She does most of her writing between 10 p.m. and 3 a.m. Then she catches about three or four hours of sleep and is seated at her computer by 6 a.m., transcribing melodies that have been bouncing around her head all night. She’s writing the opening scene for one play, composing songs for another and drafting an outline for yet another new play.

A corporate-sized copy machine occupies a large space in her modest apartment and some wild, colorful costumes are crammed into a tiny closet in her “office.” She spends most of the late morning and early afternoon hours on the phone recruiting potential actors, planning fund-raising events and scheduling acting workshops for the local high school drama clubs. In the early evenings, she welcomes a motley crew of kids, teenagers and adults for rehearsals, who usually all manage to get along and fit around her large dining room table.

Denita Bash Hoffman has far more energy than any other 70-year-old I know. Maybe that’s because she loves what she does. About six years ago, she started a nonprofit theater company called “Shoestring Productions.” Her goal was to give anyone who had ever thought about acting and/or experienced actors a chance to try something new.

Two years ago, I was one of those “wannabes” who had been thinking about acting, had never been in a play but wanted to experience it. I met Deni when I was interviewing her to do a story on Shoestring Productions. She ended up interviewing me. I soaked up her energy and enthusiasm like a sponge and knew I wanted to spend more time with her. Joining Shoestring Productions seemed to be the best way to do that, or rather, committing to a small supporting role in a play she was casting for at the time. I was smitten by Deni’s magnanimous spirit and infectious laughter.

Deni spends almost as much time listening as she does talking. You can talk to her about anything, cry on her shoulder or scream at her and she can take it. She’s a dynamite therapist, counselor, mediator, nurse, grandmother and mom. She takes care of her cast members as if they were her kids.

She’s one of the most unpretentious, humble people I know. She lives and runs Shoestring Productions out of her tiny north-side Des Moines apartment. I’m not sure what she lives on or exactly how much it is, but she’s always saying she’d rather spend her modest income on her business rather than herself.

She buys costumes, does a lot of publicity, and rents rehearsal and performance space. She doesn’t have an official location for performances but she’s determined to change that. She recruits family and friends to help her make and design props and sets. They pitch in because they believe in what she’s doing.

What Deni is doing is helping people laugh. She wants to provide an oasis of clean, “family-style” fun that anyone at any age can relate to.

Deni has done so many things — or played so many roles — in her own life that enable her to draw from her own experiences to generate new material. After high school graduation, she attended Julliard School for Performing Arts in New York, then aspiring to be a professional singer. She’s taught school, cleaned houses, been a political activist, had six children, raised four more as foster children and out-lived two husbands. She has been recognized by Gov. Tom Vilsack as one of Iowa’s leaders for supporting the arts and has won countless awards for her work in promoting the arts. Years ago she was offered a position to be on a scriptwriting team for a Hollywood producer, but turned it down because she had four small children to raise and wanted to stay in Iowa. Today she claims she still wouldn’t take any similar offers. She believes that her work is needed and more appreciated in Des Moines.

That’s gonna be me when I am in my late 60s: writing, composing, directing, singing and having the time of my life without having to worry about making a living. I want to strive to live as authentically as Deni does. She doesn’t complain about achy joints, failing vision, high blood pressure and all those things that are part of aging. She has health issues, but simply watches her diet and deals with them quietly.

I love theater as much as Deni does and seeing her in action gives me hope that you’re never “too old” to follow your dreams. Now that her kids have grown and she has no spousal responsibilities, she’s in her prime. Not that she regrets any of the choices she’s made up until this point. They’ve simply been stepping stones that have allowed her to be where she is today. My own list of creative aspirations includes writing at least one novel, publishing some poetry, songs and writing plays. But all in due time. What I’m doing now is merely a stepping stone to grander things.

Thank you Deni, for your inspiration.