About the Plays:

Some great pieces for performance or scene work.

The annual Keen Teens Festival of New Work (commonly referred to as Keen Teens) is a unique and free educational theatre program, run by the Drama Desk and Obie Award-winning Keen Company. Keen Teens was formed in 2007 to improve the quality of plays written for high school students by commissioning scripts from highly regarded professional writers. Playwrights write material specifically for teenagers, in plays that must be 30 minutes long, have a cast size of 10 or more, and have an ensemble structure. Keen Teens then casts high school students from across the New York metropolitan area to perform in the World Premiere productions of these plays at an Off-Broadway setting.

Keen Teens: Volume 1 contains three short plays written by Jonathan Caren, Madeleine George, and Anna Moench, which premiered at Off-Broadway's Theatre Row as part of 2013 Keen Teens Festival of New Work. Another highlight of Keen Teens is that the plays are published, with the student's names listed, which helps build the canon of work for high school students. To date, more than 200 performances of Keen Teen plays have been produced all over the world, from Australia to Singapore.

The Dance Company by Jonathan Caren
Initiation into a high school sorority takes three young women – and their friendship – to the breaking point. Meanwhile, a young man struggles to chart his own future, or believe he's worthy of one. (Cast: 7 female, 4 male).

Flip Turn by Madeleine George
A fantastic blending of the under and above water worlds at a public pool, when an ordinary day calls for extraordinary feats of daring and trust. (Cast: 4 female, 6 male).

A Polar Bear in New Jersey by Anna Moench
Initiation into a high school sorority takes three young women – and their friendship – to the breaking point. Meanwhile, a young man struggles to chart his own future, or believe he's worthy of one. (Cast: 7 female, 3 male, and 4 any gender).