Ajene D. Washington, a native of Kansas City, Missouri has established himself as an important theatrical artist; he is an award-winning director, playwright and set designer. His world premiere production of American Menu won several AUDELCO awards, including the Best Director’s Award, which he received. The production later garnered an Off-Broadway production at the New Federal Theatre. He was nominated as Best Director for The Old Settler, which won AUDELCO’S Best Revival Award. Under his direction of Adam, Timothy Simonson received The Best Solo Actor Award from AUDELCO for his portrayal of Adam Clayton Powell. He recently directed Slapped by Mary E. Weems, which won Best Short Play in the Downtown Urban Arts Festival. Ajene was a founding member of the We Owe Somebody Collective and director of their road production Threads of Tradition, which toured several colleges nationwide.

As a playwright, Ajene has received multiple readings and productions throughout the United States. His plays, And Five Were Not Men Yet and Flashing Back Before Me were the winner of the Bronx Council on the Arts BRIO award in playwriting. The Arkansas Repertory Theatre’s Voices at the River national competition selected his play, Almost September, for their developmental series. His play, I Can See, a Raging Revolt was a finalist in the TRUSpeak festival.

His play A Shadow in Time was a semi-finalist at the O’Neill Center. Woodie King’s Black Touring Circuit commissioned him to write the play Chisholm, a Catalyst for Change, which premiered at the Castillo Theatre. He was commissioned by the Capital Repertory Theatre of Albany, New York to write the children’s play, Around the World in 45 Minutes, for their Star Summer Program. Lock & Load was honored for the Shades of Black Theatre Festival in Nashville, Tennessee.

As a set designer, Ajene has designed a number of sets, receiving a Lucille Lortel nomination for his set design of American Menu. He also won the AUDELCO award for Best Set Design for his set of American King Umps and, he was nominated for an AUDELCO Best Set Design award of The Old Settler.

Ajene received a Bachelor of Science Degree in Speech and Drama from Lincoln University in Jefferson City, Missouri, and a Master’s Degree in Theatre Arts from Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. He has been a member of The Dramatist Guild, The James Baldwin Writer’s Workshop, The Writer’s Bloc, Martha J. Thomas Writer’s Workshop and New Federal Theatre’s Playwrights Workshop.

He has directed two short films, A Homecoming and The Date.