Kristen Adele Calhoun
- Actress
- Writer
- Additional Crew
Kristen Adele Calhoun is a writer, actor, producer and curator. She is a recent I am Soul Playwriting Resident at Dr. Barbara Ann Teer's National Black Theatre and the co-curator of BLKSPACE, a two-week, rest-centered residency for Black artists.
Her writing commissions include the NAACP, the Lucille Lortel, St. Louis Black Repertory Company, 651 ARTS, Penumbra Theatre, the Black American West Museum and Firehouse Theatre. Her plays include Black Cypress Bayou, Blood Work, Out the Mud, Canfield Drive and Wildcat. She is a winner of the Edgerton Foundation New Play Award (Black Cypress Bayou) and the Relentless Award (Wildcat).
Kristen's film and television writing credits include: HBO's adaptation of Toni Morrison's novel SULA helmed by showrunner Shannon M. Houston, Janet Mock and Stephanie Allain's Homegrown Pictures. She is on the core writing team for BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions directed by Kahlil Joseph, produced by A24 (premiering at Sundance Film Festival 2025). She has also developed work for television with Nikole Hannah-Jones, the NY Times, Lionsgate and Harpo Films.
Kristen's television and film acting credits include House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, Elementary, Blue Bloods, and The Good Wife.
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 Mexico and Massachusetts where she is the 2024 - 2025 Sterling A. Brown Distinguished Visiting Professor of Africana Studies at Williams College.
Her writing commissions include the NAACP, the Lucille Lortel, St. Louis Black Repertory Company, 651 ARTS, Penumbra Theatre, the Black American West Museum and Firehouse Theatre. Her plays include Black Cypress Bayou, Blood Work, Out the Mud, Canfield Drive and Wildcat. She is a winner of the Edgerton Foundation New Play Award (Black Cypress Bayou) and the Relentless Award (Wildcat).
Kristen's film and television writing credits include: HBO's adaptation of Toni Morrison's novel SULA helmed by showrunner Shannon M. Houston, Janet Mock and Stephanie Allain's Homegrown Pictures. She is on the core writing team for BLKNWS: Terms & Conditions directed by Kahlil Joseph, produced by A24 (premiering at Sundance Film Festival 2025). She has also developed work for television with Nikole Hannah-Jones, the NY Times, Lionsgate and Harpo Films.
Kristen's television and film acting credits include House of Cards, Orange is the New Black, Elementary, Blue Bloods, and The Good Wife.
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 Mexico and Massachusetts where she is the 2024 - 2025 Sterling A. Brown Distinguished Visiting Professor of Africana Studies at Williams College.
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