Lauren Yee


Lauren Yee is an American playwright.

Early life and education

Yee was born and raised in San Francisco, California. She is currently 34–35 years of age. She graduated from Lowell High School in 2003.
Yee graduated from Yale University in 2007, majoring in English and Theatre Arts. She then attended University of California, San Diego's MFA playwriting program.
Among Yee's biggest influences are her great-grandparents who migrated to America from China during the era when the Chinese Exclusion Act was in effect. To circumnavigate this they would migrate through Mexico across the Southern border to America and up to San Francisco. In addition, her father, Larry, inspired to her to write two plays, these being "The Great Leap," and "King of the Yees." Both of these plays draw directly from her Chinese American History.

Career

Yee is a member of the Ma-Yi Writers’ Lab and a Playwrights’ Center Core Writer and has worked under commission from the Goodman Theatre, Lincoln Center, and Mixed Blood.
In awarding the Whiting Award for 2019, the Selection Committee noted: "Her dialogue feels like overheard speech; even on the page, it asserts its vibrant, specific life...These plays feel ambitious and even monumental. They are also raucously funny, without ever losing sight of nuanced human experience."

Personal life

Yee married Zachary Zwillinger, an attorney, in September 2012 in San Francisco; the couple met at Yale.

Plays

2019
2018
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2007