DAVID HENRY HWANG
David Henry Hwang
Birth name David Henry Hwang
Born August 11, 1957 (age 50)
Origin Los Angeles, California
Occupation(s) Playwright, Screenwriter, Television Writer, Librettist, Lyricist
Years active 1980-present
David Henry Hwang (born August 11, 1957) is a contemporary American playwright
who has risen to prominence as the preeminent Asian American dramatist in the U.S.
He was born in Los Angeles, California and was educated at Stanford University
and the Yale School of Drama. His first play was produced at the Okada House
dormitory at Stanford and he briefly studied playwriting with Sam Shepard and
Mara Irene Forns.
Hwang's work for the stage includes FOB, The Dance and the Railroad, Family
Devotions, The House of Sleeping Beauties (adapted from Yasunari Kawabata's
novella House of the Sleeping Beauties), The Sound of a Voice, As the Crow Flies,
Rich Relations, M. Butterfly, Bondage, Face Value, Trying to Find Chinatown,
Bang Kok, Golden Child, an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt (co-written
with Stephan Muller), Jade Flowerpots and Bound Feet, the children's play Tibet
Through the Red Box (based upon Peter Sis' book), and Yellow Face.
His music-theatre work includes the texts for Philip Glass' 1000 Airplanes on
the Roof, The Voyage, and The Sound of a Voice, the book for Elton John and Tim
Rice's Aida (co-written by Linda Woolverton and Robert Falls), the Walt Disney
Company's theatrical version of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan (with music and
lyrics by Phil Collins), the libretti for Bright Sheng's The Silver River,
Osvaldo Golijov's Ainadamar, and Unsuk Chin's Alice in Wonderland as well as
Rodgers and Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song.
He has also written a number of screenplays, including David Cronenberg's
adaptation of M. Butterfly, John Madden's Golden Gate, and Neil LaBute's
Possession (co-written with Laura Jones and LaBute, adapted from the novel by A.
S. Byatt). He also wrote the teleplay for the NBC mini-series The Lost Empire,
directed by Peter MacDonald. He served as a script advisor for the film Picture
Bride. In 2003, Susan Hoffman directed a film adaptation of The Sound of a Voice
entitled Sound of a Voice, written by and starring Lane Nishikawa and Natsuko
Ohama.
As another extension of his interests, he penned the texts for three dance
pieces: Ruby Shang's Yellow Punk Dolls and Dances in Exile as well as Maureen
Fleming's After Eros (with music by Philip Glass). He also co-wrote the Prince
song "Solo" for his album Come.
In 1999, Hwang starred in a short film by Greg Pak called Asian Pride Porn,
which combined humor and serious social commentary to parody the Asian fetish
and the prevalence of Asian fetish pornography. As himself, he has appeared in
the documentary films Hollywood Chinese, Happy Birthday Oscar Wilde, and
Literary Visions.
He has been awarded numerous grants, including fellowships from the National
Endowment for the Arts, the Guggenheim and Rockefeller Foundations, the New York
State Council on the Arts, and the Pew Charitable Trusts. He has been honored
with awards from the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund , the
Association for Asian Pacific American Artists, the Museum of Chinese in the
Americas, the East West Players, the Organization of Chinese Americans, the
Media Action Network for Asian Americans, the Center for Migration Studies, the
Asian American Resource Workshop, the China Institute, and the New York
Foundation for the Arts. In 1998, the nation's oldest Asian American theatre
company, the East West Players, christened its new mainstage The David Henry
Hwang Theatre.
Mr. Hwang sits on the boards of the Dramatists Guild, Young Playwrights Inc.,
and the Museum of Chinese in the Americas. He conducts interviews on arts-related
topics for the national PBS cable television show Asian America. From 1994-2001,
he served by appointment of President Bill Clinton on the President's Committee
on the Arts and the Humanities.
David Henry Hwang holds honorary degrees from Columbia College in Chicago and
The American Conservatory Theatre. He lives in New York City with his wife,
actress Kathryn Layng, and their children, Noah David and Eva Veanne.
