Theatre alumna Pirronne Yousefzadeh ’09 is the director of The Ants, a new play now on stage at Geffen Playhouse.
In The Ants, Nami has just been fired and evicted, which forces him to crash at his brother and sister-in-law’s luxury home. Situated on a picturesque hill and equipped with the most state-of-the-art security system excessive wealth can buy, the house should feel like a refuge. But on this dark and fateful night, a violent uprising outside leaves the three trapped in what they think is an impenetrable fortress. A horror play infused with darkly humorous social commentary, The Ants asks why we spend so much money protecting ourselves instead of investing in our shared humanity.
Written by Ramiz Monsef, The Ants had its genesis in the Geffen Playhouse’s Writers’ Room Program, which invites Los Angeles playwrights to develop new works with the support and guidance of the Geffen Playhouse artistic team. The play had its world premiere on June 20, 2023 and will close on July 30, 2023. Called “darkly humorous” by Arts Beat LA and “a dazzling creation” by Horror Buzz, The Ants is a must see.
Get tickets to the show here.
Pirronne Yousefzadeh is a director, writer, and educator. She currently serves as the Interim Associate Artistic Director at Playwrights’ Center. Prior to this appointment, she served as Geva Theatre Center's Associate Artistic Director and Director of Engagement, where her directing credits include Vietgone by Qui Nguyen, Queen by Madhuri Shekar, The Royale by Marco Ramirez, Heartland by Gabriel Jason Dean, and The Lake Effect by Rajiv Joseph. She has a passion for new work that centers and uplifts the stories of global majority communities and has developed and directed work at Playwrights Horizons, New York Theatre Workshop, The Public Theater, Soho Rep, Ars Nova, The Kennedy Center, and many more. Pirronne is a Usual Suspect at New York Theatre Workshop, New Georges Affiliated Artist, and member of EST, No More 10 Out of 12s, and Wingspace. She is an alumna of the 2050 Fellowship at NYTW, Sagal Fellowship at Williamstown, SDC Denham Fellowship, Lincoln Center Directors Lab, Soho Rep Writer/Director Lab, New Georges Jam, and Drama League Directors Project. Pirronne was a finalist for the 2020 Zelda Fichandler Award from SDC and is a proud member of the union.
