Debbie Watts - Bettie
BETTIE is played by Debbie Watts. Debbie's musical theatre experience includes a season at Opryland, as well as the Belle Carol River Boat Company. Her acting credits include Mollie in Agatha Christire's "Mousetrap", Agnes in "I Do, I Do", and Neil Simon's "Star-Spangled Girl". She is a piano-vocalist at Loew's Vanderbilt Plaza. While working as a television writer-producer at TNN: The Nashville Network, Debbie became interested in the Rymans. She considers bringing Bettie to life as a "labor of love."
Debbie also will co-star with Tom Dolan in the upcoming musical play, "The Diaries of John and Lillie Spreckels". The play will be staged at the Spreckels Theatre in San Diego.
What's In My Stocking?
Nashville, TN. Four-time published author, playwright, entertainer, educator, and television writer-producer, Debbie Watts, releases book for Christmas season, 2016. What’s In My Stocking? “celebrates the child-like spirit in all of us,” Watts said in a recent interview.
The 14-page easy-read edition, die-cut into the shape of a Christmas stocking, and written in rhyming couplets, tells the true story of Watts’s most memorable Christmas as a child. “I had received the usual sumptuous array of toys underneath the Christmas tree, when I looked up at my stocking, almost as an afterthought. To my surprise and delight, the stocking began to wiggle. What I found in the stocking, is the surprise ending of the book, so I don’t want to spoil it,” she said.
What she was willing to disclose is that there is a pop-up on the inside back cover “We’re (Daisy Petal Press) hoping that the shape-book will grab the attention of children at Christmas time, and that the message that the simple gifts from the heart are the ones that create the most long-lasting memories.” The pop-up feature, making the book a toy item for the Christmas season, has inspired a line of greeting cards she is calling “Ani-Pops.”
Watts, who is a former educator, instructional coach and standards coach for the state of TN, is enjoying a second career as a playwright-actress in her own production of The Ryman Diaries, the multi-media musical stage play which tells the story of the building of Nashville’s iconic Ryman Auditorium.
A veteran entertainer in Nashville since her days as a singer and dancer at Opryland, USA, Watts continues to perform as a piano-vocalist in the Nashville area, as well as in San Diego, California. Among her repertoire are a collection of World War II-era songs that she performs with Big Bands in the area.
To book Debbie for a book-signing, or reader to groups of students, or as a piano-vocalist, contact us at: wattsd2@att.net. To read more about her plays and productions, go to: wattsd2.wix.com//rymandiaries.
Take a Musical "Sentimental Journey" To The 1940's
Veteran Nashville stage performer, and piano-vocalist of 100’s of American tunes, Debbie Watts presents a 1940’s musical revue for your reunion, military salute, or historical event.
Influenced in her childhood by listening to her parents’ 78 lp’s by Doris Day, The Andrews Sisters, and big bands led by Glenn Miller and Tommy Dorsey, Debbie re-creates the sounds and the moods of America during the definitive WWII years.
“I got the idea to do a 1940’s revue as a tribute to my dad, a lieutenant in the USMC. He was a handsome marine, and my mom sang USO tunes at military events. So, it was a natural for me, a veteran piano-vocalist and stage performer, having entertained at Opryland, and now in my own original stage production, The Ryman Diaries, to branch out and do something historical. The response has been phenomenal. My audience members jump out of their seats and hit the dance floor during my 1940’s set,” said Debbie in a recent interview.
In full costume as a USO pin-up girl, Debbie sets each selection in the time period and gives interesting background information on each song.
To book Debbie for your event, call 615-397-8259, or e-mail wattsd2@att.net.
As Ms. Sr. Nebraska, I will be representing that great state at the Ms. Sr. America pageant in Atlantic City in October. During my promotional tour of Nebraska, I will be featured in the Nebraskaland Days parade in North Platte.
Watch for news of our new play to premiere in North Platte. "Once Upon A Train" tells the story of those local heroes in North Platte who began greeting and feeding the soldiers as they made a train stop on their way to the west coast. So, hello, Nebraska!!
As a songwriter of stage tunes, I occasionally write traditional country music!
