Keen Company to Present 2024 KEEN TEENS FESTIVAL OF NEW WORK

Keen Company has revealed details for the 2024 Keen Teens Festival of New Work. The festival features three world premiere commissioned one-acts by Dennis A. Allen II, Laura Neill, and Jesús Valles, written specifically for today's high schoolers and starring 30 New York City teens. Performances take place May 17–19, 2024 at Theatre Row in Theatre Two, located at 410 W 42nd St in Manhattan. Tickets, which are $20, are currently on sale.

Keen Teens is the cornerstone of Keen Company's outreach and educational efforts. To the company's knowledge, Keen Company is the only professional theater actively creating new work for high school students. Each year, Keen commissions accomplished playwrights and composers to create original plays and musicals that are as complex and multilayered as the lives of young people today. The plays are given their world premieres Off-Broadway in the Keen Teens Festival of New Work, published in The Keen Collection by Concord Theatricals, and licensed for productions throughout the United States and world. Since its launch in 2007, Keen Teens has served over 450 New York City teens and commissioned over 45 new plays and musicals which are currently being performed around the world.

The Keen Teens program features plays addressing modern teenage issues including strong language and cultural topics. This year's plays touch on themes like gynecological anatomy, gambling addiction, feelings of otherness, and talk of suicide which may not be suitable for younger audiences.

Keen Teens Education Director Carrie Ellman-Larsen commented, “This is my first year working with Keen Teens as Education Director and from the moment I started, I have been surrounded by enthusiasm, creativity and joy. The teens bring a strong work ethic and passion for the theater. Whether they are theater veterans or it is their first time on the stage, I have witnessed the embrace of the collaborative process to help each teen grow. It's been a privilege to be a part of the team.”

Keen Teens Producing Director Vernice Miller commented, “After years of supporting Keen Company, I'm thrilled to now be part of the team as Keen Teen's Producing Director.In the past I've brought my college students to Keen productions, where they've been enthralled to see their own experiences reflected onstage. This year, Keen boasts three exceptional plays written by Dennis A. Allen II, Laura Neill, and Jesús Valles, with subjects as diverse as teen gambling addiction, body autonomy and unlikely friendships in PE class. We can't wait to showcase their remarkable work with the community.”

The creative team for the 2024 Keen Teens Festival of New Work includes Keen Teens Education Director Carrie Ellman-Larsen, Keen Teens Producing Director Vernice Miller, Scenic Designer Yi-Hsuan (Ant) Ma and Yun Yen, Costume Designer Dan Wang, Lighting Designer Hayley Garcia Parnell, Sound Designer Eden Segbefia, Props Designer Caitlyn Murphy, Production Stage Manager Sloane Fischer, General Manager Reed Ridgley, and Production Manager Eric Nightengale.

Four performances of the 2024 Keen Teens Festival of New Work  will take place on May 17 at 8pm, May 18 at 2pm & 8pm, and May 19 at 2pm. The 2pm performance on May 18 will feature ASL Interpretation performed by Inclusive Communication Services. Performances take place at Theatre Row in Theatre Five, located at 410 W 42nd St in Manhattan.

The anticipated running time is 100 minutes without an intermission. All three plays will be presented at every performance. Tickets, which are priced at $20, are available online at www.keencompany.org, by phone at 212-714-2442 ex 45, or at Theatre Row Box Office. Standard ticketing fees apply.

Keen Teens is made possible through the generous support of The Axe-Houghton Foundation, The Marta Heflin Foundation, and Keen Teens Ambassadors.

Additional details on the 2024 Keen Teens Festival of New Work follows.

Please visit www.keencompany.org/keenteens for more information.

2024 Keen Teens Festival of New Work

The Odds Are…

By Dennis A. Allen II
Directed by Antu Yacob

Starring Charlotte Coffey, Tai Duong, August Eaves, George Henry, Aishwarya (Ria) Joseph, Nikki Lerman, Lavelle Price, Stephanie Solis-Romero, Dasan Turner, and Viktoriia Yatsyshyna.

Set in the not-too-distant future at a gambling addiction rehabilitation center for teens, The Odds Are... shines a spotlight on 16-year-old Jasmine and the other young residents as they navigate personal struggles and grapple with the societal forces that brought them there. 

the doctor will see you shortly

By Laura Neill
Directed by Susanna Jaramillo

Starring Annahlyn Barrett, Ida Footman Beckett, Juliet Burns, Victoria Carabalosa, Yngrid Jimenez, Madisyn Martin, Christina (Red) Permaul, Ally Seetaram, Zosia Sinton, Amelia Zoya Szasz, Bianca Vigilante, Samiya Williams, and Kiesse Yengo-Passy.

Fed up with long wait times and dismissive diagnoses, teenagers in a gynecologist's waiting room decide to build their own community toward healing. Powered by exuberant flash mobs that express rage, power, and helpful tips about what could be going on with your vagina, the doctor will see you shortly is a dramedy for anyone who's ever felt dread about going to the gynecologist.

Milewalkers

By Jesús Valles
Directed by Jean Carlo Yunén

Starring Jermaine Birchett, Amirah Clark, Dereck Diller, Sky Gomez, Xavier Gonzalez, Max Lobis Green, Kiera O'Grady-Chabran, Ariana Peña, Ryan Tan, and Bianca Vigilante.

It's time to “run” the mile, but for Fahren, Alyssa, Sonia, and Savannah, the mile is something you walk, with friends, while you contemplate love, mortality, friendship, and Hot Fries. Milewalkers asks us to return to middle school and revisit all the big and small ways that young adults tackle big life questions.

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