Photo by Terrell Halsey
Carl(os) Roa-Cruz (they/elle) is a writer-designer who uses theatre and digital media to craft unconventional narratives of marginalized communities. A proud alumni of the Headlong Performance Institute and Drexel University, (os)’ work explores the marginalized within the marginalized, and alternative communities living alternative lives. Their art takes cues from devised theatre, community organizing, dystopian novels, queer digital realms, anime, third culture kids, the kink scene, transformative justice, and interactive media. All of these influences serve to inform their work with a visual artist’s sensibility.
They’ve worked with numerous artistic organizations including The Wilma Theater, Taller Puertorriqueño, First Person Arts, The Sol Project, Philadelphia Artists’ Collective, REDCAT, Philadelphia Young Playwrights, UCLA, and Swim Pony Performing Arts. They were previously the Program Manager for the Painted Bride, and a contributing writer for Artblog, HowlRound Theatre Commons, and American Theatre Magazine. In their curatorial practice, they’ve produced the Painted Bride’s Off the Wall interactive art exhibition as well as an article series for HowlRound. They are also a graduate of the Foundry: a playwriting group affiliated with PlayPenn that is guided by the mentorship of R. Eric Thomas and LM Feldman. While they’re based in Los Angeles, they've also presented work in Miami, Philadelphia, Bogotá, and NYC.
Previous projects include FROM BENEATH, IT LURKS (Co-op Theatre Company), ANDEAN MOUNTAINS (Taller Puertorriqueño, FringeArts), SPANISH FOR ESTRANGED LATIN KIDS (2Rhythms Theatre, Stephen F. Austin State University), PASE LO QUE PASE (PlayPenn, The Sol Project), and A TURNER PRIZE (UCLA School of Theater). They were a finalist for the 2018 Latinx Theatre Commons’ (LTC) Carnaval of New Latinx Work, and a participant in the 2023 LTC Director-Designer Colaboratorio as a Scholar/Designer. They’ve collaborated with director Blanka Zizka and playwright Christopher Chen as assistant director on the world premiere production of Passage at the Wilma Theater.
Outside of playwriting, they also work as a projection designer and digital media artist for both theatre and film. Selected credits include HANDALA (Hollywood Fringe), IT WAS A BEAUTIFUL MACHINE (UCLA School of Film), R1T3 (UCLA School of Film), I AM AN AMERICAN (REDCAT, Ammunition Theatre Company), and A TURNER PRIZE (UCLA School of Theater).
In 2022, they were a finalist for the Terrance McNally Award and received an Illuminate the Arts grant from the City of Philadelphia’s Office of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy. They’ve received Fellowships with the Sewanee Writers Conference, National Hispanic Foundation for the Arts, Candela Writers, and Philadelphia Young Playwrights. They hold an MFA from UCLA, where they received the Jason Forest Award for Visual Media.