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 9 contains three short plays written by Bleu Beckford-Burrell, Stephanie Swirsky, and C. Quintana, which premiered at Off-Broadway's Theatre Row as part of 2022 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.

A Little Bit of Tea With That by Bleu Beckford-Burrell
A vicious rumor has spread at the local high school, just before spring break. A long-standing friendship is at risk, with friends falling away left and right. Allison believes she may know who's causing the chaos, but her accusation may cause a rift that can never be fixed. (Cast: 6 female, 3 male, 1 any gender).

Bake Sale by Stephanie Swirsky
A question about a culinary offering at a bake sale provokes a schoolwide conversation about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. High school students debate with fiery passion – but no one has the facts. (Cast: 7 female, 2 male, 1 any gender).

Hatch by C. Quintana
When a group of drama students sneak into their school theater the day before their first public performance in the space for years, they uncover a kooky world beneath the trap door that leads them on a wild, unexpected adventure uniting them for the sake of their premiere. (Cast: 10 any gender).