Lojo Simon

An exploration of the nature of art and creativity through the story of surrealist photographer and one of Picasso’s many lovers, Dora Maar. Already an accomplished photographer when she and Picasso met in 1936, Maar is perhaps best known for being Picasso’s Weeping Woman, the subject of numerous portraits painted during and after the Spanish Civil War. Maar also photographed Picasso’s progress as he painted his anti-war masterpiece, Guernica. Adoration of Dora explores the conflict that Maar felt as both artist and muse to one of the most revered creative geniuses of the 20th century. With a cast of six women, Adoration of Dora draws its inspiration from the Parisian surrealist movement and the upheaval of the interwar period that shaped the art and politics of the time.

Tennessee Williams called his few months living in Laguna Beach in 1939, “the happiest and healthiest and most radiant time of my life.” It also was the first time that the young writer confronted his homosexuality. Freaks of the Cosmic Circus explores this critical time in Tennessee Williams’ life, as he wrestled with his identity as an artist and a man. It is a coming-of-age story inspired by the memoir, notebooks and letters of one of America’s most beloved writers.

After 14 years of marriage, John Smyth reveals a secret: he is not the man his wife, Mary, thinks he is. He is not even John Smyth, but rather Burton Beverly, a man from thousands of miles away who faked his suicide in order to punish his former lover. LOVE ALL dances between time and place to explore how John Smyth came to be, how Mary came to fall in love with him, and how their son, Ben, comes to deal with the fallout of this shocking news. Deception, memory and inquiry intertwine in this story of memory and forgetting as a family tries to stitch itself together after the life they know has come apart.

After venerated German composer Richard Strauss’ longtime librettist suddenly dies, he is forced to find another collaborator, which he does in Austrian Jewish writer Stefan Zweig. At the same time, ingénue Rose Schroeder becomes involved in an illicit relationship with a fellow opera singer. When Rose takes a job as Strauss’ personal secretary, she becomes embroiled in the art and politics of composition and collaboration during the rise of the Third Reich. A sweeping historic, political and artistic play for six actors with operatic music and even more operatic consequences.

L’Dor v’Dor explores assimilation, identity and what we inherit from the generations who have gone before us though the story of one ordinary American family on the morning of their daughter’s bat mitzvah. This coming-of-age play is the first part of a trilogy featuring a diverse family in contemporary America.

End-of-life conversations are really uncomfortable. But they’re also funny in this family comedy that looks at the science and art of death and dying and what might come after. This is Part II of a trilogy about a diverse family coping with life challenges in contemporary America.

Sarah, her mother, and her grandmother travel to Natchez, Mississippi, to learn more about her grandfather's life there and the history of their family from its start during the Freedom Summer of 1964. Part III of a family trilogy that explores identity, assimilation and racism in America, past and present.

Out-of-work actor Joel Feinman finds one of the world's greatest relics in his Bubbie's attic, giving him the fame and fortune he always wished for, which, of course, is not what he really wants. A solo comedy for a virtuosic actor about learning to love the burden of our inheritance.

A remote Hungarian town looks to a new source of revenue: Religious tourism, which centers around the grave of a Wonder Rabbi, who answers prayers and performs miracles, even in death. The only problem: the Wonder Rabbi never existed, and the town’s Jewish heritage sites are a sham. Enter Beth, a seminary dropout looking to find her faith again.

Sister Anna Michaela Bowen arrives in a small mining town in the Arizona Territory in 1905 with 38 Irish-American orphans slated for adoption by good Catholic families. The problem is that the families are Mexican, causing the Anglos of Clifton-Morenci to take up arms and steal the orphans in the middle of the night. Based on a true story, NOTHING AS FIERCE explores racism, feminism and trans-racial adoption through the eyes of five women, each of whom passionately believe in her own version of child welfare. 5 F

Finn wakes up one morning to discover that his foot is missing, but what he finds in his longtime relationship with Dove more than fills the emptiness in his life and helps him learn to balance again. A timeless, lyrical two-hander set on a lake of frozen water.

Claire’s house burns down in a California wildfire, setting off a series of events that forces her to face parts of her life that she has been denying for too long, including her husband’s infidelity and her mother’s illness. A contemporary, small-cast comedic drama, Controlled Burn is a play about dying and living and how we get though both.

Sawyer McNally really wants the Dance Starz crown, but the competition is fierce, and “Lil G” Gonzalez has all the right moves. When bad weather forces the two dancers to spend time together, Sawyer learns that there are many ways to be a winner. An original, bilingual musical, BEST FOOT FORWARD exposes students to a variety of music and dance styles, promotes self-awareness and encourages friendship across boundaries of geography and experience.

Albert Porter is an ordinary kid in every sort of way. At least that’s what he thinks – until he discovers the people and stories from the past that make him exceptional. Throughout his journey he learns about the many cultures that make up Colorado’s diverse landscape: including the Pueblos and the Utes, Hispano explorers, French fur trappers and Angelo ranchers. Travel with Albert as he adventures through time, discovering the rich cultures that weave together the contemporary landscape of the Southwest.

Inspired by myth, fairy tale and Shakespeare’s The Tempest, SEEDS OF CHANGE fosters environmental literacy through the story of an ornery young girl who leaves the isolated Isle of Oro where she grew up and embarks on a journey of discovery about the world and herself. With original songs and puppets, SEEDS OF CHANGE explores topics in environmental science, including climate change, deforestation, ocean plastic and habitat loss through a story of wonder and empowerment appropriate for K-6th grade students. The play’s poetic language and references to the English literary canon promote literacy in a fun and delightful way.

