While she has had much success as both an actor and playwright, Bioh told the New York Times she is convinced her mother will "[n]ever forgive [her] for not being a doctor".

While she attended Ohio State, Bioh quickly found that the theater department relied heavily on typecasting, which meant there were not a lot of roles for her as an actress of color.

The comedy, produced by Manhattan Theatre Club at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre in New York City, was directed by Whitney White and described on the show's official website in this way:"This dazzling world premiere welcomes you into Jaja’s bustling hair braiding shop in Harlem where every day, a lively and eclectic group of West African immigrant hair braiders are creating masterpieces on the heads of neighborhood women.

The uncertainty of their circumstances simmers below the surface of their lives and when it boils over, it forces this tight-knit community to confront what it means to be an outsider on the edge of the place they call home.

"[5]The play was selected as a New York Times Critic's Pick,[6] received two extensions [7] and had its final week of performances streamed live worldwide.

[11] Her plays, School Girls, Nollywood Dreams and Happiness and Joe try to find something positive in tragedy and to destroy stereotypes attributed to persons of color.

School Girls was inspired by Erica Nego and the 2011 Miss Universe Ghana competition, and the controversy around colorism that this contest sparked.

"As an artist, I live in a constant cloud of goals, dreams, and certainly risks", she told Darrel Alejandro Holnes from Stage and Candor, an online theater forum.

[13] When asked about working with director Will Davis on a production of Men in Boats Bioh said: "We have a dance background and understand the importance of telling stories with our bodies.

It is a tool for producers committed to ending the systemic underrepresentation of female and trans playwrights in the American theater.

[3] Nigel Smith, director of Neighbors (2010) said of Bioh: "Jocelyn is go for broke, no stone unturned.... She’s not an artist to be messed with.

"[3] Jocelyn Bioh received a Lucille Lortel Award nomination in 2017 for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her performance in Everybody written by Branden Jacobs-Jenkins.