Left Overs
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Roni
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SYNOPSIS
It’s 2008, and each night, Ernest has dinner at his son’s resting place for company and conversation. This isn’t much of a problem until the plot next to his son’s is taken. A new visitor, Max, comes to the gravesite of his recently deceased father and quickly takes issue with Ernest’s loud and hungry personality. Left Overs examines what it means to die and to live beyond our expiration date – how is our legacy passed on? How do we survive outside of our bodies? What does it mean to lose a father, and what does it mean to lose a son?
PLAYWRIGHT’S BIO
Roni Ragone – Night Night, Roger Roger (published by Dramatic Publishing Company; University of California, Santa Barbara + 13 additional productions around the U.S.). Up Strung Down (Amplify, The Tank: Moonlight Series, SheNYC semifinalist 2025, New Works Festival finalist). We’re All Girls Here (Top 30 in 47th Annual Samuel French Off Off Broadway Short Play Festival [OOB], West Texas A&M University, University of Evansville, & more). my barricade (2025 House of Rooted Festival, 47th OOB, The Best Men’s Stage Monologues of 2025 published by Smith & Kraus Inc. [monologue only], Doubles). Left Overs (Precarious Nights [UK debut!], Boston Theatre Company’s Queer Voices Festival, Cry Havoc: Playlist). Heading North (OUT/PLAY: Summer Shorts). Brothers in Arms (Capital Q Festival). Co-Founder of Fresh Binder Productions.
A BIT ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
When did you start writing plays? If you had a moment where you realized you wanted to write, what was it?
Growing up in a small town in Arizona, I knew nothing about theatre until moving to California in high school. I always loved to write, mostly short stories, poems and songs, but after being forced by my parents to join my high school’s theatre program, I realized… oh no— I think I might be a theatre kid. After a bit of jumping around, I discovered my passion for writing plays and haven’t been able to stop since. I am so grateful for the experiences I’ve been given due to this passion. Playwriting is more than just getting a story on a stage; it’s an act of love for the people who live beside us and a way to explore the unexplainable.
How did you come to write your OOB play? Was there a particular inspiration behind its creation? How has it developed?
Last fall, I was in a writer’s cohort with Cry Havoc and was instructed to write a ten-minute play inspired by the painting “The Tree of Life” by Max Ernst. This painting is about the connection between joy and despair, life and death. Left Overs was written to challenge and compare these connections through the vehicle of grief – how can we keep our passed loved ones alive? This piece was recently in Boston Theatre Company’s Queer Voices Festival and made its UK Debut with Precarious Nights. I am currently expanding this piece into a full-length play!
What are five words that describe who you are as a playwright?
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- Tone-twisting (maybe not a word, but let’s pretend it is)
- Colorful
- Goofy
- Passionate
- Introspective
What/who are some of the major influences on your writing?
Some of my major influences include Martyna Majok, Jen Silverman, A. Rey Pamatmat, Taylor Mac, Quinta Brunson, Nick Pappas, and all the incredible writers I’ve met through cohorts with Fresh Binder Productions.
What’s one fact someone would never guess about you?
I have a latex allergy, and my twin sister has a cedar wood allergy. This means that I am allergic to the pink eraser of a number #2 pencil, and she is allergic to the wood. Together, we must use pens.
What are some of your favorite plays?
Hir by Taylor Mac
Man Up by Kyle Smith
Trayf by Lindsay Joelle
Wink by Jen Silverman
Clyde’s by Lynn Nottage
Mercury by Steve Yockey
Mother Play by Paula Vogel
Sanctuary City by Martyna Majok
The Dumb Waiter by Harold Pinter
Angels in America by Tony Kushner
We Had a World by Joshua Harmon
The Cost of Living by Martyna Majok
Nasty Little Things by William Huffaker
Our Dear Dead Drug Lord by Alexis Sheer
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf by Edward Albee
Edith Can Shoot Things and Hit Them by A. Rey Pamatmat
We <3 Christopher H. Mahoney Forever Through Time & Space Forever Club by Bailey Jordan Garcia
(There are too many incredible plays to choose from!)
Any new projects you’re working on or shameless plugs?
I am working on writing a full-length version of Left Overs and while quite different from the ten-minute play, we’ll get to spend some more time with Ernest and Max. Also, check out Fresh Binder Productions if you’d like to support trans playwrights!
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