Kenneth Lin (playwright)


Kenneth Lin is an award-winning 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 in 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 top “50 to Watch.” 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">Warrior (TV series)">Warrior (TV Series) 2019
''said Saïd'' (2007)
The 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'' (2007)
Po Boy Tango, South Coast Repertory Pacific Playwrights Festival, world-premiere Northlight Theatre Company
''Intelligence-Slave'' (2010)
World-premiere, Alley Theatre
''Fallow''
World-premiere, People's Light and Theatre Company
''Warrior Class'' (2012)
World-premiere, Second Stage Theater
''Pancakes, Pancakes!'' (2016)
Ran at the Alliance Theatre Atlanta GA between May 31 - July 10, 2016.
''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (2017)
Premiered at Alley Theatre Houston in February 2017
''Kleptocracy'' (2019)
Performed 2019 Arena Stage, Washington DC

Future projects

Kendeda Graduate Playwriting Competition
Princess Grace Award
L. Arnold Weissberger Award
Cole Porter Prize
Edgerton New Play Prize
Fulbright Scholarship