Keen Teens
About the Program
Established in 2007, Keen Teens is a free program for New York City-area high school student performers to collaborate with professional writers, directors, and designers in mounting world premiere plays Off-Broadway.
Keen Teens is the cornerstone of our outreach and educational efforts. We commission accomplished playwrights and composers to create original plays and musicals that are as complex and multilayered as the lives of young people today. Each year, the plays are performed Off-Broadway in the Keen Teens Festival of New Work, published in The Keen Collection by our partners at Concord Theatricals, and licensed for productions throughout the United States and world.
Keen Teens has made possible the Off-Broadway debut of over 450 young actors and has led to the publication of over 45 new one-act plays and musicals. Learn more about the program’s history.
Get Involved
Auditions for the Keen Teens Festival of New Work are held in January of each year. Check out 2024 audition info today!
Stay in the loop! Call or text the Keen Teens Hotline at (646) 535-0266 with any questions, and join the Keen Teens email list for future updates on the program and annual festival!
Email keenteens@keencompany.org with any questions.
Keen Collection
We find that educators do not always have access to material intended for high school actors and are often left to present plays and musicals that lack richness or relevance. The Keen Collection is made up of a mix of comedies, dramas, and musicals; scripts range from the sincere to the absurd, from the existential to the most intimate. Some deal head-on with topical issues, others simply aim to provide smart contemporary material. These original pieces have been created by many of the most talented writers working today.
As well as being tailored to the social and emotional world of teens, these plays are also designed to be accessible in educational settings. All scripts run 30 minutes, with simple design elements, large ensembles, and flexible casting requirements. Each play can be presented on its own, or in combination with other Keen Collection titles on a shared bill.
All Keen Teens plays are available to buy or perform through our producing partners at Concord Theatricals (previously Samuel French) and Playscripts. Or browse each play collection in the Keen Shop.
Keen Teens is made possible through the generous support of The Axe-Houghton Foundation, The Marta Heflin Foundation, and our Keen Teens Ambassadors like you!
Become A Keen Teens Ambassador
Your support keeps Keen Teens free for all students.
Become a Keen Teens Ambassador and help us annually serve 30 high schoolers from all 5 boroughs of New York City!
Perks of being a Keen Teens Ambassador include:
2 tickets to any performance of the Keen Teens Festival of New Work in May
Invitation to a Keen Teens Ambassador mixer with Keen creatives during the Festival weekend
Recognition in all program materials
Listing as a donor in the published scripts, licensed and released by Concord Theatricals
Knowledge that you’re helping 30 teens each year chart their creative futures
“Keen Teens is outstanding and inspirational. This program has developed into something to be celebrated.”
— Marsha Mason, four-time Academy Award Nominee and two-time Golden Globe Award Winner
Send Your Gift to the Top of the Class!
Superintendent
A donation of $5,000 could underwrite all outreach costs associated with Keen Teens including posters, postcards, fliers at metro high schools, and auditions in all five boroughs!
Principal
A donation of $2,500 could underwrite most production costs associated with Keen Teens including props, lights, sound equipment, and costumes!
Senior
A donation of $1,000 could underwrite most running costs associated with Keen Teens including backstage supplies, house managers, and food for students during tech rehearsals!
Junior
A donation of $500 could underwrite most script costs associated with Keen Teens including making bound copies for every student!
Sophomore
A donation of $250 could underwrite the cost of all programs for one performance of the Keen Teens Festival of New Work!
Freshman
A donation of $100 could underwrite free tickets because your donation allows Keen to offer comp tickets for friends and family to attend the Keen Teens Festival of New Work!
Hall Monitor
Your donation of any size makes a big impact on this unique educational program from teens.