Lauren Molina, Heidi Armbruster & More to Take Part in Keen Teens Benefit Reading Next Week

The Drama Desk and Obie Award-winning Keen Company will present a benefit reading in honor of the Tenth Season of Keen Teens on Monday March 21st at The Clurman Theatre, Theatre Row. Casts will feature current Keen Teens, KT alumni, and professional actors including Heidi Armbruster, Laura Esterman, Peter Jay Fernandez, Autumn Hurlbert, Ted Koch, KK Moggie, Lauren Molina, Chris Perfetti, Jay Russell, Conor Ryan, and Keen Artistic Director Jonathan Silverstein as "Principal Forsman." All proceeds from the 10th Anniversary Readings will help support the continued growth of the Keen Teens program.

Celebrate ten years of Keen's unique educational program in an evening featuring work from the past seasons - read by current Keen Teens, alumni, and professional actors. Proceeds from the event go directly towards the growth and success of the next ten years of Keen Teens. A festive cocktail reception follows. Tickets are $25 and available for purchase at www.keencompany.org.

The evening will include Aliens vs. Cheerleaders by Qui Nguyen directed by Mark Armstrong, from Keen Teens 2010, published and licensed through Playscripts, Inc.; Firebirds by Liz Flahive with music by Tom Kitt directed by Blake Lawrence, from Keen Teens 2009, published and licensed through Playscripts, Inc.; and Why Aren't You Dead Already by Halley Feiffer directed by Liz Carlson, from Keen Teens 2015, published and licensed through Samuel French.

This season's Keen Teens offerings will be Thirty Million, a new musical with music and lyrics by Max Vernon; book by Jason Kim, directed by Mark Armstrong, with choreography by Brad Landers and musical direction by Lena Gabrielle; Landlines by Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen, directed by Liz Carlson; and How The Moon Would Talk by Nick Gandiello, directed by Sash Bischoff.Performances will be Friday May 13th at 8pm, Saturday May 14th at 3pm & 8pm, and Sunday May 15th at 2pm & 5pm at The Lion Theatre in Theatre Row (410 West 42nd Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues). Tickets are only $19.25 and may be purchased by calling Telecharge at 212-239-6200 or online at www.telecharge.com. Tickets will go on sale April 1st.

Keen Teens is a unique educational theatre program which seeks to improve the quality of plays written for high school students by commissioning scripts from highly regarded professional writers. Playwrights write plays 30 minutes in length that involve a large cast and also reflect Keen Company's mission of producing plays that provoke identification, reflection and emotional connection. The plays are performed by high school students from across the metropolitan area, as part of a free program which allows students an immersive experience in new play production. The productions are all designed and directed by theatre professionals, allowing the students a unique opportunity to work alongside some of the most talented emerging artists working in New York today. Keen's program partner, Samuel French, Inc., then publishes the plays and make them available for future productions around the globe. In its first eight seasons, Keen Teens produced plays by Courtney Baron, Barton Bishop, Bekah Brunstetter, Jonathan Caren, Kristoffer Diaz, Bathsheba Doran, Anton Dudley, Halley Feiffer, Kenny Finkle, Liz Flahive, Marcus Gardley, Madeleine George, Jason Grote, Naomi Iizuka and Ryan Pavelchik, Greg Kotis, Mike Lew, Cheri Magid, Winter Miller, Michael Mitnick, Anna Moench, Janine Nabers, Qui Nguyen, Jenny Schwartz, and Kathryn Walat.

"Keen Teens has been an integral part of Keen Company's history and growth. It's been a true pleasure to watch this beautiful program born by Blake Lawrence and Carl Forsman grow into a unique and mighty force throughout the past decade. Many talented writers, director and designers have devoted their time and talent to give the teens of America new work that speaks to them on their level, while countless teens have gained invaluable professional and life lessons by participating in the the premiere productions. Under Mark Armstrong's inspirational leadership, I eagerly look forward to seeing what the next decade will bring," said Keen Artistic Director Jonathan Silverstein.

"Ten years ago, I joined Keen Company for the first time to direct a brand new play written especially for New York City high school students to perform at off-Broadway's Theatre Row. In the years since, our Keen Teens productions have grown into an incubator for new work from major playwrights and a springboard for young people into the world of professional theater. We've developed and premiered 30 new plays that have subsequently been performed over 200 times around the globe. In our 10th season, we're presenting our first new musical. We're celebrating by looking back through our Keen Teens canon, with readings of plays created for Keen by Halley Feiffer, Qui Nguyen and Liz Flahive, as well as an original song by Tom Kitt," added Mark Armstrong, Keen Teens producer

For more information about Keen Teens and other programs and productions of the Keen Company, go to www.keencompany.org.

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