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.

Launching my own writing workshop

9/24/25

I’m starting my own independent writing workshop, and I’d love for you to join it. My first offering will be a six-week session.

Dramatic Writing Workshop with Aaron Ricciardi

Wednesdays, 6-8 p.m. Eastern

6 sessions: 9/24, 10/1, 10/8, 10/15, 10/22, 10/29

$450

Virtual

This will be a writer-led space where you can work on any project you'd like, at any stage, alongside other dramatic writers. Is there a new play you want to begin, a project you're having trouble finishing, or something you need to polish? This is the space for that.
Class will include some generative writing and some study of theory. I might also give us some reading to do.
Open to all writers, from experienced to beginners.
Plays, musicals (especially books), and television are all fair game.
You will bring 5 minutes of material to our first class, to bring us all into the world of your project. This could be anything from a scene to a description of the play world.
With the full tuition, every writer will get one 1-hour one-on-one meeting with me to discuss a full script.

If you’re interested in registering for the workshop, write me using the contact form at the bottom of this webpage by Wednesday, September 17th. I will run the class as long as I have a minimum of 5 students, up to a maximum of 8.

2 Classes at the Playwrights’ Center

9/9/25

This fall, I’m teaching two classes at the Playwrights’ Center, where I’m an Affiliated Writer:

Musical Theatre Show Structure, a one-night seminar on Tuesday, September 9th from 7:30-9:30 p.m. Eastern on Zoom. Using decades of musical theater theory and a range of song and scene examples, we’ll explore why musicals work, what makes them fail, and how you can use this knowledge to strengthen your own show—whether you’re crafting a classic or reinventing the genre entirely. Register for class at this link.
Starting a New Play (for Beginners), a six-week class on Wednesdays, 6-8 p.m. Eastern (11/5, 11/12, 11/19, 12/3, 12/10, 12/17) on Zoom. With a mix of analytical and intuitive approaches, this class is designed to help shake loose habits, silence inner critics, and unlock your creative instincts. By the end, you’ll have the beginnings of a new play—scenes, characters, and a world in motion—and a clear path forward to keep writing. Open to all writers, but aimed at beginners Register for class at this link.

More Manhattan School of Music

9/3/25

Today is my first day back at Manhattan School of Music (MSM), where I’m teaching four classes this year and continuing as director of the 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.

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.