tracker
My Shows
News on your favorite shows, specials & more!
Home For You Chat My Shows (beta) Register/Login Games Grosses

Deborah Bostock-Kelley

Deborah Bostock-Kelley

A twice-published author, multi-time award-winning playwright, magazine writer, theatre reviewer, and newspaper journalist with 30+ years in journalism and business copywriting, Deb is not one to shy away from controversial storylines. She was a 2022 Recipient of the Gobioff Foundation Grant, a 2019 Recipient of the inaugural Tampa Bay Theatre Festival Denise Deneen award for her work in theatre, and a 2017 Recipient of Theatre Tampa Bay's Jeff Norton Dream Grant. With the grants, she produced and directed her original production, "Breast Advice," in the Tampa Bay Theatre Festival; she produced and directed (with another educator) their school shooting play, "A Necessary Conversation," at Straz's TECO Theatre with a talkback with leaders in the community with ticket sales donated to Moms Demand Action, Tampa. A Necessary Conversation won Broadway World Tampa's 2018 BEST ACTOR and BEST ACTRESS Awards. In 2020, the play was nominated for BEST ORIGINAL SCRIPT OF THE DECADE. An expanded version of this bullying, mental health, and gun violence drama was showcased during the 2021 Voices of Truth Theatre Festival at Powerstories Theatre, winning CRITIC'S CHOICE and Regional Broadway World's 2022 BEST PERFORMER and BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMER IN A STREAMING PLAY.

In the summer of 2019, she reached out to social media for true stories about breasts, from shape and appreciation to size and cancer. In December, she wrote "Breast Advice," a show that workshopped to a standing-room-only audience in Powerstories Theatre and was called "The Vagina Monologues for boobs." A portion of ticket sales was donated to The Affirmations Project, which works with survivors of breast cancer and domestic abuse. The production was accepted into the Tampa Bay Theatre Festival in September 2022 and won Regional Broadway World's 2022 Runner-Up for BEST NEW PLAY OR MUSICAL.

In May 2023, a series of her plays debuted in her sold-out, standing-room-only playwright showcase weekend at Safety Harbor Art and Music Center called Tapestry: A Weekend of Socially-Conscious Storytelling. This featured "Breast Advice" and a full-length new version of her school shooting survivor's play "#NotOneMore." It was a finalist for Creative Loafing's BEST PLAYWRIGHT and a multi-nominee for Broadway World Awards: BEST ENSEMBLE: Breast Advice and #NotOneMore, BEST NEW PLAY OR MUSICAL: # NotOneMore, BEST PLAY: Breast Advice, # NotOneMore, BEST DIRECTION OF A PLAY: Me, # NotOneMore, BEST PERFORMER IN A PLAY: #NotOneMore, BEST SUPPORTING PERFORMER IN A PLAY: #NotOneMore.

In September 2023, her one-act LoveYouMore, about the bullying of a transgender girl, was accepted and performed at the Tampa Bay Theatre Festival.

In 2024, #NotOneMore was accepted and will be part of the June 2024 Tampa International Fringe Festival.
www.thewriteonecreativeservices.com/original-plays

Relying solely on word-of-mouth client testimonials, since 2005, Deb has successfully operated the WriteOne Creative Services, a PR, copywriting, graphic, and web design business that offers a larger agency's talent and design/print capabilities without the overhead expense.

Life Amplified, a variety showcase for grassroots charities and the philanthropic side of Deb's writing and design company, celebrates its 10th year in 2024. Deb and Life Amplified have been honored by Bay News 9 Everyday Hero in February 2016 and Fox13 Hometown Heroes in May 2014. With 100% venue donation and talented volunteer performers, Life Amplified has helped fundraise and raise awareness about human trafficking, PSTD, military sexual trauma, bullying, sexual violence prevention, and LGBTQ issues. It has been on hiatus since the pandemic, but is back on September  28, 2024, with an affirming musical spectacular prom aptly called Life Amplified SPECTACULAR at Carrollwood Cultural Center's The Studio, benefitting PFLAG Safety Harbor. www.lifeamplifiedshowcase.com

Like so many she knows, she is an invisible illness warrior. Deb lives her busy life to show others that you can thrive and not have to be your diagnosis.




