NEW YORK CITY |  In the most earth-shattering news of this Arts Moment, we may now welcome a new batch of “Playwrights” for A “New Work Program.”

This year’s victims: Brooke Berman, Kenny Finkle, and Kate Moira Ryan will develop new plays in the 2015 Keen Playwrights Lab and in a partnership with Samuel French, Inc.

Readings —not productions— of their new plays will be later announced.

“New work is an important part of Keen Company’s mission and playwrights are essential to the Keen community. This season, I’m thrilled to bring six dynamic, diverse voices into our community through both Keen Teens and the Keen Playwrights Lab,” said Mark Armstrong, Keen’s Director of New Work.

The other development arm is called Keen Teens, which seeks to improve the quality of plays written for high school students by commissioning scripts from highly regarded professional writers. Playwrights write plays 30 minutes in length that involve a large cast and also reflect Keen Company’s mission of producing plays that provoke identification, reflection and emotional connection.

The plays are performed by high school students from across the metropolitan area, as part of a free program which allows students an immersive experience in new play production. The productions are all designed and directed by theatre professionals, allowing the students a unique opportunity to work alongside some of the most talented emerging artists working in New York today.

More press releasing:

In the Keen Playwrights Lab, under the leadership of Armstrong, each playwright will develop a new full-length play inspired by Keen Company’s mission — enduring stories that provoke identification, reflection and emotional connection. The collaborative and supportive environment brings together three acclaimed American playwrights in mid-career to develop new work and facilitate that work’s exposure to a greater audience. Launched in October of 2013, previous Playwrights Lab writers were Jessica Dickey, Gabe McKinley and Qui Nguyen.

Armstrong added “The challenge is clear: mid-career playwrights need more support. And Keen Company has stepped up. In the second year of our Keen Playwrights Lab for mid-career playwrights, we’re featuring the work of Brooke Berman, Kenny Finkle and Kate Moira Ryan, all important artists whose work I’ve been eager to bring to Keen.”

 

Yes. The challenge is indeed clear: Mid-career playwrights do “need more support.” What kind? They need more development, more readings — in fact, more non-opportunities where they won’t get to see their plays on their feet.

For more information, go to http://www.keencompany.org.

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