Here is a list of plays I am currently working on.*

* you can find a list of finished plays here.

THE MODERATE

Unemployed, and estranged from his wife and son, Frank accepts a job offer from a contractor to moderate content for one of the world’s largest social media companies. This work takes a toll on Frank until he realizes he might have the power to save someone and himself in the process. 2M, 3W

A Commission from EST/Alfred P. Sloan Science & Technology Project and in development with The Civilians R&D Group.

Ken: My new play about the world of internet content moderators is a work of fiction. But I spent last fall interviewing researchers and speaking to content moderators for companies like Microsoft, and their words had a big impact as I write this play. I often challenge myself to write about people and places far removed from my own experience, and research helps me get inside the minds of my characters and to do justice to their stories.

THE TENURE ITCH

At an esteemed New England university, Erich teaches the largest classes in Literature, but his department chair demands Erich write less gay books if he wants tenure. An encounter with a student makes him wonder if he is just as homophobic as his colleagues. When sexual tension mounts with his straight best friend and bandmate, Erich wonders if he and his husband are going to make it through their ten-year itch. A comedy about love, sex, rock n roll. . . and academia. 3M, 1W

Developed as part of the Keen Playwrights Lab and New Dramatists.

Ken: Though I have spent considerable time in the hallowed halls of academia, I have largely avoided writing plays about that world. But sometimes you have to write about the thing that makes you the most uncomfortable and this new play – a campus comedy about embracing middle age – is me trying to make peace with this weird world, while asking bigger questions about the ways in which homophobia, far from banished from American life, actually can be found in the most surprising places.

VAPOR TRAIL

At a chance meeting at the farmers market, two strangers develop a connection rooted in their own unspeakable tragedies. They spend an evening together. It’s an encounter they can’t forget. 1M, 1W

Developed at the Playwrights’ Center and MIT’s Theater Arts Program. Audio version of the play will premiere at the 2022 Tribeca Festival as part of their Audio Storytelling series.

Ken: I wrote the first draft of Vapor Trail in January 2020. I was inspired by a memoir about a music journalist who had an infant child who was killed in a freak accident in New York City, about the process of grieving after he and his wife lost their firstborn. I wanted to write something intimate about overcoming grief, something that felt more like a short story than a play. This piece, by chance, became about an experience we are all going through collectively these days.

DANGER AND OPPORTUNITY

Together for a decade, Christian and Edwin are a married gay couple in a rut, when suddenly Christian’s unconventional ex-girlfriend re-appears. This unlikely trio finds themselves embarking on an unexpected journey together. A comedy about throuples and hope. 2M, 1W

Developed at New Dramatists, Kane Repertory Theatre and Flint Repertory Theatre.

Ken: Thanks to social media, it is much easier for people from our pasts to become a part of present. I began to wonder: what if someone from our past holds the key to our futures? And what if that person ends up becoming a part of your current relationship? It is a play borne out of a desire to imagine something new, written during a period of time when life felt very hopeless.