All dough there’s a wacky host and a lot of baking in Arts Live Theatre’s “The Bake Off,” donut expect to see a Paul Hollywood handshake.

The story at the center of Na’Tosha DeVon’s latest original script comes from the heart, not the “The Great British Baking Show.” She’s never even seen the show!

“I wanted to do stuff that was fun for the kids, but also something that had a really deep meaning for myself,” DeVon says. “Food is such a thing that brings people together — regardless of culture, background, community — food is a link.”

Instead of researching Bake Off (as us dorky super fans call it), she cooked her family’s stories into the scenes for her second script for Arts Live Theatre in Fayetteville.

A playwright, director, actress and poet, DeVon wrote and directed “Happily Ever After,” then directed “Beauty and the Beast,” last year for Arts Live, where she’s been a teaching artist since 2018. She’s also acted at TheatreSquared (“The Royale,” “School Girls,” “Detroit 67”). With DAYVISION Films, she co-wrote/co-directed “All Units” and has starred in their productions. She’s also the author of “Ain’t I A Woman” (also a one-woman show) and “Quiet As It’s Kept,” and she recently completed a residency at Chateau Orquevaux in France.

Her latest script for Arts Live centers on a baking competition where competitors come together to help a fellow baker who doesn’t have anyone in their corner. She says at the play’s heart is family.

“My mother always shared the story of how she learned how to cook. And oddly enough, it wasn’t from her family; it was from my father’s side of the family,” DeVon says. “I always thought that was such a unique story, especially growing up realizing my mom was like the best cook on her side of the family and understanding that that was because my dad’s mom taught my mother how to cook.”

A lot of those personal elements are sprinkled throughout the show, she says.

“It was less research and more just building a show that I knew the kids were going to have fun with [and] having some nostalgic moments inside of the script that were a representation of my own family or the audience.”

De’Von lost her mother last year to Alzheimer’s disease and agrees expressing those stories in “The Bake Off” was cathartic and very sweet. Plus her pupils relished the opportunity to know her better.

“All the kids were super excited to learn that some of the characters were representations of my family, and they were just super happy to be able to play those parts,” she says.

She’s also been open to the stories the young actors bring to rehearsal.

“I know that they have their own take on things,” DeVon says, so she and the actors ultimately collaborated to realize the show’s characters.

“I think we came up with the best version of everyone,” she says of her cast of 16 actors, who range in age from 9 to 17 years old.

She also points out that Kaycee Marshall has been a great team player, serving as the assistant stage manager and helping with costumes and props.

DeVon also loves working the kids again. She describes the cast as fun and hardworking despite the recent setbacks caused by winter weather.

“I have so many return actors from ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and ‘Happily Ever After.’ It’s really exciting that the kids want to work with me again, and the parents continue to send their kids and trust me in my production. So that’s always really, really fun.”