LEARN MORE ABOUT Deborah Bostock-Kelley

First Show:

Our Town

Favorite Show:

Come From Away

Favorite Stories:



MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

Previews: POWERSTORIES' 6TH ANNUAL VOICES OF WOMEN THEATRE FESTIVAL at Hillsborough College Theatre
Previews: POWERSTORIES' 6TH ANNUAL VOICES OF WOMEN THEATRE FESTIVAL at Hillsborough College Theatre
February 19, 2026

Powerstories Theatre’s 6th Annual Voices of Women Theatre Festival returns March 5–8, 2026, showcasing powerful new work by women playwrights. Audiences will experience three evenings of full‑length staged readings in the General and Women Playwrights Over 40 categories, plus a night of bold ten‑minute plays by local writers. The festival also features Seek and Speak Your Powerstory presentations.

Previews: WILLY WONKA KIDS at Patel Conservatory - Straz
Previews: WILLY WONKA KIDS at Patel Conservatory - Straz
February 18, 2026

Patel Conservatory’s Roald Dahl’s Willy Wonka KIDS invites families into a whimsical world of candy-colored adventure as Charlie Bucket tours Willy Wonka’s mysterious chocolate factory. Featuring young performers ages seven to eleven, the production blends beloved songs from the classic 1971 film with new musical surprises, delivering a joyful, imaginative journey filled with humor, heart, and the magic of possibility.

Previews: MY NAME IS ASHER LEV at Stageworks Theatre
Previews: MY NAME IS ASHER LEV at Stageworks Theatre
February 18, 2026

At a time when art and identity feel increasingly intertwined with public debate, Stageworks Theatre turns to a story that asks what it truly costs to follow one’s calling. My Name Is Asher Lev traces the journey of a young painter torn between devotion to his faith and devotion to his craft, a conflict as intimate as it is universal.

Review: & JULIET at Straz Center
Review: & JULIET at Straz Center
February 11, 2026

Created by the Emmy®-winning writer from Schitt’s Creek, &Juliet at the Straz was a witty burst of female power, driven by knockout vocals. Anne’s challenge to Shakespeare to imagine a stronger woman set the whole story in motion. Though even with strong performances from the men, this show belonged to the women, and that felt exactly right for this moment.

Previews: RIVERDANCE 30 – THE NEW GENERATION at Ruth Eckerd Hall
Previews: RIVERDANCE 30 – THE NEW GENERATION at Ruth Eckerd Hall
February 2, 2026

Riverdance 30 – The New Generation arrives at Ruth Eckerd Hall on February 3 and 4 with a revitalized anniversary production that blends the iconic power of the original show with new choreography, costumes, and stunning visual design.

Previews: HIMSELF AND NORA at FreeFall Theatre
Previews: HIMSELF AND NORA at FreeFall Theatre
January 30, 2026

Himself and Nora stars Robert Teasdale as celebrated author and poet James Joyce, while Katie Davis, in her freeFall debut, gives voice to Nora, whose influence on Joyce’s personal and artistic evolution cannot be overstated.

Interview: Matthew Morrison of MATTHEW MORRISON at Murray Theatre at Ruth Eckerd Hall
Interview: Matthew Morrison of MATTHEW MORRISON at Murray Theatre at Ruth Eckerd Hall
January 20, 2026

When Matthew Morrison steps onto the Murray Theatre stage on February 5, he is leaving the polish behind and inviting audiences into a performance built on truth, connection, and the joy of being fully present.

Review: BLUE MAN GROUP at Straz Center
Review: BLUE MAN GROUP at Straz Center
January 18, 2026

This was a technicolor circus‑concert fever dream. If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if a circus, a rock concert, and a neon‑soaked art installation had a baby, the answer is simple: Blue Man Group. And let me tell you — it was amazing, bright, colorful, and unapologetically LOUD in the best possible way.

Previews: TO THE STARS at Patel Conservatory - (Theater For Young Audiences)
Previews: TO THE STARS at Patel Conservatory - (Theater For Young Audiences)
January 15, 2026

Patel Conservatory’s new immersive play To the Stars, written by Cory Kennedy Barrow and brought to life by teen puppeteers and actors, invites young audiences into a universe where wishes strain the constellations and imagination becomes a shared mission. Blending tactile “moments of wonder,” heartfelt emotional beats, and student‑driven dramaturgy, the production celebrates hope, collaboration, and the power of storytelling to rekindle belief in what’s possible.

Previews: GOD OF CARNAGE at TampaRep
Previews: GOD OF CARNAGE at TampaRep
January 15, 2026

TampaRep’s upcoming production of God of Carnage promises an uncomfortably funny, sharply intimate experience under the direction of Alexis Carra, who has updated the play to 2026 and staged it in the round to heighten its immediacy. Carra calls the story “painfully current,” noting how quickly the characters’ polished civility collapses.

