For our first Let’s Talk, we’re excited to present two discussions, each featuring five NHP alumni writers. In the first installment, we’re joined by Vichet Chum, Gloria Majule, Lina Patel, and Jonathan Spector.
Vichet Chum
Vichet Chum (He/Him) is a New York City based writer from Dallas, Texas. He’s received the 2023 Lucille Bulger Service Award, 2018 Princess Grace Award in Playwriting with New Dramatists, the 2021 Laurents/Hatcher Award and a 2021 Edgerton Foundation New Play Award for the world premiere of his play Bald Sisters which premiered at Steppenwolf Theatre in 2022, and a special state citation from the Massachusetts House of Representatives for his play KNYUM at Merrimack Repertory Theatre in 2018. He is currently an Underground Fellow at Roundabout Theatre Company, a Usual Suspect at New York Theatre Workshop, a fellow at Sun Valley Writers’ Conference, a board member for the New Harmony Project, and a steering committee member for the Obie Award and Tony Award-winning organization, AAPAC (The Asian American Performers Action Coalition). Vichet's debut YA novel "Kween" was released in 2023 with Quill Tree Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers. He is currently working on commissions for Audible, Steppenwolf Theatre, People’s Light, and Seattle Children's Theatre. He is a proud graduate of the University of Evansville (BFA), Brown University/Trinity Repertory Company (MFA), and is represented by WME and CURATE Management. vichetchum.com
Gloria Majule
Gloria Majule is a Tanzanian storyteller who writes for and about Africans and the African diaspora. Her work includes My Father Was Shot in the Back of the Head (Relentless Award Finalist), Culture Shock (Leah Ryan Prize Winner), and Uhuru (Alley All New Festival). Gloria has been awarded a MacDowell Fellowship; commissions by Audible, Atlantic Theater Company, Milwaukee Repertory Theater and Princeton University/The Civilians; and residencies at Yaddo, Art Omi, The New Harmony Project, and New York Stage and Film. Gloria was the first African woman to receive an MFA in Playwriting from Yale School of Drama.
Lina Patel
Lina Patel is a performer, writer, director, and educator. Her plays often explore disability, non-traditional relationships, and power in an unstable world. In 2025, Lina is working on her first graphic novel and wrote, directed, and produced her first short film, Cabin Time, a 2025 screenplay finalist at the acclaimed Evolution Mallorca International Film Festival. Winner of the Cornelia Street American Playwriting Award, Lina's work has been developed and produced across the country & the pond, including PlayFest Indy, Yale Rep, Cherry Lane, Silk Road Rising, The Road SPF 2024, CTG, & the Japanese American National Museum. and the Lark at 2nd Stage. She is the Director of Rogue Machine Theatre's Playwright's Roundtable and a member of Ammunition Theatre Company As an actor/voice-over artist, Lina recently starred on ABC's Will Trent and voiced Jeanne Sakata's award-winning adaptation of The Secret Garden for L.A. Theater Works. She is a Lecturer of playwriting and screenwriting at Pomona College.
Jonathan Spector
Jonathan Spector is a playwright based in Northern California, whose plays have been produced on and off Broadway, regionally, and internationally. Plays include Eureka Day (Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, Drama League, Dorian Award, Glickman Award, BATCC Award, Theater Bay Area Award), This Much I Know (Edgerton Award, Glickman Award, BATCC Award), Best Available, Birthright, and Good. Better. Best. Bested. His plays have been produced at Manhattan Theater Club, Colt Coeur, The Old Vic/Sonia Friedman Productions, Pasadena Playhouse, Syracuse Stage, Hampstead Theater, Burgtheater, Marin Theater, Aurora Theater, Capital Stage, Mosaic Theater, Asolo Rep, InterAct, Theater J, Miami New Drama, Shotgun Players and been translated into German, French, Spanish and Swedish. He is a MacDowell Fellow, and has been a Playwrights Center Core Writer, Playwrights Foundation Resident Playwright, TheatreWorks Core Writer and is currently under commission from Manhattan Theater Club, Roundabout and La Jolla Playhouse.