Paola Alexandra Soto is a playwright, producer, director, and actress who was born in the Dominican Republic and raised in Harlem. Most recently she earned her MFA in Playwriting at Columbia University School of the Arts. Her writing credits include Lucha Libre, a one-act version of the play was translated to Mandarin and performed by students at the Shanghai Theatre Academy. Her other plays include The Sosa Sisters, D’Carnaval, The Commission, On The 1 Train, Bo+Li, and Macbéf.

Paola holds a B.A. in Creative Writing from CCNY where she won the Jacob Weiser Playwriting Award for her one act On The 1 Train. Her acting credits include: A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Antigone, and One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. She wrote and performed in an original adaptation of Two Noble Brothers produced by Cornerstone Theater Company. She was the lead in Raksha’s Child and was a writer/actress in the original play Don’t See My Bones and Think I’m Dead. The production was featured in a documentary for PBS where she was featured performing her work. She has also appeared in short films.

Before return to grad school Paola was the Assistant Administrative Director of the Drama Division at The Juilliard School. She has worked for the Hip Hop Theater Festival, Signature Theater, Penguin Group, Harper Collins Publishers, Abrons Arts Center, Bronx Writers Center, and Harlem Childrens’ Zone. Paola was the independent publisher and editor of Lemon Andersen’s award-winning book County of Kings and his book of poems Straightrazor.