As a playwright, his plays include Porcelain, A Language of Their Own, Red, Wonderland, Question 27 Question 28, A Distant Shore, 17, and Visible Cities. His adaptations include A Winter People (based on Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard), Ibsen’s Dollhouse, and Lorca's The House of Bernarda Alba; a musical Long Season; and performance works, Vivien and the Shadows; Home: Places between Asia and America and A Beautiful Country. His work has been produced at the Public Theater, Royal Court Theatre (UK); Mark Taper Forum, Manhattan Theatre Club, Long Wharf Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, Intiman Theatre, Wilma Theatre, Portland Center Stage, East West Players, Dallas Theatre Center, Cornerstone Theatre Company, Group Theatre. Studio Theatre, Fattore K and Napoli Teatro Festival (Italy); La Mama (Australia); Shanghai Dramatic Arts Center (China); Four Arts (Malaysia); and Wild Rice, Singapore Rep, Toy Factory, Checkpoint Theatre and TheatreWorks (Singapore), amongst others. For his plays, he received the London Fringe Award for Best Play, George and Elisabeth Marton Playwriting Award, GLAAD Media Award, Made in America Award, AEA/SAG/AFTRA Diversity Honor, and Robert Chesley Award. His plays are published by Grove Press.
As a director, his New York credits include the Public Theater, Playwrights Horizons, New York Theatre Workshop, Roundabout Theatre, Signature Theatre, New York City Center Encores!, Audible Theatre, Flea, Rattlestick, Playwrights Realm, Ensemble Studio Theatre, National Asian American Theatre Company, and Ma Yi. His regional credits include the Goodman Theatre, Oregon Shakespeare Festival, American Conservatory Theatre, Berkeley Rep, Arena Stage, La Jolla Playhouse, Goodspeed Opera, Alley Theatre, South Coast Rep, Old Globe, Center Theatre Group, Hartford Stage, Denver Center Theater, Seattle Rep, Cincinnati Playhouse, Kennedy Center, Humana Festival, Woolly Mammoth Theatre, Huntington Theatre, Empty Space, Portland Center Stage, East West Players, Singapore Repertory Theatre, and others. His opera credits include the world premieres of Osvaldo Golijov and David Henry Hwang’s Ainadamar (Tanglewood, Lincoln Center and Los Angeles Philharmonic) and Rob Zuidam’s Rage D’Amors (Tanglewood); and the New York premiere of Huang Ruo’s and David Henry Hwang’s An American Soldier (Perelman Performing Arts Center). He is a recipient of the OBIE, DramaLogue, and Craig Noel Awards for Direction.
He was the Artistic Director of Victory Gardens Theater in Chicago from 2011 to 2020. For his leadership, he was awarded the Iris Award for Outstanding Commitment to Connecting Chicago Communities and the Arts, and the Impact Award for Bold and Inclusive Artistic Leadership. In 2024, he was the recipient of Boston University’s Dean’s Arts & Humanities Award and the Doris Duke Artist Award.
