Ayi (pronounced AH-JEE) (formerly known by her full name, Adriana Santos) is a Colombian-American actor, filmmaker and writer of plays, screenplays and nonfiction from Miami, FL. 

She is interested in stories about mental health, stories portraying Latin-Americans in unusual ways, and stories that represent an authentic, contemporary Miami. Her work often encompasses all three. 

She holds a BFA in Drama with a minor in Creative Writing from NYU Tisch School of the Arts and an MFA in Creative Writing with a concentration in Playwriting from The Writer's Foundry at St. Joseph’s University in Brooklyn. 

Ayi’s plays, including full lengths ELENA, Catholic All Girls School and Cris Leaves Queens, have been developed, workshopped and produced in New York, LA, Colorado and Miami.

 Catholic All Girls School received a sold out run at Villain Theater in Miami, FL in Spring of 2025. 

Ayi is the recipient of a 2025 Miami Individual Artist (MIA) grant awarded by the Miami-Dade Department of Cultural Affairs and has been recognized by the Kilroys Collective as a playwright in their 2025 web spotlighting '“innovative, daring, and risk-taking artists shaping American Theatre today.”

A TV series adaptation of Catholic All Girls School was an official selection of The Gotham Institute’s Project Market Week. 

Screenwriting credits include the Oscar-qualifying Shutterbird directed by Justin R. Ching (official selection of The Gotham Week) and The End of the Party directed by Kate Sullivan (2024 Tribeca Film Festival). 

Ayi’s feature script, Hey You Guys, is an official selection of NY Stage and Film’s 2024-2025 Filmmaker’s Workshop. 

Original short films directed by Ayi include Birthday Girl (2025 Subtropic Film Festival) and Hey You Guys. 

Ayi is an alumna of IAMA’s Emerging Playwrights Lab, Ensemble Studio Theatre LA’s New West Playwrights and the Latinx Playwrights Circle in NYC. 

Ayi has had film, theater and music criticism published across various outlets and reports on local ongoings for Miami New Times as a contributing writer. 

As an actor, she has worked extensively across tv, film and theater. She most recently wrapped film roles in Justin Floyd’s, Say You’re Sorry, Audrey Rosenberg’s Crash Season and Gabriel Oliva’s Final Interview.