Plays written by Carolina Đỗ
ĂN CHƠI: EAT /PLAY/RAGE
BURIED RUINS
EXTRAO1DINARY ALIENS! (EXIT I-845)
Synopses:
BURIED RUINS – BURIED RUINS is a play that is memory, wishful dreams, and maybe only somewhat true. A series of torturously absurd family dinners are interrupted by glitches of memories of the past. Buried Ruins is about Vietnamese parents and daughters trying to get through to one another- despite generational trauma, the force of cultural assimilation and good bad karaoke.
ĂN CHƠI: eat /play/rage – “Work hard. Play Hard.” is the unofficial official motto of the waitresses at ĂN CHƠI. A weekend shift in the weeds can feel like purgatory, especially if bringing pho to entitled Lower East Siders is not your life’s calling. Dakota and Mai haven’t spoken in years. On the eve of Lan’s 100th death day, three guardian ancestors who’ve been tasked with maintaining the balance between the ancestral and mortal worlds must battle a big-level baddie bent on world domination. As the veil between both worlds crumbles, will Dakota and Mai find themselves back to one another before it’s too late? And will the guardian ancestors ever recover their memories in time to defeat the baddie?
ExtraO1dinary Aliens! (Exit I-485) – Corneliu is an immigrant from Romania who is in love with Kay, a U.S. Citizen. Linh is Kay’s best friend who might have let her student visa lapse?! David has dreams of opening up his restaurant with his cousin Enoc. ExtraO1dinary Aliens! (Exit Route I-485) is a love story centered on immigrants and the ones who love them. How can love defy the dehumanizing machinations of the US Immigration system? What makes someone leave everything they’ve ever known to journey to a foreign land? What makes someone stay despite the hostile environment? What is the promise of the American dream and can it ever be a reality?
BIO:
Carolina Đỗ is a theatre maker, community organizer, and proud descendant of Vietnamese freedom fighters and refugees. She’s joyfully a downtown theater baby with a couple of Broadway and TV credits for health insurance and residuals. An alum of the Soho Rep Writer-Director Lab, JACKLabs, Fresh Ground Pepper Playground Playgroup, and Orchard Project Greenhouse Lab, Carolina’s work is a powerful blend of storytelling and advocacy. Carolina’s writing has been supported by residencies and fellowships at MacDowell, The Orchard Project, JACK, The Hearth, Fault Line Theatre, Piper Theater, and Naked Angels.
Currently, she is a Ma-Yi Lab Playground member and part of the Episodic Theater Project Writers Cohort. Carolina’s works have also been finalists for the O’Neill, Sokhary Chau Fellowship, Leah Ryan Fund, BricLab, and Bushwick Starr; and semifinalists for Playwrights Realm, Space on Ryder, and Princess Grace. Her play, ĂN CHƠI: eat /play/rage, was shortlisted for the 2025 Yale Drama Series. As a Co-Founding Producing Artistic Leader of The Sống Collective and Creative Director of Mai House Studio and Betterfly Productions, Carolina is dedicated to fostering community through the arts.