Thea Deley
Email: thea@grownbypeople.com
Website: www.JesusLovesYouShow.com
Phone: (970) 260-7292
Thea Deley is a Humanist writer/performer based in western Colorado. She currently tours her solo comedy show, “Jesus Loves You! (But Hates Me),” which explores her religious childhood and journey from believer to blasphemer.
By sharing—and laughing at—her own story, Thea replaces the fear and superstition of her upbringing with her new religion: love and personal responsibility. Her performances offer others the chance to do the same. Says audience member Felicia Crabb, “Thank you for giving a funny, compassionate, and honest voice to what a lot of us have experienced.”
Thea studied improv comedy at Second City in Hollywood, and performs improv, stand-up, sketch and musical comedy. She also writes and directs spoof videos, and her short “SonShades” won “Best Comedy” at the 2012 Paonia Film Festival. Thea taught improv and journaling workshops at AmeriCorps conferences around California, and especially loves working with college-aged populations. She’ll be performing at the American Atheists’ 2014 national conference, and is the only female comedian on the Secular Student Alliance’s Speakers Bureau. She has been featured in Aspen Times, Denver’s Westword, Freedom from Religion Foundation’s “Freethought Today,” Metro State University’s student newspaper, KDNK, KVNF, and other media outlets.
Speaking Interests:
In addition to performing her comedy show, Thea offers the following stand-alone or companion workshops and talks:
- The Humanist Challenge: Holding Religion Accountable while Seeing the Humanity of its Followers
- Sex & Gender: What’s Religion Got to Do with It?
- Has Leaving Your Faith Left You Feeling Adrift? Finding Purpose and Meaning without God
- Collaborating with Progressive Christians around Our Shared Humanist Values
- Using Art to Popularize Humanism
It also works well to have Thea perform her show and then invite the audience to share their own experiences with religion during facilitated group discussions. Thea can help you find facilitators and provide a list of questions to spark conversation.
Videos:
Thea Deley speaks at the AHA’s 77th Annual Conference in Las Vegas May 2018:
Honorarium terms:
- travel/lodging expenses + $100
- (negotiable – please don’t hesitate to contact Thea to explore options that work best for your chapter)