I had the pleasure of directing Brian Delate’s one-man show “Guardian Angels” and this weekend it will be at Actors Studio in New York City. Saturday and Sunday shows are sold out but you can still get on the waitlist, or grab a ticket to Friday night’s performance, and possibly Thursday night’s too.

Tickets are FREE but you need to reserve them here. Actors Studio is located at 432 West 44th Street, Ground Floor, between 9th & 10th Avenues, New York, NY 10036. Running time is one hour, shows start at 7:00 pm Thursday Feb 1, Friday Feb 2, and Saturday Feb 3, with a Sunday matinee at 2:00 on the 4th.

About the show:
“Guardian Angels” reveals how the angels on earth and beyond can guide and direct us. In 1973 a profound event, in the form of a dream transformed Brian Delate’s life. Was it a “close encounter”? An Out-of-Body Experience? Or a visit from “The Great Beyond”? You decide. Brian served in the Vietnam war. The path after coming home was destructive, but real life guardian angels intervened to guide him in a life-affirming direction. The dream came later but its impact would alter his thinking and behavior forever.

And from the theater:
WAITLIST: If a particular date is “sold out”, we encourage you to join the waitlist — since cancellations are prevalent and seating often becomes available.

I had the privilege of directing Brian Delate’s one man show “Guardian Angels” this year, which was presented first at the Whitefire Theater, then at The Road Theatre in Los Angeles, to sold-out crowds. He got a wonderful review by John Lavitt in The HollywoodTimes, who was kind enough to mention my work as a director:

“At the Road Theatre, Delate’s performance is taken to the next level of excellence with the help of Deb Hiett’s precise direction. When it comes to solo shows, the role of a director is a careful balancing of unleashing and containing. While some aspects of a performer need to be brought out, others need to be quieted so this can happen.

Hiett helps Delate bring forth the significance of his message by focusing on his body and respecting moments of silence. By helping Delate get in touch with his physicality while not being worried about gaps, the direction allows the actor to expand the range of his expression while making it more precise.”

Brian’s show is heading for a limited run at the Actors Studio in New York City in February, 2024. Congrats, Brian!

I am over the moon excited to have my play Circle Forward selected for the Gulfshore Playhouse New Works Festival this September. I’ve had the pleasure of working with this extraordinary LORT-D theater before, when they produced the world premiere of my play Miss Keller Has No Second Book in 2018.

With the talented folks they are assembling (including director Jeffrey Binder), I can’t wait to bring my play to the table. The week’s workshop will conclude with a reading that is open to the public on Saturday Sept 16, followed by a Q&A with the audience.

Synopsis of Circle Forward: Seventeen years after the loss of her young husband from cancer, Mia meets a teenager, Ethan, who believes he is the reincarnation of her late husband. When Ethan and his mom Lexi come to Mia's house for lunch, Mia must face her doubts, her past, and the whole truth.

More info about the festival here in the BroadwayWorld press release. For Gulfshore Playhouse tickets, click here.

Please join me for the first reading of my new musical “The Sunny Survival Caravan!” on Sunday May 21 at 2:00 p.m. at Atwater Village Theatre 3269 Casitas Ave, in Los Angeles. Tickets are FREE but you’re encouraged to R.S.V.P. through THIS LINK. The reading is part of the “First Peek” Reading Series by the L.A.-based Playwrights Union.

SYNOPSIS of “The Sunny Survival Caravan!”:
Fifteen years after the collapse of civilization, a misfit traveling band of musicians perform their relentlessly cheerful nostalgia show as they travel from settlement to settlement, throughout a decimated not-so-united states, sometime in the post-apocalyptic, climate-ravaged, accordion-filled future.

Darla, Gabriela, Razz, Chester, and Banger have managed to tour what's left of the former United States for over a year – no small feat in these difficult times. Their optimistic message and varied song stylings are wildly popular, and they’ve even rigged up an old stationary bicycle to an old battery to have some amplification and lighting, thanks to some strings of old patio and Christmas lights. When the newest and youngest member of the band, Evvie, joins them, she challenges their determination to perform only the most upbeat odes to nostalgia.

By the show’s hopeful end, we see that the healing power of music can lift us up by gathering us all together, even during the darkest times.

Cast to be announced soon. Please come out and support new theater!

My dear friend (and former acting teacher from NYC) Brian Delate has written a compelling one-man show which I have the honor of directing.

“Guardian Angels” is being presented as part of the Whitefire Theater’s Solofest 2023, in North Hollywood (13500 Ventura Blvd).

In 1973, after returning home from the Vietnam war, a single event changed the course of Brian's life.

Please join us on Sunday January 29 at 7:00 p.m. for the premiere of "Guardian Angels." Tickets are $25 (BUY THEM HERE!) and the show runs an hour. Thanks for supporting live theater and new work!

So thrilled to be included in the inaugural Festival of New Plays at South Dakota State University! My play “The Escape Thingy” will have two reading performances: Sept 22 and 23.

The festival “celebrates the work of emerging playwrights while offering opportunities for students and the audience to engage in the development of new works.” I’m honored to be included alongside playwrights Caridad Svich, Amy Tofte, and Kristen Benjamin.

In “The Escape Thingy,” two very different couples meet in an "Escape Room" game night, each needing very different types of escape. The clock is literally ticking as they attempt to solve the puzzles, decide what reality to believe, and weigh the risks of unlocking the door to the dangerous world outside.

Can’t wait to visit Brookings and work with the director and cast there! For more info, click here.

Please join me for the final “Says You!” tapings for live audiences in Seattle, WA on Thursday Sept 8 and San Francisco, CA on Saturday Sept 10!

This NPR comedy/trivia show has been beloved for 25 years, and producer Laura Sher has arranged these final two tapings in two of the cities that have loved us best. I’m honored to be sharing the stage with the Says You! All-Stars, including Carolyn Faye Fox, Murray Horwitz, Barry Nolan, Joyce Kulhawik, and Tony Kahn!

In Seattle, we’ll be performing/recording at the recently renovated Town Hall starting at 6:30 pm on 9/8. Seats still available HERE!

In San Francisco, look for us at the beautiful Herbst Theatre at 5:00 p.m on 9/10. Seats still available HERE!

Hope to see you there (but if you can’t make it, you can always find the edited shows in a month or so, wherever you find your podcasts, or at SaysYou.net)!