. It's not that New York has any shortage of fantastic writers -- but of course it also doesn't have a monopoly on them. We couldn't be happier to spend the next year supporting the work of these three singular writers, from communities around the U.S.," said Jeremy Stoller, Keen's Director of New Work.

Each year, the Keen Playwrights Lab brings together three mid-career playwrights to develop new full-length plays that uphold Keen's mission to provoke identification, reflection, and emotional connection. Launched in 2014 by founding Director of New Work Mark Armstrong and Jonathan Silverstein, the Lab's mission is two-fold: to make Keen a home for new plays that speak deeply to our mission and vibrantly to the present moment; and to help address the dearth of development support for American Playwrights who have evolved out of early-career status into the trenches of mid-career. Under the leadership of Jeremy Stoller, Keen Company's current Director of New Work, the writers meet monthly to share, discuss, and develop work with their peers in a relaxed and supportive environment. The Playwrights Lab culminates with readings of these works in progress, attended by the Keen community, the theater industry, and the general public. More information at http://www.keencompany.org/playlab.

Keen Company's 21st year will reimagine the classic radio drama with a season of five world premiere audio plays from a multifaceted group of modern playwrights. Hear/Now continues Keen's mission to be an Off-Broadway home for new work. Hear/Now welcomes patrons into a theater of their imagination and digital programming that will allow for continued conversations and connection.

Keen Company is an award-winning Off-Broadway theater creating story-driven work that provokes identification, reflection, and emotional connection. In intimate productions of plays and musicals, the company tells stories about the decisive moments that change us. Keen also runs a developmental new work initiative for mid-career playwrights and a unique educational outreach program for teens in all five boroughs of NYC.

For more information on the Playwrights Lab and all of Keen's programs, please visit KeenCompany.org.

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