Ken Urban

American dramatist

Ken Urban

Born	(1974-06-20) June 20, 1974 (age 50) New Jersey
Education	Bucknell University (Bachelor's) Rutgers University (Master's) Rutgers University (PhD)
Occupation(s)	Playwright, Musician, Senior Lecturer
Website	kenurban.org

Ken Urban (born June 20, 1974) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and musician based in New York. Urban is a resident playwright at New Dramatists^[1] and an affiliated writer at the Playwrights' Center.^[2]

He is a senior lecturer of Theater Arts and the Director of Dramatic Writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Previously he has taught writing at Harvard University, Princeton University, Tufts University, and Davidson College.^[3]

Urban’s play The Happy Sad, had its first production at the Summer Play Festival at The Public Theater He adapted the play into a screenplay, and in 2013, it was released as a feature film directed by Rodney Evans.^[4]

Background

Urban attended Bucknell University, and graduated magna cum laude in English in 1996.^[5] He earned a Master's and Ph.D. in English Literature from Rutgers University in 2006.^[6] After receiving his doctorate, Urban taught at Harvard University for 8 years, and has since held teaching positions at Princeton University and Tufts University, focusing on instruction related to playwriting, screenwriting, academic writing, and dramatic literature.^[3] Urban is currently a senior lecturer and Director of Dramatic Writing at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and has been since 2017. There, he founded the annual Playwright's Lab, a play festival featuring student-written plays read by local professional actors.

Urban has a portfolio that includes over ten plays, and has had plays both Off-Broadway and on London’s West End. Further included in his portfolio are screenplays and albums and songs from the band Occurrence —which Urban is the lead member of.

Plays

Produced plays^[7]

2001: I (Heart) KANT (Moving Arts)^[8]
2007: The Private Lives of Eskimos (The Committee)^[9]
2009: The Happy Sad (The Public Theater)^[10]
2013: The Awake (59E59 Theaters)^[11]
2014: The Correspondent (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater)^[12]
2015: A Future Perfect (Speakeasy Stage Company)^[13]
2015: Sense of an Ending (Theatre503)^[14]
2017: Nibbler (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater)^[15]
2017: A Guide for the Homesick (Huntington Theatre Company)^[16]
2018: The Remains (Studio Theatre)^[17]
2022: Vapor Trail (Tribeca Festival)^[18]

Plays in progress

According to Urban's website, he has the following plays in progress.^[19]

The Moderate
The Tenure Itch
Danger and Opportunity

TV and film

Pilots

The Art of Listening (Optioned by ITV and Madison Wells Media)^[20]

Feature films

2013: The Happy Sad (Produced by IFC and Miasma Films and directed by Rodney Evans)^[21]

Short films

2013: I Am a Great Big Ball of Saddness (Produced by Manhattan Short Film Festival and directed by Chris Tyler)^[21]

Music

Urban is a co-founder of the band Occurrence, which also features vocalists Cat Hollyer and Johnny Hager.^[22]

Occurence (band)

Albums ^[23]

2016: The Past Will Last Forever
2018: If He Were Here
2018: Everyone Knows the Disaster is Coming
2021: I Have So Much Love to Give
2023: Slow Violence

Singles^[23]

2017: "The Time of Year"
2020: "Privacy Invaders"
2020: "Dead Sleep Best"
2020: "All My Days" (Remix H1987)
2020: "All My Days"
2021: "My Eternal Autumn"
2021: "Boy Joy"
2021: "The Happy Years"
2021: "I Have So Much Love to Give"

Awards and honors

Awards

2007: Playwriting Fellowship, Huntington Theatre Company, Boston, MA^[24]
2007: Nancy Quinn Grant, A.R.T./NY, NYC^[25]
2008: L. Arnold Weissberger New Play Award (for Sense of an Ending)^[26]
2010: Dramatists Guild Fellowship, NYC^[27]
2016: New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship for Playwriting/Screenwriting^[28]
2018: Independent Reviewers of New England Award for Best New Play (for A Guide for the Homesick)^[29]
2023: A IS FOR Playwriting Contest (2nd Place Winner) (for Cath Carroll)^[30]
2024: Winner of the Blue Ink Award for Playwriting (for The Conquered)^[31]

