I'm Aaron.

I'm a writer, performer, and educator, originally from Coral Springs, Florida, and now based in New York City, where I live with my husband Drew and our dog Romy Michele.

My plays and musicals are witty, intellectual social commentary, sophisticated and political but accessible and entertaining, and they often experiment with form. I write about people who are unable to communicate with each other successfully or healthily, and I often cover triangular relationships, cult behavior, abuse, and delusion. I dissect the structures and systems that dictate our lives, like oppression, class, sexuality, and gender, and I explore how we build and exist within them. I am particularly interested in theatricalizing how characters perceive and present reality. I want to challenge audiences’ habitual gazes, by using comedy and levity as tools to distract from the heart of the matter, only to shock with reality near the end. I want my plays to make an audience laugh and then cut them, to cast them as protagonist but also villain. I challenge the lens through which the audience gazes. Scroll or click to Writer to find out more about my work.

I received my M.F.A. in Playwriting from Indiana University, where I studied under Peter Gil-Sheridan, and I received my B.A. in Theatre, with a certificate in Musical Theatre, from Northwestern University, where I studied under Laura Schellhardt. I’m a lyricist in the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theatre Workshop and have been a Core Apprentice at the Playwrights’ Center and a member of the Clubbed Thumb Early-Career Writers’ Group.

As an educator, I teach musical theater writing and co-direct the Musical Theatre Lab Series at Manhattan School of Music, and I teach playwriting at the 92nd Street Y. Previously, I was on faculty at SUNY New Paltz as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Creative Writing, specializing in dramatic writing, for five years.

I’m represented by Farrah Cukor (they/them) in the Theatre Department at United Talent Agency. Scroll or click to Contact to get in touch with me through them.

I have news.

Class x 3

12/17/24

Today marks the final meeting of Writing Believable Dialogue, the first class I’ve taught through the 92nd Street Y. It was a completely enjoyable experience, and I’m thrilled that I’m teaching three more classes at the Y in 2025, all over Zoom:

Fundamentals of Playwriting (2 classes, Jan 23 - 30) — I will go through the ground rules of dramatic writing during this seminar with a generative workshop component.

Starting a New Play (4 Tuesdays, February 25 - March 18) — I will guide you through through the crucial first steps towards starting your play.

Find complete info about the classes at this link, and please send me an email through my contact form if you have any questions for me!

More Manhattan School of Music

9/4/24

Today is my first day back teaching at Manhattan School of Music (MSM), where I taught a class on Musical Theatre Bookwriting last year. This fall semester, I’m teaching two classes, Musical Theatre Songwriting and Musical Theatre Adaptation.

In addition to these classes, I am the new co-director, with Liza Gennaro (Dean of Musical Theatre at MSM), of the MSM’s Musical Theatre Lab Series, a new musical development program which offers musical theatre majors the opportunity to work with professional musical theatre creators on their musicals-in-development. Using an open-submission process, the Lab Series selects cutting-edge musical theatre projects with potential for professional life. Click here for more information on this program.

I’m in a new book!

5/7/24

Today, Applause published a new book, The Playwright's Toolbox: Exercises from 56 Contemporary Dramatists on Designing, Building, and Refurbishing Your Plays by Justin Maxwell, in which I contributed the chapter “Mini Scenes.” In this chapter, I lay out an exercise I developed in my playwriting classes where writers generate new pages for their play by making the overwhelming process a bit more bite-sized. Thanks to Justin for including me and my agent Farrah for getting me this fun opportunity.

So long, New Paltz!

5/7/24

I just wrapped my final semester at SUNY New Paltz, where, for the last five years, I taught dramatic writing as a Visiting Assistant Professor of Creative Writing. My proudest accomplishment at New Paltz was my creation of New Pages: an undergraduate dramatic writing showcase, which brought student playwrights, dramaturgs, directors, and actors together to perform scenes from new plays my students developed in my class. Thanks to my supportive colleagues and my (over 700!) students, SUNY New Paltz was a spectacularly educational and rewarding first teaching job.

Entrance to Manhattan School of Music on Claremont Ave.

An excuse to geek out over musicals

9/6/23

I’m teaching a class on Musical Theater Bookwriting (for the uninitiated, a musical’s script/structure/everything but the songs) at Manhattan School of Music during their Fall 2023 semester. I taught a version of this class during my time at Indiana University, and it was maybe my favorite class I’ve ever taught, so I’m delighted to be doing it again. Thanks to Liza Gennaro for the opportunity.

