D'Lo (he/they)

D’Lo is a queer/transgender Tamil-Sri Lankan-American actor/writer/comic. His work ranges solo theater and stand up, tv/film, plays, essays and poetry.

His acting credits include: LOOKING, TRANSPARENT, SENSE 8, and MR.ROBOT, and web series EASTSIDERS, DYKE CENTRAL, including a leading role in a ColorCreative & Project Greenlight produced MINIMUM WAGE, and finally his very own web series PRIVATE DICK. He also plays the role of Gio in upcoming feature film DEATH & BOWLING. He also is working on a scripted series based on his life with Sameer Gardezi’s Break the Room Media (BTR) that is set up at Paul Feig’s Powderkeg Media.

Look out for D’Lo in Billy Eichner’s upcoming movie BROS set to be released this fall, and RO & SHIRELLE a short buddy comedy w/ Shakina Nayfack premiering at Outfest 2022.

In 2020, D’Lo guest starred on NBC’s CONNECTING and also was a part of another BTR collaboration with Pop Culture Collab on his project called NIMZO.
His work has been awarded grants from the City of Santa Monica, Durfee Foundation, National Performance Network, Ford Foundation and the Foundation for Contemporary Arts. Most recently, D’Lo was awarded the Artist Disruptor Fellowship for TV Writing through the Center for Cultural Performance and 5050x2020 an initiative started by Joey Soloway; as well as the Civic Media Fellowship through USC's Annenberg Innovation Lab funded by the MacArthur Foundation; a Cultural Trailblazer Award from the City of Los Angeles’ Department of Cultural Affairs, and a Sherwood Award Finalist through CTG.

His solo shows Ramble-Ations, D’FunQT, D’FaQTo Life and To T, or not To T have toured theaters and festivals nationally. He is currently working on his latest solo called Queer Noise with support from CTG's Library Series and LA LGBT Center. In 2020, he started QORE, a Queer South Asian Comedic Artists Collective, that was created in response to rising ideology of intolerance both in Modi's India and Trump's America. QORE currently hosts space in LA for South Asian Artists for Black Lives.

His work has been published and/or written about in academic journals, literary anthologies, and print/online journalism sources, such as The Guardian, NBC, and The Advocate. He was invited to be a commentator on CNN, has appeared in Buzzfeed and Fusion videos, and the award-winning documentary PERFORMING GIRL centers his queerstory as a trans artist.

He facilitates ‘writing for performance’ workshops, and created the “Coming Out, Coming Home” writing workshop series for South Asian and/or Immigrant LGBTQ Organizations across the nation, which provide a transformative space for workshop participants to write through their personal narratives and share their truths through a public reading. He also frequently collaborates with NQTTCN (National Queer/Trans Therapists of Color Network).