“Guilty Pleasure” by Charlie Probus
Produced by Assorted Arts.
winner of the Austin Hays One Act Playwriting Award
available for purchase by 1319 Press
January 2-4, 2026
Shadowbox Studios | 2200 Dominion St, Durham, NC 27704
CONTENT NOTICE (Click to reveal)
This play contains some strong language and the use of stage blood.
PRODUCTION TEAM
Playwright, Director | Charlie Probus
Stage Manager, Lighting Design | Ebie Britt
Set Design | Steve Probus
CAST
Gabriel | Reeve Haggard
Father Harris | Tate Kapitza
Author’s Note: Thank you for joining us for this production of Guilty Pleasure. This is the first full production, but Guilty Pleasure has gone through a significant development period. A shorter version of the play was first presented at the Valdez Theatre Conference, presented an audio drama as part of the NC Audio Play Festival 2025 by Cary Playwrights Forum and the full piece was awarded the Austin Hay One Act Playwriting Award and given a staged reading at the Arts Club of Washington in December 2025.
Religion is often the first and most concrete worldview we’re given. It teaches us how to love, how to interpret our place in the world, and how to delineate Good and Evil. This can be beautiful and it can be harmful. It wasn’t until the piece was mostly completed that I realized that the show was really about power, control, and how our worldview decides who we think is worthy of love. It is both parable and literal, a story of religious trauma, a queer allegory, and a question of how ideology can be twisted to serve ego.
MEET THE ARTISTS
CHARLIE PROBUS | Playwright, Director
Charlie Probus (they/them) is a playwright and transdisciplinary artist whose work spans performance, visual art, and writing. Their work has been seen at Brooklyn Poets, Opal Age, Rat’s Ass Review, the Raleigh Fringe Festival, the Valdez Theatre Conference and the Arts Club of Washington. Charlie’s visual art has found a home at the Scrap Exchange in Durham and the CoLab in Raleigh.
REEVE HAGGARD | Actor (Gabriel)
Reeve Haggard (they/them) first graced the stage at the age of nine and has been doing community theatre ever since. Originally based in their small Virginian hometown where they spent years working in a theatrical haunted house, Reeve has a decade worth of experience and a passion for immersive storytelling. After moving to Durham and taking a brief hiatus they’re beyond excited to be back on stage and especially to be working with such a talented team and on such a special play.
TATE KAPITZA | Actor (Father Harris)
Tate Kapitza (he/they) is a 22 year old actor looking to make his mark on the acting world, and has done so with roles like Karnak in Ride the Cyclone, and as an actor with Bright Star Touring Theater performing across the country. They have been performing since sophomore year of high school, where he then attended Appalachian State University to further hone his craft. He is beyond excited to show all of his hard work and dedication in tonight’s performance. They are also a digital artist who loves anything and everything comic book related and have two cats named Clementine and Cowboy.
If you are a member of the New Play Exchange, we would appreciate your thoughts about this piece. You can write a review here: New Play Exchange: Guilty Pleasure
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