NHCC Department of Theater // Spring 2026 Theater Production
HIR - pronounced like the word "here"
After a dishonorable discharge from the Marines for drug-related offenses, 20-something Isaac returns home from serving in Afghanistan, expecting to confront his abusive father, protect his mother and sister, and relax into his old bedroom. But Isaac’s return is upended when he walks into the domestic revolution now at hand in his family’s modest suburban home.
Isaac’s abusive father Arnold once ruled the family with an iron fist, but after a debilitating stroke, he’s become a childlike creature. Meanwhile Isaac’s mother Paige, liberated from her domestic abuse, gleefully casts off domestic upkeep and feeds Arnold milkshakes laced with estrogen to ensure his passivity and also mete out a dose of retribution. Isaac’s 17-year-old little sister Max, has begun to transition their gender (adopting the gender-neutral pronouns “ze” and “hir”) and dreams of one day moving to a “radical Faerie commune” where nonjudgmental acceptance awaits. Paige supports Max's transition with exuberant affirmation. Paige welcomes Isaac home with eager, if not open, arms to the family’s post-Arnold “new order.”
Isaac is unable to cope with the mind-boggling changes he finds at home. Scarred by PTSD from his time serving in Afghanistan, he is desperate to exert control and rebuild something resembling the life he knew—even if it means reinstating Arnold's patriarchal power. There are no easy answers for the family.
When waning male privilege and PTSD collide with clown makeup and radical Faerie commune dreams, the result is an explosive, trailblazing, disarmingly funny 21st century comedy, where annihilating the past doesn’t always mean it frees you from it.
CREATIVE TEAM
- Douglas Cox
- Brennan Hafermann
- Lily Kleinschmit
- Mxy Zafinandro
DIRECTED BY DR. IRMA MAYORGA, THEATER FACULTY
STAGE MANAGER - ROBIN PATTERSON, NHCC STUDENT
SCENIC & LIGHTING DESIGN + TECHNICAL DIRECTION - LISA KUDAS, THEATER FACULTY
SOUND DESIGNER - TOM SHERMAN, GUEST ARTIST
PERFORMANCE DATES
APRIL 15, 16, 17* & 18 @ 7:30PM
*ASL interpreted performance
LOCATION: NHCC Black Box Theater, located in the NHCC Campus Center, 2nd Floor
The Black Box Theater is a small performance space and seating will be limited. Reservations strongly encouraged to ensure seating at each performance.
Tickets // Reservations
Content Advisory
Strong, coarse language. Detailed, dynamic discussions about gender identity, gender expression, sexuality, and sexual desire. Frank and blunt discussions concerning child and domestic abuse. References to sexual assault. Derogatory language concerning women, queer identity, gender-fluid identity, and BIPOC peoples. Brief enactments of physical violence. Graphic descriptions of illicit drug use. Discussions concerning dying by suicide.
Not recommended for youth under 14 years of age unless accompanied by an adult.
Because of the small, intimate size of the Black Box Theater, attendance with children under the age of 5 years old may prove challenging in terms of their comfort needs & the physical space.
MAKE A TICKET RESERVATION
You will be redirected to our MicroSoft Forms ticket reservation system.
- $10 Suggested Admission | General Public and NHCC Faculty & Staff. $10 is a suggestion only: all guests are warmly welcome and encouraged to pay what you can. Reservations strongly encouraged.
- No payment of any kind is required to make your ticket RESERVATIONS! Suggested admission is collected on the day of attendance at our theater Box Office. Cash appreciated and credit/debit cards also accepted.
- Please know: all are welcome to attend this performance for FREE. Suggested admission is not required. No one will be turned away.
- On-site Box Office opens approximately 30 minutes before each performance. The Box Office will be located by the main door of the Black Box Theater, which is located on the 2ND Floor of the NHCC Campus Center. An elevator to the Campus Center's 2ND Floor is available for use by all guests.
- All suggested admissions collected for NHCC Dept. of Theater productions are used exclusively to help to sustain the Dept. of Theater’s creative work with NHCC students.
- General admission seating upon arrival.
Please plan to arrive early to the performance in order to check-in and find your seating. Arrivals after the performance has begun will be seated in the theater at the discretion of house managers.
Information
- Masks are not required on the NHCC campus and also not required for audience members to attend this performance.
- All persons who need or require the protection that masks provide for medical conditions are encouraged to wear masks during their attendance.
