Biography
Upon winning the Galileo Prize for Emilie's Voltaire, a critic said,
“Arthur Giron has a passion for women and words.”
True, but not a complete statement. Arthur’s fervent explorations also span the areas of science, spirituality, inter-generational family dynamics, political corruption and social justice, and have resulted in over twenty plays - dramas, comedies and musicals produced on four continents, across the US and on Broadway. His works have also received multiple musical adaptations. In addition to receiving the Galileo Prize, which recognizes exceptional work illuminating scientific innovation, he is also a two-time recipient of the L.A. Critics Drama-Logue Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Theatre".
Respected theater critic Rosette Lamont stated Giron "is one of our best contemporary dramatists." Indeed, New York Theatre Wire said “Giron is a wise, compassionate, and skilled playwright." The New York Times described his play Edith Stein as “Full of passion and passionate ideas...”and regarding A Dream of Wealth the Times observed, “The work’s plea for humanity derives strength from the playwright's…palpable passion and ample compassion.” And the New York Examiner remarked "Arthur Giron's words are what actors long to wrap their voices around."
His many plays include Moving Bodies, Edith Stein, Becoming Memories, Flight, Emile’s Voltaire, Love and Murder, Money, Innocent Pleasures, Charlie Bacon and His Family, Boy Dies Dancing Mambo, Dirty Jokes, A Dream of Wealth, The Golden Guitar, Memories of Our Women, and St. Francis in Egypt, in addition to many one-acts. Arthur co-wrote the book to the Broadway musical Amazing Grace, as well as a number of screenplays and librettos for operas. Being bilingual, Arthur was commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera Guild to write an original Spanish-English libretto, The Golden Guitar. Composers are attracted to his plays because they are naturally lyrical; Arthur’s play Edith Stein has become an opera, and there are three musical versions of his play Flight, a fictional account of the family life of the Wright Brothers. One version was adapted by David and Joe Zellnick as First in Flight, touring 120 cities for TheaterWorksUSA .
At the forefront of the movement to engender scientific subject matter in plays, Mr. Giron’s Flight was commissioned by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, and evolved into the Ensemble Studio Theatre/Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Science & Technology Project ,an initiative designed to stimulate artists to create credible and compelling work exploring the worlds of science and technology and to challenge the existing stereotypes of scientists and engineers in the popular imagination. Subsequently commissioned two additional times by the Sloan Foundation, his Moving Bodies starred Alfred Molina, portraying physicist Richard Feynman in an audioplay version, with Kathryn Hahn and Jessica Chastain, produced by L.A. Theater Works; and his Emilie’s Voltaire went on to win the Galileo Prize. Arthur’s Becoming Memories received the L.A. Critics Drama-Logue Award for "Outstanding Achievement in Theatre", a unique project developed with members of the Illusion Theatre of Minneapolis. Following five families through three generations, it used their real life stories and those of their families to create a richly textured portrait of small town America from 1911 to the present, and is one of Mr. Giron’s most frequently produced works. Arthur was nominated for a Daytime Drama Emmy when in his younger days he wrote for Another World. More recent projects include a collaboration with German composer Adrian Werum on a musical adaptation of the Hermann Hesse novel, Narcissus and Goldmund, a film version of the life of Dietrich Bonhoeffer entitled High Treason, and the new chamber musical collaboration with Scott Nathan Louis and Susan Einhorn, Catherine's Revenge, inspired by the Henry James novella Washington Square.
Arthur is also a passionate educator. As former Head of the Graduate Playwriting program at Carnegie-Mellon University for over a decade, he was awarded the Henry Hornbostel Award for Teaching Excellence. He also taught at Drew University and Sarah Lawrence College. Arthur is a long time participant with the Playwrights and Directors Unit of the Actors Studio, and a Founding Member of the Ensemble Studio Theatre in NYC, dedicated to the development of new plays. He lives in New York City with his beloved wife Mariluz.
To learn about Mr. Giron’s formative years in his own words, please visit The Golden Silence.
