Keen Company Announces The 2022 Playwrights Lab For New Work Including New Participating Playwrights Kristoffer Diaz, Sarah Schulman, and Anna Ziegler

Keen Company Artistic Director Jonathan Silverstein today announced his plans for Keen's Playwrights Lab, including the playwrights for the 2022 Lab, readings from the 2021 participants, as well as a roundtable discussion with the '21 playwrights on the process of developing new work.

"I am thrilled to welcome the latest group of talented and generous writers to the Keen Playwrights Lab, as well as share the stellar work of last year's participants. Keen's focus on new work began with the founding of the Lab in 2014. The work generated continues to inspire and broaden Keen's mission, while at the same time creating a safe and joyful home for mid-career writers. In our current season of all new work, including the upcoming world premiere of Peter Gil-Sheridan's This Space Between Us, the Lab is a potent reminder of the power of new plays to speak to today." said Silverstein.

The 2022 Lab Playwrights participants will be Kristoffer Diaz (The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity), Sarah Schulman (Carson McCullers), and Anna Ziegler (Boy). "Assembling a cohort of writers for this Lab is always a highlight of my work with Keen Company: reading the current work of playwrights I have admired for years, meeting with many of those writers to discuss their art and their future goals, and working to build a group that will support and challenge each other over our year together. I am proud that we are welcoming two gifted writers back to Keen Company, and one stellar artist who is new to the Keen family, and so eager to be in regular conversation with them for the coming months," 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 create theater that champions identification and 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 Keen's Director of New Work Jeremy Stoller, the Keen Playwrights Lab is in its ninth season. 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 later this season, attended by the Keen community, the theater industry, and the general public. More information at http://www.keencompany.org/playlab.

Join Keen Company for a roundtable discussion with the 2021 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. This pre-recorded discussion will be available to watch anytime on Keen Company's website at www.keencompany.org/readings.

In 2021, with the pandemic necessitating that the Lab be conducted online, Keen Company for the first time invited writers outside the New York City area into the cohort. Meeting monthly over Zoom, the three writers shared new material they were developing and talked through their current projects and concerns as artists navigating a challenging time. The Keen on New Work discussion includes the playwrights discussing their experience in the Lab and describing the exciting new projects they've been developing, as well as actors reading excerpts from the writers' in-development plays. Including excerpts from works written in the Lab: A Ghost in Del Rio by Carlos Murillo, The Apple by Vickie Ramirez and Maybe the Saddest Thing by Harrison David Rivers, featuring McKinley Belcher III, Chad Carstarphen, Grant Harrison, Susan Heyward, Allison Hicks, Tanis Parenteau, Joshua David Robinson, and David Shih.

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 Company is proud to present the World Premiere of This Space Between Us by Peter Gil-Sheridan (The Rafa Play), 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/.

This Space Between Us is a new comedy about trying to change the world while admitting home could use a little change too. Nobody understands why Jamie wants to leave his cushy law office to work for a non-profit. His boyfriend is concerned, his best friend is confused, 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 educational initiatives continue to thrive. 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 on the Playwrights Lab and all of Keen's programs, please visit KeenCompany.org.

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