Mary Diane Simons, one of three founding directors of Fort Worth’s Hip Pocket Theatre and an honored costume designer, has died following a lengthy illness. She was 80.
Simons, along with her husband, Johnny Simons, and the late Douglas Balentine, established Hip Pocket Theatre in 1976. The company continues to produce works with an unconventional approach to storytelling with original scores, drama, humor, puppetry, mime and movement under the Texas stars in its outdoor venue in far west Fort Worth. Diane (pronounced DeeAnn) Simons served as producer and costume designer until her retirement due to health issues several years ago.
“In her day, Diane was a phenomenal artist, creating beautiful costumes out of scraps and unusual materials,” said Johnny Simons in a statement. “This uncommonly gifted woman was a devoted wife, mother, and a superb example of a soulfully loving human being.”
Johnny Simons retired from the theater in July 2021. Their daughters, Lorca and Lake Simons, carry on the legacy as the theater’s artistic directors.
“Diane Simons along with her beloved husband, Johnny Simons, were artistic giants in the Fort Worth theater scene,” said Joe Brown, chairman of the theatre department at Texas Wesleyan University. “Hip Pocket Theatre was an artistic and loving partnership between she and Johnny. I know Diane would be so proud that Hip Pocket Theatre continues under the artistic leadership of hers and Johnny’s daughters Lake and Lorca.”
Diane Simons’ bountiful creativity meant she could do a lot with a little, said Sharon Benge, former head of the theatre department at Texas Woman’s University and a longtime friend.
Benge recalled directing a version of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” at Hip Pocket one year. Simons began working on a costume for Caliban, the half-human, half-monster character in the play.
“Diane took these shoulder pads, which she probably got for $1.95, and created this great costume that looked like scales,” Benge said. “She knew how to do that kind of thing and make it work.”
Diane Simons was born in 1944 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. She and her brother Clem moved to Dallas with parents Dr. E.C. Rowand and Mary Louise Rowand, both of whom were ministers in the Disciples of Christ Church. Diane met her future husband at TCU. Together they worked at Casa Mañana in Fort Worth, the Alley Theatre in Houston and taught theater at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina. In 2002, Johnny and Diane Simons received the Live Theatre League of Tarrant County’s Elston Brooks Award for Lifetime Achievement in theater.
A mentorship program at Hip Pocket Theatre, set to kick off this summer in collaboration with CultureHub in New York City and funded by a Fort Worth foundation, will be called the Diane Simons Mentorship Program.
She is survived by her husband, daughters and grandchildren River Barley and Cy Dyer.
“Rest well, O queen, as you costume the halls in heaven,” Johnny Simons said.
A private memorial service will be held in the spring. In lieu of flowers, the family requests a donation to Hip Pocket Theatre in Diane Simons’ memory.
Bob Francis is business editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at bob.francis@fortworthreport.org. At the Fort Worth Report, news decisions are made independently of our board members and financial supporters. Read more about our editorial independence policy here.
This article first appeared on Fort Worth Report and is republished here under a Creative Commons license.