RACHEL AUSTIN BRINGS GRIEF, GLITTER, AND ORIGINAL MUSIC TO HOLLYWOOD FRINGE WITH THE DO OVER
The Do Over
A Comedic Disco Reckoning with Loss, Love, and the Days We’d Do Differently
Los Angeles, CA — Hollywood Fringe Festival announces the world premiere of The Do Over, a 45-minute solo performance written and performed by Rachel Austin, directed by Shayne Eastin, with original songs co-written by musical improv darlings Philip Labes and Tony Gonzalez. The show runs for three performances only at the LGBT Center on McCadden (1625 N. McCadden Place, Los Angeles) as part of the 2026 Hollywood Fringe Festival.
The Do Over takes the day Austin’s mother died — a day that didn’t go as planned, a day that still stings — and transforms it into a comedic disco romp complete with original music, a magical set piece, and genuine heart. It’s a show about grief that refuses to be solemn about it. It dances instead.
“The day my mom died sucked,” says Austin. "She was sick for 18 years, and was gone in an instant; nothing went how we had planned. I spent a long time wishing I could do it over. So I did — onstage, in a sequined fever dream!”
The Do Over is Austin’s third solo show and her Los Angeles solo debut. A multi-hyphenate artist originally from Dallas, Texas, she spent over a decade crafting solo work and working in the Twin Cities theatre scene: performing, improvising, and making deeply personal pieces about caregiving, grief, transformation, and resilience. She arrives in LA at a remarkable moment: after a decades-long battle with low vision, her sight was miraculously corrected surgically at the end of 2024, and she is returning to the work she loves with fresh eyes — literally.
“I am thrilled to be able to work again,” says Austin, “and thrilled to be able to do it here, in my new hometown.”
The Do Over is funny, heartfelt, and deeply personal — a comedic reckoning with the losses we carry and the stories we tell ourselves about them. For anyone who has ever wanted to go back and get a day right, this show is your permission slip to laugh at the impossible.
Director Shayne Eastin says, “Rachel’s journey in this show is filled with joy, sorrow and a heaps of magic. From her writing to her performance, this is a show that shouldn’t be missed.”
PERFORMANCE DETAILS
Show: The Do Over
Performer/Creator: Rachel Austin
Venue: LGBT Center on McCadden — 1625 N. McCadden Place, Los Angeles, CA 90028
Running Time: 45 minutes
Festival: Hollywood Fringe Festival 2026
Performances:
Saturday, June 6 @ 1:30 PM
Friday, June 12 @ 5:00 PM
Sunday, June 21 @ 9:15 PM
Tickets: hollywoodfringe.org/projects/13967
Comp Code for Press and Images available upon request.
ABOUT RACHEL AUSTIN
Rachel Austin is a multi-hyphenate artist, performer, improviser, and theatre-maker originally from Dallas, Texas. She spent the last 15 years in the Twin Cities theatre scene working as an actor and arts educator, creating solo work about caregiving, grief, transformation, and resilience. The Do Over is her third solo show and her Hollywood Fringe debut. She most recently performed in Natural Selection at the Zephyr Theatre.
ABOUT SHAYNE EASTIN
Shayne Eastin is a director and theatre artist from California. Recent stage works include Natural Selection at the Zephyr Theatre, Hollywood Fringe 2025’s One Day It Will Happen To You at Theatre of NOTE and H7: A Hamlet Study at the Shakespeare Center of Los Angeles. When not working on stages, she spends her days creating premium media at Butcher Bird Studios in Los Angeles.
PRESS CONTACT
Rachel Austin
[email protected]
The Do Over is produced as part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival, an annual, open-access performing arts event held each June in the heart of Hollywood, California.
“Come for the disco. Stay for the feelings.”
