Deb Hiett
(Updated 2/24/2026) Deb Hiett’s play “Circle Forward” received its World Premiere at the Naples, FL-based LORT theatre, Gulfshore Playhouse, Jan-March 2026. The play was a Finalist for the 2024 Local Theater Company Lab 13 Festival and a Semifinalist for the 2024 O’Neill National Playwrights Conference. Some of Deb’s full-length plays include “The Super Variety Match Bonus Round!” (premiered at Rogue Machine Theater, Los Angeles), “Miss Keller Has No Second Book” (premiered at Gulfshore Playhouse, Naples, FL), “The Escape Thingy” (at South Dakota State University) and “The Clearing in the Jacoby,” (both Finalists for the Reva Shiner Comedy Award). Deb’s short film “Gratitude Jar Time Capsule” won “Best Comedy Television Pilot” at the 2020 Atlanta Comedy Film Festival and the 2021 Women’s Comedy Film Festival in Atlanta. Her film “Open House” won Los Angeles Film Festival/FunnyorDie’s “Make ‘Em LAFF” Showcase, Best Comedy Short at the Women in Comedy Festival, and several others. Her comedic short film “A Bit of Counseling” won the Audience Choice Awards at the Palm Beach International Film Festival, the L.A. Comedy Shorts Film Festival, the Over the Fence Short Film Festival (Australia), and the Ojai Film Festival. As an actress, Deb can be seen in many TV shows and films, including “Barbie,” “The Office,” “Young Sheldon,” “Parks and Recreation,” and many more.
WEBSITE AND SOCIAL MEDIA
http://www.debhiett.com
FB: debhiett
TW: @DebHiett
IG: @debhiett
MORE ABOUT ME
What play or production changed your life? I have two: When I was a kid, my parents took me to New York City for a visit. The first play I ever saw was "The Gin Game" with Hume Cronyn and Jessica Tandy. Can you imagine that being the first play you ever saw? I was absolutely transfixed -- I had no idea that sort of experience was even possible. Immediately I knew I would devote my life to the theater in any way possible. Years later, I saw the wonderful NYC production of "The Ferryman" by Jez Butterworth. It was life-changing because it reminded me that a playwright can do anything she wants, and I set myself free of unconscious limitations I had been feeling in my work.
WHAT I'M WORKING ON
New play, new musical, & new screenplay! Not necessarily in that order.
KEYWORDS
Comedy, women-centered, joy, coming-of-age, grief, family, love, breakthrough