Residencies

2003: Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab, NY^[32]
2008: MacDowell Fellow, MacDowell, Peterborough, NH^[33]
2009: MacDowell Fellow, MacDowell, Peterborough, NH^[33]
2012 Djerassi Resident Artists Program, Woodside, CA^[34]
2014 Core Writer, Three-Year Residency, Playwrights’ Center, Minneapolis, MN^[35]
2015 Selected Playwright, R&D Group, The Civilians, NYC^[36]
2015 Artist in Residence, Headlands Center for the Arts, Sausalito, CA^[37]
2016 Member Playwright, Multi-Year Residency, New Dramatists, NY^[38]
2017 Affiliated Writer, Playwrights’ Center, Minneapolis, MN^[39]
2019 Artist in Residence, Millay Colony, Austerlitz, NY^[40]
2020 Selected Playwright, Keen Playwrights Lab, Keen Company, New York, NY^[41]
2020 Selected Playwright, R&D Group, The Civilians, NYC^[42]
2020 EST/Alfred P. Sloan Science & Technology Project Commission^[33]
2022 MacDowell Fellow, MacDowell, Peterborough, NH^[33]
2023 MacDowell Fellow, MacDowell, Peterborough, NH^[33]
2023 Venturous Theater Fund Finishing Commission^[43]

References

^ "Topics – Ken Urban". newdramatists.org. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
^ Smith, Marc (2018-05-08). "32: Ken Urban - Playwright Spotlight". Talking Theater. Archived from the original on 2019-02-08. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
^ ^a ^b Aucoin, Don. "For playwright Ken Urban, a world premiere and a teaching gig at MIT". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
^ Catsoulis, Jeannette (15 August 2013). "'The Happy Sad,' Based on Ken Urban's Play". The New York Times. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
^ "Ken Urban '96". www.bucknell.edu. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
^ "Friends of Rutgers - A Newsletter for Alumni and Friends of the Department of English". english.rutgers.edu. Retrieved 2019-03-13.
^ "Plays". Ken Urban Playwright. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
^ Stasio, Marilyn (2006-09-14). "I [Heart] Kant". Variety. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
^ Stasio, Marilyn (2007-09-11). "The Private Lives of Eskimos". Variety. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
^ "Studio Theatre | The Remains: Visual History". www.studiotheatre.org. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
^ "The Awake". First Floor Theater. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
^ "'The Correspondent,' an off-Broadway drama, in Review". The Fordham Ram. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
^ "A Future Perfect - TheaterMania.com". 2015-01-20. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
^ "Sense of An Ending". dem-productions. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
^ "Review: Nibbler at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater". Exeunt Magazine NYC. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
^ "'A Guide For The Homesick' Could Leave You With Spiritual Sunburn". www.wbur.org. 2017-10-20. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
^ "Studio Theatre | The Remains". www.studiotheatre.org. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
^ "Vapor Trail | 2022 Tribeca Festival". Tribeca. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
^ "Ken Urban Playwright". Ken Urban Playwright. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
^ "Ken Urban | New Dramatists". newdramatists.org. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
^ ^a ^b "Films". Ken Urban Playwright. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
^ "Occurrence". Occurrence. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
^ ^a ^b "Occurrence". Spotify. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
^ "Playwriting Fellows". Huntington Theatre Company. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
^ "The world premiere of In the Event of My Death | IRT Theater". Retrieved 2024-09-03.
^ "Clarence Coo's Chapters Of A Floating Life Receives 2023 L. Arnold Weissberger New Play Award". Williamstown Theatre Festival. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
^ "Ken Urban – Dramatists Guild Foundation". dgf.org. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
^ "NYFA Announces Recipients and Finalists for 2016 Artists' Fellowship Program". NYFA. 2016-07-08. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
^ "2017 IRNE Awards Winners Announced – Shoshana Bean, Mark Rylance, Scottsboro Boys and More!". BroadwayWorld.com. Retrieved 2019-04-04.
^ "Playwriting Contest 2024!". A is For. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
^ Blues (2024-03-27). "2024 Blue Ink Award Winner Announced". American Blues Theater. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
^ "Writer Director Lab". Soho Rep. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e "Ken Urban - MacDowell Fellow in Theatre Arts". MacDowell. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
^ "Ken Urban's The Immortals". Arts at MIT. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
^ "An interview with Ken Urban | Playwrights' Center". pwcenter.org. 2016-03-15. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
^ "2015-2016 - The Civilians". thecivilians.org. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
^ "Ken Urban - Headlands Center for the Arts". Headlands Center for the Arts -. 2014-12-16. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
^ "Ken Urban | New Dramatists". newdramatists.org. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
^ "Ken Urban | Playwrights' Center". pwcenter.org. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
^ "Alumni 2010-2020". Millay Arts. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
^ "Keen Playwrights Lab". Keen Company. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
^ "2020-2021 - The Civilians". thecivilians.org. Retrieved 2024-09-03.
^ "Finishing Commissions Program". Venturous Theater Fund. Retrieved 2024-09-03.