Eli Simon

Eli Simon is a Chancellor's Professor of Drama at UC Irvine, where he has served as chair and head of acting. He is the founding artistic director and managing producer of the New Swan Shakespeare Festival, UCI’s professional summer theater in residence, which presents two of Shakespeare’s plays in rotating repertory each summer. Designed and built on campus, the intimate 135-seat New Swan Theater has become a celebrated Orange County cultural destination, winning acclaim from audiences, critics and the community. In 2017, the Los Angeles Times/Daily Pilot named New Swan the premier theater company in Orange County. Simon also co-directs the New Swan Shakespeare Center, a UCI research initiative supporting scholarly and public engagement with Shakespeare.

Simon has directed productions across the United States and abroad, specializing in Shakespeare, American classics, musicals and the creation of original clown and commedia productions. His directing credits include The Comedy of Errors, The Merchant of Venice, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Twelfth Night, King Lear, As You Like It, Macbeth and The Tempest at New Swan; Fiddler on the Roof, Death of a Salesman, On Borrowed Time, The 39 Steps and The Time of Your Life at regional theaters; and interdisciplinary collaborations at UCI including Company, Into the Woods, Sunday in the Park with George, Sweeney Todd and Guys and Dolls. Internationally, he has directed at the National Theatre of Romania in Cluj, the Arezzo International Theatre Festival in Italy and the Gwacheon International Theatre Festival in South Korea.

He is the creator and artistic director of Clownzilla, an original troupe dedicated to silent clown shows, and the California Commedia Troupe, which toured original masked performances internationally. His clown productions, including War of the Clowns, Clown Aliens and Clownzilla: A Love Story, have been staged across California and abroad.

Simon is the author of The Art of Clowning (Palgrave Macmillan, 2008; second edition, 2012), a practical guide to developing original clown routines, and Masking Unmasked: Four Basic Approaches to Acting (Palgrave Macmillan), which explores clowning, full-face, half-face and bag mask techniques.

His contributions have been recognized with numerous honors, including "Theater Man of the Year" by the Los Angeles Times/Daily Pilot (2017), multiple Drama-Logue Awards for best direction and production, and a Pacific Rim Grant supporting international collaborations with South Korea.

Simon received a B.A. in drama from UC Davis and an M.F.A. in acting from Brandeis University. Before joining the faculty at UCI, he was a visiting professor of acting at UC Davis.