Interview: Ramiz Monsef's Returns to the Geffen to Spread His ANTS

Ramiz Monsef’s The Ants world premieres June 29, 2023 at The Geffen Playhouse (with previews already started). Pirrone Yousefzadeh directs this horror play with the cast of Hugo Armstrong, Nicky Boulos, Megan Hill, Jeremy Radin and Ryan Shrime. Ramiz graciously agreed to answer a few of my queries.

Thank you for taking the time for this interview, Ramiz!

You started writing The Ants in 2019 when you were in The Geffen Playhouse’s The Writers’ Room program. What sparked the idea behind The Ants? 

I was doing a musical that I co-wrote at ACT in San Francisco, and I was staying in the Tenderloin. I’m from the Bay and I LOVE the Tenderloin as dirty as it is, but this time around it was way worse than it had ever been. The disparity of wealth had become so grotesque that people were literally stepping over bodies to get into the Twitter building and no one seemed to care at all about it. Or the ones who could afford not to care had strapped their gilded blinders on so tight that they couldn’t even see it. It grossed me out and I started writing The Ants.

Then you workshopped The Ants at Ojai Playwrights Conference in 2021. At what stage was your script then for the Conference participants to contribute their input?

It was pretty solid at that point.  We had an incredible cast who bravely did the whole thing over Zoom, which as we all now know, is pretty much death.  But they did a great job and even with the limitations that COVID brought with it, we were able to get some good work done. 

What would your three-line pitch of The Ants be?

It’s like Night of the Living Dead but you’re rooting for the zombies. 

In this five-character play, do you identify with one individual more than the other? Or do write a bit of yourself in all your people?

I think it’s impossible for a writer to not instill at least a little of themselves into everything they do. So yeah, there’s probably a bit of me in all these characters. But Nami is very similar to what I was like in my twenties.

Have you worked with any of The Ants cast or creatives before?

Well, Pirronne and I have worked together on several projects. We did a bunch of readings of my clown show 3 Farids, so we have a good working shorthand.  And I went to college with the Great and Powerful Megan Hill who is playing Meredith. She’s a beast by the way. Can’t wait for y’all to see what she is doing with this role. It’s phenomenal. 

When does your script become set in stone? After a workshop reading? At final tech rehearsal? 

I mean, I can keep changing things up to opening, but I try not to do that to the actors. For a show like this, the math is really important, so everything that does change needs to make sure it’s not messing up any horror equations that we have imbedded in the show. I’m very careful with what I change. I try to have a vision, believe in it, and stick to it. Nothing is ever perfect, so I never am aiming for perfection. I’m more interested in soul. And no good soul is perfect.

When did your association with the Geffen first begin? When you were first cast as Babur in their 2015 production of Guards at the Taj?

Yep, that’s pretty much it. They took a chance on me back in the day and luckily that chance paid off… for both of us hopefully. And then I did Mysterious Circumstances with Matt Shakman and he and I ended up talking a lot about horror. Turns out we are both big horror nerds and I guess I just lucked out at that point that the artistic director was as into this kind of storytelling as I was. And he took a chance on me too… I’ve just been very lucky that the good folks at the Geffen kept giving me shots. I don’t take those opportunities lightly. I know how lucky I am. 

You were also Dr. Watson in Geffen’s Mysterious Circumstances in 2019. What keeps you coming back to collaborating with Geffen?

They keep hiring me!

You’ve had success both behind and on the stage, and in front of the camera. What gives you greater gratification – acting or writing?

They are both so different. I love them both immensely and differently. 

What did you want to be growing up?

A veterinarian. But then I found acting and it made more sense because I only wanted to help animals, and I didn’t want to do the hard stuff, like putting them down.  

Is there a new script idea percolating in your creative mind?

Of course. I got lots of ideas I’m kicking around. Always. My brain is really just two hamsters furiously writing scripts.  

What’s next in the future for Ramiz Monsef?

Who can say for sure. At this point, I’m just focusing on getting this show up and running. What comes next is not necessarily up to me. So, I just do the work I have and don’t worry about the work I don’t. Hopefully this show leads to more opportunities but that’s out of my hands.  

Thank you again, Ramiz! I look forward to experiencing your Ants.

For tickets to the live performances of The Ants through July 30, 2023, click on the button below:

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