Ain Gordon is an American playwright, theatrical director and actor based in New York City. His work frequently deals with the interstices of history, focusing on people and events which are often overlooked or marginalized in "official" histories. His style combines elements of traditional playwrighting with aspects of performance art.
Gordon, who attended New York City Public Schools and New York University, and worked as a stage electrician at Dance Theater Workshop (DTW), began writing and directing for the stage in 1985, emerging in the downtown dance/performance scene with four consecutive seasons at DTW plus performances at Movement Research, The Poetry Project, and Performance Space 122. By 1990 Gordon was recognized in the inaugural round of the National Endowment for the Arts "New Forms" initiative – funding for artists whose work defied clear classification. He then began touring to venues including the Baltimore Museum of Art, and Dance Place in Washington, DC.
In 1991, Gordon entered a multi-project relationship with Soho Rep in New York City that encompassed five productions and workshops. In 1992, he began a collaboration with his father, choreographer and director David Gordon, on The Family Business, which went on to be performed in New York at Lincoln Center's Serious Fun! Festival, Dance Theater Workshop, New York Theatre Workshop and the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. This production won him his first Obie Award, in 1994.