Previews: & JULIET at Straz Center
Previews: & JULIET at Straz Center
January 15, 2026

The high‑energy national tour of & Juliet bursts into the Straz Center, February 10 to 15, led by 18‑year‑old Fabiola Caraballo Quijada, who brings infectious joy and fire to a Juliet determined to rewrite her own ending. Packed with iconic Max Martin hits like “Roar,” “Since U Been Gone,” “Baby One More Time,” and “Can’t Stop the Feeling,” the Emmy-winning musical flips Shakespeare on his head with humor, heart, and a heroine choosing life on her own terms.

Previews: TOUCHING THE VOID at Stageworks Theatre
Previews: TOUCHING THE VOID at Stageworks Theatre
January 15, 2026

A gripping true survival story brought to life on a towering 18-foot mountain inside Stageworks Theatre, where Joe Simpson’s fight to live unfolds with visceral intensity.

Previews: HOT AND BOTHERED at The Studio At Carrollwood Cultural Center
Previews: HOT AND BOTHERED at The Studio At Carrollwood Cultural Center
January 8, 2026

Turn the thermostat down and your expectations up. Award-winning playwright Deborah Bostock Kelley brings a razor-sharp, laugh-out-loud staged reading to town with Hot and Bothered, a one-night-only world debut at The Studio at Carrollwood Cultural Center.

Previews: HADESTOWN TEEN EDITION by Ovations Repertory Company
Previews: HADESTOWN TEEN EDITION by Ovations Repertory Company
January 6, 2026

Ovations Repertory Company invites families to experience the power, passion, and artistry of Hadestown Teen Edition at the Cuban Civic Club. Performed by a remarkable cast of 19 young artists ages 13 to 19, Hadestown Teen Edition blends the emotional force of the Tony Award-winning musical with the raw, heartfelt energy of rising performers who bring extraordinary depth to this timeless story that reimagines the ancient myth of Orpheus and Eurydice through a fusion of folk, jazz, blues, and a gritty industrial aesthetic.

Review: STOMP at Straz Center
Review: STOMP at Straz Center
December 28, 2025

STOMP at the Straz Center is a loud, brilliant, wildly inventive work of art, a thunderous, joyful explosion of rhythm and creativity that turned everyday objects into pure theatrical adrenaline.

Previews: THE PINK UNICORN at Story Keepers
Previews: THE PINK UNICORN at Story Keepers
December 24, 2025

When Story Keepers began shaping its first season, the choice rose to the surface immediately. “When Story Keepers was forming and we were asking ourselves what our very first theatrical offering should be, this play immediately came to mind. It felt urgent, it felt human, and it felt like the right story to lead with,' said Avery Anderson, founder and play director.

Previews: LATIN HISTORY FOR MORONS at Stageworks Theatre
Previews: LATIN HISTORY FOR MORONS at Stageworks Theatre
December 1, 2025

On stage December 5–21 at Stageworks Theatre, Tampa actor and community leader Néstor Meléndez takes on the powerful one-man show Latin History for Morons. Written by John Leguizamo, the play blends sharp comedy with overlooked truths from 3,000 years of Latin American history. Meléndez calls the role “a cathartic journey,” adding, “My hope would be for [audiences] to see themselves or their families represented on stage and then decide to go and dig deeper into their history.” Expect an evening that is fast-paced, funny, and deeply resonant.

Previews: THE NUTCRACKER at Ovations Repertory Company
Previews: THE NUTCRACKER at Ovations Repertory Company
December 1, 2025

From the youngest beginner to seasoned adult, 81 performers unite in a dazzling showcase of artistry. Under the vision of Orlando Peña, the production weaves tradition and innovation into a tapestry of joy, dedication, and community connection.

Previews: HOLIDAY CABARET at Beach Theatre
Previews: HOLIDAY CABARET at Beach Theatre
December 1, 2025

The cabaret is a gesture of appreciation for the community. Hannah Hockman, founder says, “This theatre belongs to them. We want people to feel that The Beach Theatre is a place where they can celebrate, connect, and experience the magic of the season together. At its heart, the cabaret is a gift to the community that has supported us so wholeheartedly.”

Previews: A CHRISTMAS STORY at Straz Center
Previews: A CHRISTMAS STORY at Straz Center
November 21, 2025

A Christmas Story: The Musical brings Ralphie, his Red Ryder dreams, and the Parker family’s holiday chaos to the Straz Center November 28–30. With heart, humor, and music that sticks with you, this nostalgic production promises laughter, warmth, and a reminder to “treasure every moment.”



 1       …    




Videos