Text Box: “The premise is so quirky and irresistibly funny...this play’s clever sense of humor and lovable characters will make it a fun and memorable production.” Dawn Remsing, editor, Big Dog Plays

Text Box: “One of the funniest shows ever in the 30 plus years of S.T.A.G.E. Inc.!” — Zada Jahnsen, Corp.Mngr. S.T.A.G.E.,Inc. Bulverde, TX

Text Box: FASHIONABLY LATE — It’s a get-it-while-you-can attitude in the world of fashion and no one knows that better than the staff of New York City fashion designer, Wade Haywood. So what do Charmaine, Meredith, and Harry do when the boss fails to show up for work? Not what you think! There’s no time for loafing when opportunity is knocking at the agency door, especially when one stranger shows up with the disturbing announcement that she’s been hired as a replacement, followed by the appearance of another stranger with a big wallet and a penchant for over-sized models. Suddenly, what started out as an ordinary day, becomes an afternoon of high jinx as brains, beauty, and brawn mix it up in a cross-dressing masquerade designed to fool a fashion industry guru, an IRS agent, and a Texas oil millionaire. But, when the fooled wise-up to the foolish, good fortune quickly unravels at the seams, and catastrophe of hilarious proportion looms on the edge of the fashion runway. And when secrets collide with good intentions, everyone learns that being fashionably late is better than never being fashionable at all.

Text Box: “Playing Gafina Hambefferschmidt has been the highlight of my acting career. In my 40 years of theatre experience, I have played Dotty Otley in Noises Off and that was my dream role. But playing Gafina was the most fun I have EVER had on stage!” -- Nancy L. Rodenbeck, Sugar Creek Players, Crawfordsville, IN

Text Box: “The laughs kept rolling one after another, after another, after another. Fantastic show!” — Kipp Ochsner Overland Park, KS

Gary Ray Stapp

Aspiring Playwright, Amateur Actor, Patron of the Arts

Winner

Kansas Arts Commission

2007 Mini-fellowship

for

Playwriting

Gary Ray Stapp

311 W. 5th Ave.

Garnett, KS 66032

gary_ray_stapp@yahoo.com

PUBLISHERS

Heuer Publishing, LLC

Brooklyn Publishers

For play synopsis, character descriptions, customer comments, photos, script preview links, and additional information regarding each play, please click the play titles above or the play title buttons below.

Text Box: “Daddy’s Girl was fabulous and certainly the best play that we ever performed for our dinner theater productions. We received roars of laughter and eyes full of tears from our audience…” — Ann Trzinski, director, Wisconsin Rapids, WI

Eldridge Publishing Company

Raised in Satanta, Kansas, I landed my first “big role” in the high school production of “Flowers for Algernon”, and was bitten by the theatre bug. However, it would be 11 years later, after graduating from Emporia State University and moving my family to Garnett, Kansas, before I would hit the stage again. In 1991, I became a founding member of The Chamber Players Community Theatre. I have since participated in almost every production as either an actor, a director, or a behind-the-scenes guy. In 2003, I added playwright to my resume when my first playwriting endeavor, Love Thy Neighbor, was performed by the Chamber Players. I’m very fortunate to be a part of an amateur theatre troupe gifted with both the talent and the courage to birth my words and ideas on stage as living, breathing characters. My actor friends awe me, inspire me, and humble me, but above all they have motivated me to write the next one. The success I have enjoyed from my writing and the fun I have when I occasionally stumble around on stage would not be overly gratifying without my wife, Kim, and my children, Lacey and Taylor, to share it with. Thanks for the love and support.

Gary

!!! CONTEST WINNER !!!

