RON SIMONIAN
Playwright / Writer
"Simonian’s work... worthy of production beyond little theater, possibly
the basis also for a telefilm or motion picture." - Variety
Ron's writing can be best described by others as thought provoking, impressive, quirky with an attitude and brutal sense of humor. He would tell you that, “My work is based on searching the human experience for the hell that lies beneath the beauty, and the beauty that lies beneath the hell. It is about asking the questions that most people avoid, yet still have in the back of their minds.
At their heart, my plays are a search for the truth.”
Currently, Ron is developing a drama/dark comedy spec script with a partner for a TV series that is loosely based on true events in the life of a former television executive.
Below you’ll find a sampling of some of his best work, so have a look and get in touch.
Obsessed With Death
"Ron Simonian...has written thoughtfully about our culture and an evolving attitude toward death as an avenue to personal power and a prelude to a sexual encounter. He has kept it absorbing and funny throughout, with dialogue in the everyday mode. Simonian’s work is unusually good for a first effort, worthy of production beyond little theater, possibly the basis also for a telefilm or motion picture."
SYNOPSIS: Award winning play, THANATOS (dark comedy) has Ted and Sam, two Red Cross disaster workers, in their hotel room after a day of photographing the havoc of a roof cave-in and counseling survivors. Ted is visibly upset by the finality of death at the disaster and wants to hash it out with Sam, who takes it in stride, sees death as a phase and is bent on a night out with a woman curiosity seeker whom he met at the site. He undergoes a number of startling changes that lead to a violent demise.
Road-Trip Oddity to Prom
``It's about love, about people searching for a connection. It's one of his better plays, as a whole. It's savagely funny but poignant. '' - The Kansas City Star
SYNOPSIS: One desperate woman. One toilet salesman. One naked cowboy. One drifter. They all collide 31 miles north of Reno. The search for love is a so-called "complicated highway,” and remember all highways
lead to prom. (tender comedy)
An Estranged New Comedy
"As with Simonian’s numerous other plays the Unicorn has premiered over the years, Next of Kin has Simonian’s trademark distinctively quirky, often-cynical-but-always-hilarious voice, which allows him to present the most delicate subject matter in the most explosive possible way." - Unicorn Theatre
SYNOPSIS: NEXT OF KIN tells the story of three squabbling siblings begrudgingly head home to throw their mom a surprise birthday party only to find out she's been dead for three years. They have all taken care of her, but never communicated with her. Her electricity still works, but her heart doesn’t. The search for lost innocence and parental love fuel the fire of NEXT OF KIN. (dark comedy)
ABOUT RON SIMONIAN
Ron Simonian is an award-winning, Armenian-American playwright who is a native of Los Angeles, but has made Kansas City his home for the past 25 years. His work has been seen Off-Broadway in New York at Alice's Fourth Floor, The Annex Theatre in Seattle, National Pastime and Prop Theatre in Chicago, The Unicorn, and The Living Room Theatre in Kansas City, as well as in Los Angeles, Philadelphia, and San Francisco.