Biography of Velina Hasu Houston

Since her work first appeared Off-Broadway when she was 22, Velina Hasu Houston, Ph.D., has been recognized as a Japan Foundation Fellow, Rockefeller Foundation Fellow (twice), Sidney F. Brody Fellow, and James Zumberge Fellow (thrice); been honored by Sidney Poitier and the Pinter Review Prize for Drama, and received thirteen commissions. "Tea" and Houston's other plays have been produced internationally throughout the U.S and Asia including at Manhattan Theatre Club, Pasadena Playhouse, Old Globe Theatre, George Street Playhouse, Pittsburgh Public Theatre, Smithsonian Institution, Whole Theatre (Olympia Dukakis, producer), NHK (Japan, nationwide), Negro Ensemble Company, Syracuse Stage, and others. She is Professor of Theatre, resident playwright, and creator and Director of the Master of Fine Arts in Dramatic Writing program at the University of Southern California School of Theatre. Professional memberships include Writers Guild of America, west; Dramatists Guild. Her works are archived in The Velina Hasu Houston Collection, Huntington Library, San Marino, California. Three new plays will premiere this fall: "The Peculiar and Sudden Nearness of the Moon" at Sacramento Theatre Company, "Calling Aphrodite" at International City Theatre (Long Beach, CA) and "The House of Chaos" at Asian American Repertory Theatre (San Diego, CA). Her research includes plays, films, books, and poetry that investigates identity and belonging vis-à-vis culture, ethnicity, and gender; particularly in a transnational context with regard to Japanese immigrants in the U.S. and the Japanese and African diasporas. She founded the Master of Fine Arts in Dramatic Writing program at the University of Southern California School of Theatre (Los Angeles) and its predecessor, the MFA in Playwriting Program in 1990. Professional memberships include Writers Guild of America, west; Dramatists Guild, and Alliance of Los Angeles Playwrights. Her works are archived in The Velina Hasu Houston Collection, Huntington Library, San Marino, California.