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.

The Keen Collection: Volume 7 contains three short plays written by C.A. Johnson, Nsangou Njikam, and Kate Cortesi, which premiered at Off-Broadway's Theatre Row as part of 2019 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.

Foreign Bodies by C.A. Johnson
Alphonse the bartender will always listen to your sob story as he pours you a drink. And everyone in his bar seems to have one. Mallory struggles with her all-consuming love for Trish. Everyone seems to be struggling with something. Until they aren't. All is not as it seems at this neighbourhood watering hole. (Cast: 5 female, 5 male).

The Rebellious Rhymes of J Nice by Nsangou Njikam
The whole school gathers to cheer on the epic rap battle between the challenger, J Nice, and the champion, Makeda. Both are MCs with mad skills rhyming for the Championship of the South Bronx. "There aren't really any rules but just don't take sh*t too far." (Cast: 8 female).

Citizens United by Kate Cortesi
A comedy about the end of American democracy. Well, not the end, but a pretty drastic assault that came from within by five people who can't be voted out, five men who will keep that job till they quit or die. Though granted, one of them is already dead. (Cast: 1 female, 16 any gender, flexible ensemble).