WHEN TO STAY HOME // KEEPING AUDIENCE MEMBERS SAFE
- If you or someone in your party is experiencing COVID-19, RSV, flu, or cold symptoms (such as fever, sore throat, chills, coughing, shortness of breath, congestion, or nausea), we strongly encourage you to stay home for your own safety as well as for the safety and protection of everyone attending the performance.
- The Black Box Theater is a SMALL SPACE. Respectfully, if you are experiencing consistent coughing or a runny nose & sneezing on the date of your selected attendance to this performance, we strongly encourage you to stay home as in this small space a consistent cough or sniffling will disturb the performance (both student actors on stage & audience members). Respectfully, we ask that you consider NOT attending with either of these conditions.
This play will be performed in the NHCC Black Box theater, which is located on the 2ND Floor of NHCC's Campus Center.
- The NHCC Campus Center is a stand-alone building located in the direct center of campus.
- The nearest & easiest parking for the Campus Center is the NHCC WEST PARKING LOT, a large surface lot located at the intersection of 84th Ave. N. and W. Broadway in Brooklyn Park, MN. Using this address in GPS will ensure your arrival at the campus' WEST Parking Lot. The West Parking Lot is located directly in front of the NHCC Health & Wellness Center building.
- The Campus Center can be reached via a very short walk from the NHCC West Parking Lot. Proceed forward from the West Parking Lot (to the left of the Health & Wellness Center building) and follow the sidewalk path to the stand-alone building in the direct center of campus.
- When arriving to the Campus Center look for large, silver metal numbers - 35 or 36 - placed directly by the building's outside doors. Enter at either of these numbered doors and proceed by stairs or elevator to the 2ND Floor where the lobby area to the Black Box Theater is located.
- Parking on campus is free for all visitors.
EAST CAMPUS ENTRANCE & PARKING
- NOTE: If you enter campus at the East Campus Entrance (located on 84th Ave. N.), you will arrive at the NHCC EAST PARKING LOT.
- Park near the Center for Technology & Business building. Directional signs are posted in front of each campus building.
- Proceed from the EAST Parking Lot directly through the interior of the Center for Technology & Business building and exit on the side opposite the East Parking Lot.
- Once exiting, the Campus Center building will stand directly in front of you. Look for exterior door numbers 35 or 36 posted on the Campus Center building and enter at either of these doors.
- All campus buildings remain open until 10PM. To return to the EAST Parking Lot, proceed back through the interior of the Center for Technology & Business building.
On the day of each performance, the physical Box Office will be located on the 2ND Floor of the NHCC Campus Center, in front of the main door to the Black Box Theater.
- The Box Office will open approximately 20 minutes before each performance.
- Please check-in at the Box Office to obtain your FREE ticket/s or to check-in for an online reservation.
- NHCC Students: please bring your NHCC I.D.!
- Audience members will be seated approximately 10 minutes before each performance. General Admission seating.
We kindly request on time arrivals for this production's scheduled start time of 7:30PM. On-time arrivals are very beneficial & helpful for the sake of our student actors in the play and all audience members also in attendance.
- Late arrivals will be seated in the theater at the discretion of house managers when an appropriate moment for seating is available during the performance.
This performance consists of two acts with one 12-minute intermission. The total run time for the performance (including intermission break) will be approximately 110 minutes.
Guests with mobility needs are warmly encouraged to plan their visit and accommodations with us before they arrive to the performance venue. Also, on the night of each performance, patrons can coordinate accessible seating needs with house managers, who will be located in our lobby / Box Office area before each performance.
The NHCC Campus Center building is equipped with an elevator for access to the 2ND Floor. The elevator is located on the building's south side, on the 1ST Floor, and directly next to the Campus Center's restaurant, Brisbane's Revenge. Please use Campus Center exterior door #36 to enter at the nearest location by the elevator.
Inside the Black Box Theater, select seating areas will be reserved for patrons with wheelchairs. Please check-in with house management (located in the lobby) so that we can guide you to accessible seating areas.
Entrances to the Campus Center building are outfitted with ADA door openers. Restrooms are located directly adjacent to the Black Box Theater lobby on the 2ND Floor of the Campus Center and also feature ADA compliant stalls.
For more information or questions, please contact:
ASL interpretation will be provided for the April 17th performance. Please contact irma.mayorga@nhcc.edu for further information or assistance.
Please check-in with our Box Office when you arrive. We will help to seat you in the seating area near the location of ASL interpreters in the theater.
If you have questions concerning attendance to or information about this performance, please reach out to us!
Please contact:
Dr. Irma Mayorga, NHCC Theater Faculty