Kenneth Lin (playwright)
Kenneth Lin is an American playwright and screenwriter. Lin's plays have been performed throughout the world and his TV shows have been distributed via Netflix, HBO, Cinemax, Hulu and more. In theatre, he is best known for his plays Po Boy Tango, Farewell My Concubine, and Kleptocracy. In Television, he is best known for his work on the Netflix series House of Cards, the Hulu Series, The First, and the Cinemax series, The Warrior. He is a member of the theater/music/film collective New Neighborhood.
Upcoming theatrical works include Farewell My Concubine with composer Jason Robert Brown, Life On Paper and The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn with music by Stew and the Negro Problem. Television credits include The First, House of Cards, Warrior, and Sweetbitter. Feature film credits include Abacus. Awards/honors include winner of the Kendeda Graduate Playwriting Competition, Princess Grace Award, L. Arnold Weissberger Award, Cole Porter Prize, Edgerton New Play Prize and Fulbright Scholarship. Education: Yale School of Drama
Early life and education
Lin was born in the Bronx, New York to parents of Chinese descent and grew up on Long Island, New York.Lin was born into a Chinese-American family. Lin attended Cornell University and the Yale School of Drama. He is an alumnus of the Fulbright Program and was selected as one of the Dramatists Guild's "50 to Watch" list in 2007. In 2013, Lin joined the writing staff for the second and third seasons of the Netflix series House of Cards.
Personal life
Kenneth Lin and Rebecca Ruth Sawyer married in Riverhead, N.Y. She graduated from the University of Connecticut. She has two master’s degrees, one in East Asian studies from Yale and another in social work from New York University.Career
Film and Television work
Warrior 2019Sweetbitter
House of Cards
Stronger
My America
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Theatre work
said SaïdThe play received the L. Arnold Weissberger Award, presented annually by The Williamstown Theatre Festival, on behalf of the Anna L. Weissberger Foundation. Lin received a $10,000 prize and publication of his script by Samuel French, Inc. It also was awarded the Princess Grace Award: Playwriting Fellowship.
The play had its world premiere at the Alliance Theatre and had its West Coast Premiere in 2008.
Po Boy Tango
Po Boy Tango, South Coast Repertory Pacific Playwrights Festival, world-premiere Northlight Theatre Company
Intelligence-Slave
World-premiere, Alley Theatre
Fallow
World-premiere, People's Light and Theatre Company
Warrior Class
World-premiere, Second Stage Theater
Pancakes, Pancakes!
Ran at the Alliance Theatre Atlanta, Georgia between May 31 - July 10, 2016.
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Premiered at Alley Theatre Houston in February 2017
Kleptocracy
Performed 2019 at the Arena Stage, Washington, D.C.
Exclusion
First performed May 5 through June 25, 2023, at the Arena Stage, Washington, D.C.
Future projectsLife on Paper : To be performed in 2020 at Jackelope Theatre Company Chicago, IllinoisGenius in LoveAbout MeAgency
- ''Farewell My Concubine''
Awards and honors
Kendeda Graduate Playwriting CompetitionPrincess Grace Award
L. Arnold Weissberger Award
Cole Porter Prize
Edgerton New Play Prize
Fulbright Scholarship