Keen Teens is a unique educational program from the award-winning Off Broadway theater Keen Company. This free program for teens provides invaluable mentorship opportunities: working alongside professional writers, directors and designers to rehearse and premiere new plays. By commissioning one-acts specifically designed for the high school stage, Keen Teens creates work that speaks to teens on their level, presenting a perspective which is as complex and multilayered as the students themselves. The 12 week program culminates in the Off Broadway premiere of each new piece during the Keen Teens Festival of New Work at Theatre Row and the subsequent publishing and licensing by Concord Theatricals.
See the Off Broadway debut of 30 young actors in world premiere one-acts by Dennis Allen, Laura O'Neill and Jesús Valles, and witness the premiere of work which will soon be produced on high school stages around the world!
The Odds Are…
By Dennis A. Allen II
Directed by Antu Yacob
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
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
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.
