2024 Keen Teens Festival of New Work
Featuring world premiere one-acts by Dennis A. Allen II, Laura Neill, and Jesús Valles
May 17—19, 2024
Join us for the 18th annual Keen Teens Festival of New Work, featuring 3 world premiere one acts written specifically for today’s high schoolers, and starring 30 NYC teens!
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.
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!
Run time is approximately 105 minutes without an intermission. All three festival plays will be presented at every performance.
Performance Venue
Theater Two in Theatre Row
410 West 42nd Street
New York, NY 10036
Between 9th & 10th Ave
Show Schedule
Friday at 8pm
Saturday at 2pm & 8pm
Sunday at 2pm
Age RECOMMENDATION
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.
Explore the 2024 Festival Plays
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.
Starring Charlotte Coffey, Tai Duong, August Eaves, George Henry, Aishwarya (Ria) Joseph, Nicole Lerman, Lavelle Price, Stephanie Solis-Romero, Dasan Turner, and Viktoriia Yatsyshyna
Assistant Director: Amberrain Andrews
Assistant Stage Manager and Intimacy Director: Willow Funkhouser
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.
Starring Annahlyn Barrett, Ida Footman Beckett, Juliet Burns, Victoria Caraballosa, Yngrid Jimenez, Madisyn Martin, Red Permaul, Alicia Seetaram, Zosia Sinton, Zoya Szasz, Bianca Vigilante, Samiya Williams, and Kiesse Yengo-Passy
Assistant Director: Annabel Heacock
Assistant Stage Manager: Alex Church-Gonzales
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.
Starring Jermaine Birchett, Amirah Clark, Dereck Diller, Xavier Frank, Angelina Gomez, Max Lobis-Green, Kiera O’Grady-Chabrán, Ariana Peña, Ryan Tan, and Bianca Vigilante
Assistant Director: Irvin Mason, Jr.
Assistant Stage Manager: Craig Steeley Jr.
Fight Director: Willow Funkhouser
Learn more about our Keen Teens program and the perks of becoming a Keen Teens Ambassador!
Meet the Artists
Dennis A. Allen II (Playwright, "The Odds Are...")
Laura Neill (Playwright, "the doctor will see You shortly")
Jesús Valles (Playwright, "Milewalkers")
Susanna Jaramillo (Director, "the doctor will see You shortly")
Antu Yacob (Director, "The Odds Are...")
Jean Carlo Yunèn (Director, "Milewalkers")
Keen Teens Education Director: Carrie Ellman-Larsen
Keen Teens Producing Director: Vernice Miller
Scenic Design: Yi-Hsuan (Ant) Ma and Yun Yen
Costume Design: Dan Wang
Lighting Design: Hayley Garcia Parnell
Sound Design: Eden Segbefia
Props Design: Caitlyn Murphy
Production Stage Manager: Sloane Fischer
General Manager: Reed Ridgley
Production Manager: Eric Nightengale
Master Electrician: Paul Jones
Technical Director: Parker Krey
House Manager: Josie Harding
House Manager: Melody Munitz
ASL Interpretation: Inclusive Communication Services
Production Photographer: Richard Termine
Graphic Design: Alan Buttar, Muse Graphic Design
Accountants: Kudisch, Oster & Company, LLC