Eli Simon     
Chair, UC Irvine Drama Department

Simon has directed productions across the country and overseas, specializing in the development of original commedias, clown shows, American classics, and musicals. Theatres include Rude Guerilla Theatre, PCPA Theatrefest, Illinois Shakespeare Festival, South Coast Repertory, Utah Shakespearean Festival, Magic Theatre, Merrimack Repertory Theatre, La Mirada, Western Stage, One Act Theatre, Intersection for the Arts, and the Orange County Performing Arts Center. Critically acclaimed productions include Clownzilla: A Love Story (Critic’s Choice, LA Times), On Borrowed Time (nine Drama-Loge awards including best direction and production), As You Like It, Fiddler on the Roof, Death of a Salesman, Merchant of Venice, City of Angels, Twelfth Night, Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act, Golden Boy, Rimers of Eldritch, The Time of Your Life, as well as Three Penny Opera, Victor/Victoria and Noises Off, which were voted “Show of the Year” by theatre critics. Interdisciplinary productions pooling the talents of the Drama, Dance, and Music departments in the Claire Trevor School of the Arts include Sunday in the Park with George, Sweeney Todd, Victor/Victoria, West Side Story, City of Angels, and Guys and Dolls. Simon is the author of The Art of Clowning, published by Palgrave MacMillan. This book illuminates a complete system of clowning that encourages the exploration, expansion, and fortification of your distinctive clown persona. A natural result of these investigations will be the development of original clown routines performed alone or in partnership with other clowns. If you are interested in exploring and inhabiting your unique clown persona, the techniques described herein demystify the process, yielding swift and deep access to the clown in you. For more information about The Art of Clowning: http://us.macmillan.com/theartofclowning Simon is the author of Masking Unmasked, Four Basic Approaches to Acting, published by Palgrave MacMillan. This book articulates four systems of mask acting - clowning, full face, half-face, and bag masks - that were developed and are currently taught by Simon at UC Irvine. Masking allows actors to experience one of the central objectives of high-level acting: the physical, vocal, emotional, and psychological inhabitation of another person. These techniques enhance an actor’s range of playable characters by heightening spontaneity, vulnerability, and truth. Simon is artistic director of CLOWNZILLA, an original clown troupe that creates silent clown shows. Their first production, CLOWNZILLA: A Love Story, premiered at Rude Guerilla Theatre in Santa Ana and subsequently toured to the Arezzo International Theatre Festival in Italy and the Gwacheon International Theatre Festival in South Korea. It has also played at PCPA Theatrefest and The Muckenthaler Cultural Center. The troupe's second show, CLOWNZILLA: A Holiday Extravaganza premiered at Rude Guerilla Theatre. For more information, please visit www.clownzilla.net. Simon is artistic director of the California Commedia Troupe, dedicated to the creation and international touring of original commedias and masked performances. The troupe’s first production, The Venetian Physician’s Magician toured to the Brouhaha International Street Theatre Festival in Liverpool, El Centro De Nuevos Creadores at La Sala Mirador, Madrid, and enjoyed a successful run at the Brea Improv in California. The troupe’s second show, Vaudevillo II, returned to La Sala Mirador, where Simon created Vaudevillo III with a mixed cast of Spanish and American actors. Simon’s adaptation of Servant of Two Masters, was produced at the Shakespeare Festival LA, Orange County Shakespeare Festival, the Court Theatre in West Hollywood, the Los Angeles Theatre Center, and invited to the International Theatre Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. Simon is the co-founder of Pan Pacific Players’ original touring production of Aristophanes’ The Birds. This project was created and performed over a three year period with prominent South Korean director, Suk-Man Kim and the Korean National University of Arts. The play, set in Korea’s DMZ, explored the struggle for sanctity in the face of international strife and misunderstanding. It fused traditional Korean Mask Dance Drama and music, with commedia, traditional and contemporary masks, and a myriad of diverse languages. Simon received a Pacific Rim Grant to support performances in South Korea and Italy. Simon received a BA in Drama from UC Davis and an MFA in Acting from Brandeis University. He was a visiting professor of acting at UC Davis before joining the faculty at UCI. Current courses include scene study, auditioning technique, mask acting, comedy, and clowning.