Charise Castro Smith

Charise Castro Smith is a playwright and writer originally from Miami. She spent the last three years co-writing and co-directing the theatrical Disney animated film Encanto which features music written by Lin-Manuel Miranda. She has staffed on many tv series including The Haunting of Hill House on Netflix, Sweetbitter on Starz, and The Exorcist for Fox. Her pilot The Death of Eva Sofia Valdex was shot at ABC. She is a prolific playwright whose plays include El Huracán (premiered at Yale Repertory Theatre), Estrella Cruz: The Junkyard Queen (Ars Nova/Halcyon Theatre), The Hunchback of Seville (Washington Ensemble Theatre/Trinity Repertory Company), Washteria (Soho Rep), and Boomcracklefly (Miracle Theatre). She is a recipient of a Van Lier Fellowship at New Dramatists and is an alumna of Ars Novas Play Group and The New Georges Jam. She holds an M.F.A from Yale School of Drama.