Caroline Sanchez-Avakian (she/her/ella) is a NYC-area playwright and artist, Emmy-nominated TV host, 2026 Webby Award Honoree, and political communications executive by day, whose politically grounded work examines how ordinary people try to remain human inside systems that are quietly decide their fate. Her plays explore the tension between agency and control, revealing how power and survival shape the choices we make - and the stories we tell to live with them.
In both From America, With Love and 1939, she examines what happens when ordinary people encounter systems that claim to serve them but instead shape, limit, and at times erase them completely. Caroline participated in the Dramatist Guild's Plays in Progress program for her play, 1939.
Born and raised in Queens, NYC, Caroline is a first-gen American born to Cuban and Spanish parents. She received her Bachelor of Science in Communication Arts from St. John's University and a Master of Arts from the former New Actors Workshop - a theatre graduate program and NYC acting conservatory where she worked one-on-one with theatre luminaries and mentors, Mike Nichols and George Morrison.
Caroline has performed Off-Broadway, originating one of the leading roles (Lao Tzu) in The Parables of Chang Joe, created and directed by Paul Sills, who was the founding director of The Second City and the Compass Players. Other favorite credits include Desdemona in an Off-Broadway production of Desdemona, Dorine in Tartuffe, and Arkadina in The Seagull. Caroline was nominated for a New York Emmy© Award (TV Hosting category) for her work in the WNYC/PBS TV show - Transit, Transit News. She has worked as an English and Spanish language voice over artist and as a commercial actor in national ads with brands such as Dove and Verizon. Anyone remember the Spanish language version of the Verizon, “Can you hear me now?” ads?
Caroline has also taught film acting and directing workshops to displaced youth in East African refugee camps via her social justice work with FilmAid International where she also helped co-create and produce the first annual Kakuma Film Festival in Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya.
Caroline is a proud member of the Dramatist Guild and lives in the NYC metro area with her husband, daughter, and sassy 10 lb mini dachshund, Roxy.
In both From America, With Love and 1939, she examines what happens when ordinary people encounter systems that claim to serve them but instead shape, limit, and at times erase them completely. Caroline participated in the Dramatist Guild's Plays in Progress program for her play, 1939.
Born and raised in Queens, NYC, Caroline is a first-gen American born to Cuban and Spanish parents. She received her Bachelor of Science in Communication Arts from St. John's University and a Master of Arts from the former New Actors Workshop - a theatre graduate program and NYC acting conservatory where she worked one-on-one with theatre luminaries and mentors, Mike Nichols and George Morrison.
Caroline has performed Off-Broadway, originating one of the leading roles (Lao Tzu) in The Parables of Chang Joe, created and directed by Paul Sills, who was the founding director of The Second City and the Compass Players. Other favorite credits include Desdemona in an Off-Broadway production of Desdemona, Dorine in Tartuffe, and Arkadina in The Seagull. Caroline was nominated for a New York Emmy© Award (TV Hosting category) for her work in the WNYC/PBS TV show - Transit, Transit News. She has worked as an English and Spanish language voice over artist and as a commercial actor in national ads with brands such as Dove and Verizon. Anyone remember the Spanish language version of the Verizon, “Can you hear me now?” ads?
Caroline has also taught film acting and directing workshops to displaced youth in East African refugee camps via her social justice work with FilmAid International where she also helped co-create and produce the first annual Kakuma Film Festival in Kakuma Refugee Camp, Kenya.
Caroline is a proud member of the Dramatist Guild and lives in the NYC metro area with her husband, daughter, and sassy 10 lb mini dachshund, Roxy.