Sam is slow getting ready in the morning, which irritates the grown-ups in his house, who expect Sam to share their fast-paced lifestyle. When the Sloth living in Sam’s upper bunk tickles Sam’s nose and causes him to sneeze, Sam gets to stay home from school. Sam and Sloth go on a variety of adventures in Sam’s bedroom, where Sam learns about fast and slow animals and the merits of slowing down to smell the roses. When Sam’s grandparent, Nonni, comes over to care for him (and make him homemade rice pudding), Sam is able to put his lessons about slowing down into practice. NOTE: New musical version in the works! Contact me for script and samples.

Sam is slow getting ready in the morning, which irritates the grown-ups in his house, who expect Sam to share their fast-paced lifestyle. When the Sloth living in Sam’s upper bunk tickles Sam’s nose and causes him to sneeze, Sam gets to stay home from school. Sam and Sloth go on a variety of adventures in Sam’s bedroom, where Sam learns about fast and slow animals and the merits of slowing down to smell the roses. When Sam’s grandparent, Nonni, comes over to care for him (and make him homemade rice pudding), Sam is able to put his lessons about slowing down into practice.

Teenager Gabriella is dying of a congenital heart defect and is on the waiting list for a transplant when her best friend, Skye, has a premonition that she will die so that Gabriella can have her heart. A play for middle and high school, Mi Corazón explores how it feels to lose the people we love and the things we do to try to save them. Written to tour, with minimal set. Finalist for the Anna Zornio Children's Theatre Playwriting Award.

River can't reach a plum high in a tree. He calls on passers-by for help, when a surprise happens. A very short play for very young audiences.

Big Bro is a war hero, whose life and death cast a long shadow over his younger brother. Hero Zero explores how a child deals with grief and pressure to fill the shoes of a lost sibling. The answers aren’t easy but are found in a playful and inspirational movie Big Bro leaves behind in this short play written for young actors to perform on an online platform.

Amos the gorilla loves to dance ballet, but some jungle animals think Amos is too big and heavy to be a ballerina. How does Amos find the strength to pursue his dreams despite his size and the criticism of others? Find out in this short play for young performers.

A diverse student body debates changing their high school’s team name and mascot from the Southern High School Rebels to something more politically progressive when a mental health crisis interrupts their meeting and causes them to think differently about their school spirit and each other.

A girl and two sock puppets dramatize the Greek myth of Erysichthon.

Jen invites Ruth from Florida to Idaho for a mountaintop ritual in celebration of mothers and daughters but schlepping and schvitzing are not mom’s idea of a good time.

Lovey cares for the wounded Sumaira in a war-zone hospital where hope may be the best healer.

Beez and Bets are in the middle of nowhere, where all they have to talk about is sex and how to get cross-country in this short comedy that explores navigating relationships without a roadmap.

PRESS tells the true story of my fight for freedom of the press as a high school journalist. A one-act written for student actors and student journalists, it is best performed in high schools and competitions.

New Year's Eve in Chicago, where champagne bubbles over but romance does not. A contemporary take on a Chekhov short story.

Su Lee practices for the Miss California pageant, but her Coach thinks she is too Asian. Is he right, or is there more to Su Lee than what we think in this short comedy that explores “otherness” through a look at California’s multi-ethnic identity?

Sadie and Bess lament the loss of their love lives and the lack of eligible men in the retirement home.

An elderly grandmother and her adult grandson ponder love, death and aging by caring for birds outside their window.

Frieda and Arthur appear to be at the airport to pick up their three grandchildren, but the baggage claim area is a strange and surreal place when you have dementia. A short comedy about misconnection, distance, love and growing old.

How do two very different people come together when one is rock and the other is water?

Inspired by Leo Marx's book of the same name, this short play examines the intersection of nature and technology in southern California, where the great divide caused by socio-economics, race, language and privilege is as wide as the gap between suburban America and the Garden of Eden.

When two Border Patrol agents search for drugs in a statue transported from Mexico to the US, they crack open old wounds that are not easily healed.

A silly riff on America's Next Top Model, only with mohels.

Kevin accosts Sam in a Midwestern grocery store, looking to connect to a Jew, any Jew.

During World War II, the US government confined thousands of Japanese-, German- and Italian-Americans to isolated, fenced and guarded relocation centers known as internment camps. At the same time, it shipped foreign Prisoners of War captured overseas to the US for imprisonment. Heartland reflects on the intersection between these two historic events through the story of a German-born widow and her family who take in two German Prisoners of War to work their family farm. But the German- American family and the POWs bond too well for the townspeople to accept, and the widow is arrested, interned and eventually suffers a breakdown, which tears her family apart. Based on true stories, Heartland illustrates what can happen when fear and prejudice pit neighbor against neighbor in times of war. A dramatic tale that grants insights into American history, Heartland is a winner of the Dayton Playhouse FutureFest and a runner-up for the Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival David Mark Cohen National Playwriting Award. Co-written with Anita Simons. Now also available in screenplay format!

Gammy Leigh has big plans for her Christmastime overnighter with her grandbabies, including a visit from Santa, but Bubbie Arlene unexpectedly shows up at the door armed with Chanukah gifts galore and a know-it-all attitude that even the most mellow Gammy can’t abide. Laugh your way into the holiday season with these two outspoken elders as they come to terms with aging, change, surprises, and the ups-and-downs of blended, modern families.Co-written with Anita Simons.