June Carryl was born in Iowa City, Iowa, but spent her childhood in Denver, Colorado. Initially, she intended to pursue a career in law, studying Political Science at Brown University, but she changed her path and earned a Ph.D. in English Literature instead.
Carryl's academic journey led her to join a playwriting class taught by renowned playwright Paula Vogel, where she was mentored by Pulitzer Prize winner Nilo Cruz and the late John C. Russell, as well as guest artists Aisha Rahman and Anna Deavere Smith.
Her first play was not well-received, but she continued to write and eventually received her Master's degree in English Literature. Carryl's early work included a production of Julius Caesar with the Fish on Fire Theater Company and a full-length play about a traveling circus, Perfect Freaks, which was presented at the George Houston Bass Memorial Play-Rites Festival.
In the 1990s, Carryl co-wrote Don't Answer these Screams with Silence with Kelly Smith and Kathleen Jenkins for the International Women's Playwriting Festival. She then moved to the Bay Area to study acting and worked professionally for seven years, teaching playwriting and acting workshops to high school students.
During her time in the Bay Area, Carryl was a member of Z-Space and the Marin Playwrights Lab, producing an adaptation of Wole Soyinka's Things Fall Apart and a one-act play, The Art of Yes. She also appeared in various productions, including shows at the Magic, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, Berkeley Repertory Theater, and A.C.T.
Carryl's acting credits include roles in films such as A Smile Like Yours, What Dreams May Come, Sweet November, and Woman on Top. She was also commissioned to write her first screenplay, The Will, a gothic horror film.
In the 2000s, Carryl's plays were performed at various venues, including Visible Theater in New York and the Blank Theatre's Living Room Series. Her most recent plays include The Wronged Party, Colossus, N*gga B*tch, Florence & Normandie, Girl Blue, The Good Minister From Harare, and Blue.
