Celebration poster for the 20th anniversary of KEEN Teen's 'Festival of New Work' featuring stylized images of a girl and a boy, colorful stars, dots, and abstract designs.

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 600 young actors and has led to the publication of over 55 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 typically held in January of each year. To get a a sense for what the audition process is like, learn more about the 2026 audition process here. Follow us on social and sign up for email reminders when audition information becomes available.

Questions? Text or call the Keen Teens Hotline at (646) 535-0266, or email keenteens@keencompany.org.

Become A Keen Teens SPONSOR

Keen Teens is made possible through the generous support of Keen Teens sponsors like you!

Your support keeps Keen Teens free for all students.

Donate to Keen Teens

Perks of being a Keen Teens Lead Sponsor include:

  • Top Billing/Name Recognition under the Keen Teens headline

  • Invitation to a Keen Teens 20th Anniversary Party with Keen creatives

  • 1 pair of top-tier gala tickets for Keen’s Midwinter Bash ($850 value)

  • Comps for Keen Teen performances

  • 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

See the full sponsorship package

“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