David Henry Hwang
Birth name David Henry Hwang
Born August 11, 1957 (age 50)
Origin Los Angeles, California
Occupation(s) Playwright, Screenwriter, Television Writer, Librettist, Lyricist
Years active 1980-present
David Henry Hwang (born August 11, 1957) is a contemporary American playwright
who has risen to prominence as the preeminent Asian American dramatist in the U.S.
He was born in Los Angeles, California and was educated at Stanford University
and the Yale School of Drama. His first play was produced at the Okada House
dormitory at Stanford and he briefly studied playwriting with Sam Shepard and
Mara Irene Forns.
Hwang's work for the stage includes FOB, The Dance and the Railroad, Family
Devotions, The House of Sleeping Beauties (adapted from Yasunari Kawabata's
novella House of the Sleeping Beauties), The Sound of a Voice, As the Crow Flies,
Rich Relations, M. Butterfly, Bondage, Face Value, Trying to Find Chinatown,
Bang Kok, Golden Child, an adaptation of Henrik Ibsen's Peer Gynt (co-written
with Stephan Muller), Jade Flowerpots and Bound Feet, the children's play Tibet
Through the Red Box (based upon Peter Sis' book), and Yellow Face.
His music-theatre work includes the texts for Philip Glass' 1000 Airplanes on
the Roof, The Voyage, and The Sound of a Voice, the book for Elton John and Tim
Rice's Aida (co-written by Linda Woolverton and Robert Falls), the Walt Disney
Company's theatrical version of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Tarzan (with music and
lyrics by Phil Collins), the libretti for Bright Sheng's The Silver River,
Osvaldo Golijov's Ainadamar, and Unsuk Chin's Alice in Wonderland as well as
Rodgers and Hammerstein's Flower Drum Song.
He has also written a number of screenplays, including David Cronenberg's
adaptation of M. Butterfly, John Madden's Golden Gate, and Neil LaBute's
Possession (co-written with Laura Jones and LaBute, adapted from the novel by A.
S. Byatt). He also wrote the teleplay for the NBC mini-series The Lost Empire,
directed by Peter MacDonald. He served as a script advisor for the film Picture
Bride. In 2003, Susan Hoffman directed a film adaptation of The Sound of a Voice
entitled Sound of a Voice, written by and starring Lane Nishikawa and Natsuko
Ohama.
As another extension of his interests, he penned the texts for three dance
pieces: Ruby Shang's Yellow Punk Dolls and Dances in Exile as well as Maureen
Fleming's After Eros (with music by Philip Glass). He also co-wrote the Prince
song "Solo" for his album Come.
In 1999, Hwang starred in a short film by Greg Pak called Asian Pride Porn,
which combined humor and serious social commentary to parody the Asian fetish
and the prevalence of Asian fetish pornography. As himself, he has appeared in
the documentary films Hollywood Chinese, Happy Birthday Oscar Wilde, and
Literary Visions.
He has been awarded numerous grants, including fellowships from the National
Endowment for the Arts, the Guggenheim and Rockefeller Foundations, the New York
State Council on the Arts, and the Pew Charitable Trusts. He has been honored
with awards from the Asian American Legal Defense and Education Fund , the
Association for Asian Pacific American Artists, the Museum of Chinese in the
Americas, the East West Players, the Organization of Chinese Americans, the
Media Action Network for Asian Americans, the Center for Migration Studies, the
Asian American Resource Workshop, the China Institute, and the New York
Foundation for the Arts. In 1998, the nation's oldest Asian American theatre
company, the East West Players, christened its new mainstage The David Henry
Hwang Theatre.
Mr. Hwang sits on the boards of the Dramatists Guild, Young Playwrights Inc.,
and the Museum of Chinese in the Americas. He conducts interviews on arts-related
topics for the national PBS cable television show Asian America. From 1994-2001,
he served by appointment of President Bill Clinton on the President's Committee
on the Arts and the Humanities.
David Henry Hwang holds honorary degrees from Columbia College in Chicago and
The American Conservatory Theatre. He lives in New York City with his wife,
actress Kathryn Layng, and their children, Noah David and Eva Veanne.