NYC Reading of The Star Killers with a killer cast

10/7/21

Clubbed Thumb produced a staged reading of my play The Star Killers as part of their Early-Career Writers' Group Reading Series at the Wild Project. It was directed by Portia Krieger and featured a brilliant cast: Layla Khoshnoudi, Paul Lazar, Kelly McAndrew, and Michael Puzzo.

What the Constitution Commission Means to Me

9/23/21

I, along with 16 other early-career writers, was awarded the Clubbed Thumb Constitution Commissions, the brainchild of two-time Tony nominee Heidi Schreck, creator and star of What the Constitution Means to Me. Each of us will receive $1,000 at an industry-only reading series featuring our work, set for October 5–15 at the Wild Project.

Hanukkah in August!

5/5/21

Hanukkah Harriet, my play for young people to see and/or do, has been published and is available for licensing from Stage Partners!

Developing my new play, The Star Killers

5/28/21

The Playwrights’ Center in Minneapolis hosted a week-long workshop of my new play, The Star Killers, which ended with a reading for an invited audience, all expertly directed by the sensational Portia Krieger. Portia also directed a table reading of the play earlier this month through Clubbed Thumb.

My first podcast!

11/19/20

I was the featured guest on Gray Area Stories, a survivor-led podcast about the healing journeys of sexual assault survivors, hosted by Erica M. Hart and Johanna Middleton.

Join Erica and Johanna in discussion this week with survivor Aaron Ricciardi who shares his survivor story in the form of a crown of sonnets detailing the many years of abuse he survived at the hands of his drama teacher. Aaron speaks on the power of being ruthlessly honest, naming his abuser, and saying ‘Enough!’ As a male survivor, Aaron sheds light on how boys and men are at risk for abuse and assault.
In a powerful example of a healing journey, Aaron is now an instructor himself. He shares with us not only his love of teaching but also his passion for rewatching award show acceptance speeches and making homemade ice cream.

Find the episode on the Gray Area website, Apple, Stitcher, or any podcast platform.

Pinch me (with a Clubbed Thumb), ‘cause I’m in their Writers’ Group!

10/14/19

This season, I will be one of eight playwrights in Clubbed Thumb’s Early-Career Writers’ Group.

Find me next season at the Playwrights’ Center in Minneapolis

6/18/19

I’ve been selected as a Core Apprentice by the Playwrights’ Center in Minneapolis for their 2019-2020 season. The Core Apprentice program at the Playwrights’ Center pairs student playwrights or recent graduates with professional mentors and offers full play development workshops at the Center.

I'm a writer.

Résumé

New Play Exchange Profile

Click on a title for a synopsis, character breakdown, development history, and script sample.

Plays

The Star Killers

full-length

An untalented L.A. actress latches onto a has-been movie star and his wife—who believe there to be an underground system working to steal money from and then murder Hollywood stars.

Only Child

full-length

In a landscape of distorted and fractured memories, a teenage prince meets a lonely schoolteacher and becomes deeply intertwined in her home, her marriage, and her fantasies.

Hanukkah Harriet

full-length, TYA

Shayna hates Hanukkah and wants to celebrate Christmas! That is, until a bubby from the Old Country teaches her the value of tradition. Licensed & published by Stage Partners.

Him & Her & Gay Men in General

ten-minute

A metaplay that starts as a simple story but spirals into a more complicated one, about love, sex, and children of abuse.

At the Movies with Kenneth and Asher

one-act

Two theatre dorks argue, fantasize, and wait for their moms to pick them up, after failing to sneak into an R movie.

Nice Nails

full-length

As word spreads of labor department crackdowns, a Korean-American woman fights to modernize her parents' tired nail salon, all while growing captivated by a new customer.

Roberta Joy

one-act

A young woman on a cruise can’t find her husband. Perhaps the woman on the phone can help her figure it out. In short, a surreal expression of how life feels for someone with dementia.

A Bushel and a Peck

full-length
solo show

Aaron excavates a family secret to grapple with what to make of his sweet, less-than-perfect grandfather.

Resting Bitch Face

one-act

While studying for a history test on World War II, three 10th-grade girls warn their friend about the dangers her RBF poses to her social standing.

Can I See Your Face?

full-length

By day, Jeff and Kirk lead humdrum lives like the rest of us, but, at night, these two closeted men rendezvous in a gay sex chat room and project their fantasies onto each other.

Musical Theatre

The Travels

full-length

The U.S. of A. is the greatest country on Earth — at least, that’s what they preach every day on the nation’s only TV show. This dystopian tale proved eerily prophetic in the age of Trump.