A Week of Broadway Classes & Broadway Shows
Theatre and Dance graduate Kei Eaccarino '26 traded the Redfern Theatre for Times Square after earning a coveted spot at Open Jar Institute. Daily acting, voice, and dance classes taught by Broadway artists, capped off with a Broadway show every night served as his reward for his winning performance at the American College Theatre Festival. Watch the video to hear Kei tell it in his own words.
The Program Behind the Moment
Kei's week at Open Jar is built on the foundation every Theatre and Dance student trains in at Keene State. Students rehearse in spaces that are a genuine simulation of the working performing arts environment. Actors, designers, and musicians train side by side, challenging each other and building off one another's talent the way they will in real life.
Professor Kirstin O'Brien, who's worked closely with Kei throughout his time at Keene State, says what stands out most about students like him isn't the accolades, it's how they show up once the opportunity arrives. "He came in like a sponge," she says of Kei's week at Open Jar, noting that the learning mattered more to him than the winning ever did.
Skills Built to Last
That's the outcome the program is designed around: creative inquiry, collaboration, and critical thinking that travel well beyond any single role or production. Students graduate knowing how to walk into an unfamiliar room, adapt fast, and hold their own. Preparation that matters whether the next stop is Broadway, another creative field, or somewhere not yet on the map.
Every January, Keene State theatre students compete at the American College Theatre Festival (ACTF), Region 1 and Region 2, presenting work in musical theatre, acting, and design/tech. It's one of several ways the program keeps students connected to what's happening in the industry, throughout New England, and everywhere the work is happening.
Interested in Keene State's Theatre and Dance program? Visit the program page to learn more.