Playwright

Kristen Adele
Calhoun

(she/her)

Kristen Adele Calhoun is a writer, actor, producer, and curator. Her playwriting commissions include Penumbra Theatre, Lucille Lortel Theatre, the NAACP, St. Louis Black Repertory Company, 651 ARTS, and the Black American West Museum. Other plays include WILDCAT, blood work, Out the Mud, and Canfield Drive. She is the co-curator of BLKSPACE, a two-week, rest-centered residency for Black artists and is currently an I AM SOUL Playwriting Resident at Dr. Barbara Ann Teer’s National Black Theatre. Her film and television writing credits include: HBO’s adaptation of Toni Morrison’s novel SULA helmed by showrunner Shannon M. Houston and Stephanie Allain’s Homegrown Pictures, and BLKNWS directed by Kahlil Joseph, produced by A24 and Participant. Kristen’s television and film acting credits include: House of Cards, Orange Is the New Black, Elementary, Blue Bloods, The Good Wife, Everything I Whispered to Dorothy and The Astronaut Who Lost His Helmet. A native of Dallas, Texas, she is a graduate of the University of North Texas (Bachelor of Fine Arts) and the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University (Master of Fine Arts). She splits her time between Ghana, Mexico, and the United States of America. Instagram: @kristenadelecalhoun