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Stephan Early as Rockwell (left) and Greg Philippi as Koko Man, the blind musician in 2002 UCLA a

When Weiko Lin, the UCLA alumnus, playwright and director who brought to campus the musicals “Parachute Kid” and “Heavenly Peace,” immigrated to the United States at age 8 his father remained in their home country, Taiwan.

“(Since) childhood I have searched for alternate father figures,” said Lin, an alumnus of UCLA’s undergraduate creative writing program and School of Film and Television.

This quest for human relationships has since colored Lin’s work within and outside the theater. His latest work, “Blind Street,” which will debut May 2 at the Century City Playhouse, will also be the debut of Lin’s career as a writer/director since graduating from UCLA last year. The piece dramatizes the random nexus of eight Angelenos (a dying British backpacker, a homeless veteran, a delusional prostitute actress, a grave digger, a Beverly Hills runaway, a violent bully and a Hollywood screenwriter) on a street corner where a blind musician plays.

What unites each of the characters is a performed identity: each constructs a facade so as to avoid intimate relationships and the pain that accompanies those close connections.

“These characters don’t believe ‘it’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all,’” said Lin, recipient of the 2001 Samuel Goldwyn Writing Award for “Parachute Kid”.

The inspiration for Lin’s new play came when the playwright chanced upon a blind musician’s obituary. The man was a great conductor from the ’60s but later in life transitioned from music hall conductor to street performer and tinkered on odd instruments.

Lin thought about all the people that must have marched past this man on their daily regimens. As he further considered the obituary, the musician became the embodiment of what Lin called “uan” – the Chinese word for the magnetic force that draws people together.

“In the play, the blind musician is the physicalization of uan: he brings the eight people together,” Lin said.

Their intersection on the musician’s corner cracks the walls they had so carefully constructed and allows love to seep through the fissures.

Lin’s other works have engaged social commentary: 2001’s “Parachute Kid” centered on immigrant latchkey children in 1980s working-class Los Angeles, and “Heavenly Peace” recalled the 1989 Tiananmen Square Massacre. “Blind Street” is no different.

The newest production portrays eight social outcasts – people to whom passersby would attach assumptions and unknowing judgments.

“When the audience walks away I want them to think to look past exteriors and be more understanding, and to not be afraid to love and possibly lose,” said Lin.

The playwright is not unfamiliar with the pain that often comes with love.

“Writing is painful. People ask why I write if it’s painful, but it’s like giving birth: the product is rewarding. Nothing can top the high I get from writing,” he said.

When Lin becomes inspired, he closes himself up at home and writes for two weeks. After he writes a first draft, he workshops his script with actors, makes sense of it, and then writes the next draft. When the play is ready for production he assembles a cast that understands his vision, books a theater, rehearses, works on public relations, and takes to the street himself to pass out fliers.

While attending UCLA, Lin received a third of his productions’ funding from the school, but as a professional he has had to work from his own bank account and donations from family, friends and those who know and appreciate his work.

The lively and passionate playwright does not feel unprepared, however, for this labor of love.

“My education definitely prepared me well. The UCLA faculty has always encouraged, fostered and inspired me,” said Lin.

Lin has absorbed and utilized his education well, and, in addition to his theater and screenwriting undertakings, is passing that knowledge on to his students at UC San Diego as a visiting lecturer in screenwriting. He has also taught English classes at UCLA.

“I will always teach,” Lin said. “My students keep me going, give me strength and positive energy, and (in turn) I want to get them excited about writing and literature. Once you’re my student, you’re always my student.”

Lin’s personal writing process has also been educational. He connects to emotions, explores them, then discovers and learns as he creates his characters. He has even learned life lessons from the characters he creates.

“It took one of the characters in ‘Blind Street’ 38 years to fall in love because he was afraid,” said Lin. “I’ll take the chance.”

“Blind Street” will run from May 2-10 for a total of four performances, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. at the Century City Playhouse, 10508 W. Pico Blvd. Tickets are $18 for general admission and $15 for students and seniors. Advance tickets can be reserved by phone at (310) 826-3876 or at www.riverscope.com.