3 award-winning filmmakers
1 superior self tape
Emerson Collins is a producer, director, writer and actor. He appeared in RENT on FOX as Steve, singing “Will I?” He produced A Very Sordid Wedding which opened in 60 cities and at number one at the specialty box office. He produced and starred in the film adaptation of Southern Baptist Sissies, which won 15 film festival awards including Best Actor in a Feature Film for Emerson. He produced Blues For Willadean, starring Beth Grant, Dale Dickey and Octavia Spencer.
Emerson produced the world premiere of Del Shores’ play Yellow, winner of the LA Drama Critic’s Circle Award for Best Production, Sordid Lives: The Series for LOGO, and a national theatre tour of Sordid Lives and Southern Baptist Sissies. He directed and produced the DVD live tapings of three of Del Shores’ standup comedy specials and directed the stage and film versions of Del’s one-man play Six Characters In Search of a Play.
Emerson won the Desert Theatre League Award for Best Actor for the Regional Theatre Premiere of Buyer & Cellar with Coyote Stageworks in Palm Springs and reprised the role at the Laguna Playhouse. He appeared in the world premiere productions of The Boomerang Effect and The $5 Shakespeare Company.
Emerson hosted The Del & Emerson Show for three years on LGBTQ news as UBN Radio’s number one show and starred for four seasons on BRAVO’s The People’s Couch. www.emersoncollins.com
Mat Hayes is an actor, writer, musician, podcaster, and director. Most recently appearing in Ryan Murphy's 9-1-1 and CW's Jane the Virgin, he's most known for his extremely successful short film, Cognitive. After screening all over the world at over 25 film festivals, winning 5, streaming was secured and is available on Amazon Prime.
Before Los Angeles, Hayes spent 4 years as a cruise ship singer for Carnival, Royal Caribbean, and Princess Cruises. In addition to performing in several touring and regional theatrical productions, he's also a graduate of the theme park and dinner theatre circuit, most notably at Dollywood, Pigeon Forge, Hersheypark, and Lake Dillon Theatre Company.
Under the guidance of Jessalyn Gilsig, he quickly became one of the most sought-after self tape coaches in Los Angeles. In 2019, he produced Del Shores' hit one-man play, Six Characters In Search Of A Play, directed by Emerson Collins. After Covid all but knocked the industry to their knees, he was instrumental in creating The Del Shores Studio, where he teaches weekly acting classes and is available for private coaching.
His anti-religion podcast, The Fagnostic Podcast, has featured some of the most high profile voices in mainstream religion and charts consistently in the top 10 of Apple's religion podcasts. He's passionate about blood donor equality, the unhoused community, and spends most of his free time reading, playing piano, cooking, working out, and spending time with his dog Porter Wagger (yes - named for Dolly's former co-star Porter Wagoner).
Del Shores is the writer/director/producer of the films Sordid Lives, Blues for Willadean, Southern Baptist Sissies and A Very Sordid Wedding. He wrote and executive produced the MGM feature Daddy's Dyin'...Who's Got The Will?
Ten of his plays are published by Concord/Samuel French. In television, Shores wrote, directed, executive produced and created the LOGO series, Sordid Lives: The Series, wrote and produced for Queer As Folk, Dharma & Greg and Ned & Stacey.
He has directed award-winning actors Octavia Spencer, Whoopi Goldberg, Olivia Newton-John, Beau Bridges, Delta Burke, Leslie Jordan, Bonnie Bedelia, Bobbie Eakes, Patrika Darbo, Rue McClanahan, Dale Dickey, Beth Grant and Caroline Rhea.
As a performer, he has performed hundreds of standup gigs, and in 2018 toured and filmed his critically acclaimed award-winning one-man play Six Characters In Search Of A Play directed and produced by Emerson Collins and produced by Mat Hayes.
Shores resides in Los Angeles and can be found at DelShores.com, facebook.com/delshoresofficial and @delshores on Twitter and Instagram.