“FASHIONABLY LATE”

was selected as the winner of

Cheshire Comedy’s

FUNNIEST PLAY ON EARTH 2008

Scripts and Licensing

now available from

Heuer Publishing, LLC

www.hitplays.com

Text Box: “I’ve been to the New Dinner Theatre in Kansas City, I’ve gone to Branson for years, I have seen shows all over the country, but this is my first time to Garnett, and this show (Fashionably Late) is the best show I’ve ever seen in my life!” — Donald Lockaby, Pomona, KS

Text Box: A CRITIQUE of MY WORK by BOB and MARY JO GEIGER “If you want to experience really enjoyable theater, plan to attend any of the plays written by Gary Ray Stapp. Audiences of any age, neophyte or veteran, sophisticated or plebian, discriminating or eclectic, critical or all-embracing, will find artistically satisfying results with Gary’s plays. His plots are intricate and defy transparency until the denouement presents the solution to the viewer. You may think you have the motives lined up, but then you find you have another think coming when one of your theories crashes. He keeps the story line moving at such an accelerated pace that the humor comes so fast one must listen very closely not to miss many of the gag lines. Some of his humor is so subtle that even the most erudite student of drama may miss the punctuation. Hilarious dialogue keeps the audience producing belly laugh after belly laugh throughout the development of two or more intrigues in each production. Stump the audience is his game. Gary skillfully delineates each character to complement the whole, and thereby maintains the web that draws the audience into the action and releases them only as the curtain nearly begins to fall. His characters are full-bodied, genuine, surprising, and memorable. One can see oneself often in the situations that unfold on stage, and anticipate the actions and reactions of the characters, only to be totally ambushed by what actually develops. Each of his characters plays an integral part in the movement of the plot, and keeps the audience in awe as then feint here and there to add another turn, another nuance to the unpredictable movement toward the unanticipated solution of the various conflicts. Gary’s stage business is direct, purposeful, and communicative, and his sets contribute visual elements essential to the interaction of his characters without the delivery of the plot having to depend entirely on them. All in all, Gary’s plays are well written, carefully crafted, challenging, humorous, and good theater.” — Bob & Mary Jo Geiger, Chanute, Kansas. *Bob and Mary Jo have been faithful supporters of The Chamber Players Community Theatre where they have enjoyed the presentations of my plays. Their generous compliments are not only in response to my writing, but are also in reaction to the talent of the Chamber Players’ actors who have brought my words to the stage. Bob and Mary Jo have a long history with the Chanute Community Theatre, having been directors of numerous plays and musicals. Their years of involvement and support of CCT prompted the theatre group to create an award in their honor. The Geiger Award is presented annually to a member of the CCT organization. Thank you, Bob and Mary Jo, and thanks to all of you who have taken the time to express your appreciation of my work. With humble and sincere gratitude, Gary.

“LOVE THY NEIGHBOR”

Stagecraft Stars

Wingate, IN August 6, 7 & 8 2010

Big Dog Publishing

Love Thy Neighbor

Daddy’s Girl

Family Ties and Little White Lies

Fashionably Late

The Ups ‘n Downs of Rollin’ Hills

The Trouble With Cats

It’s Not Ugly, It’s Art !

Stuck

The 4th Digit

Norman Maine Plays

Text Box: THE TROUBLE WITH CATS — An experienced house-sitting couple get more than they bargain for when a Minnesota homeowner intentionally double-books her lakefront domicile through HouseSitters.com in order to ensure she can get away from it all for an entire month. When the second house-sitting couple arrive, there is an immediate clash between generations. In one corner, there are the upper middle-class and socially-skilled Julians from New Jersey, and in the opposite corner, the anti-materialist and free-spirited vegans from North Carolina who have decided they don’t even need a last name. Personalities collide even further when the Bombays from next door add their own twist to being neighborly with either a constant barrage of trivial pursuits or an onslaught of candid crankiness. And if that weren’t enough for the Julians to deal with, they get another surprise…the uninhabitable master suite is in the midst of being actively remodeled by the Cheshires, a trio of sisters, two of whom are skilled laborers with personal problems of their own, and the other a chocoholic ditz. Without a head of household, there is little rest or relaxation for anyone…except for maybe the cat…if the house sitters could only find the elusive little creature.

Text Box: LOVE THY NEIGHBOR — Armed with an attitude and binoculars, homeowner Leona Crump is consumed with anxiety concerning her new neighbors. Obnoxious Gafina Hambeffer-schmidt, her hillbilly “Maw”, her love-struck boyfriend, Turner, and her “trampy” sister Bambi, unconscionably turn Leona’s neighborhood upside down. Outnumbered, but refusing to be outmatched, Leona sets aside her obsession with her prize-winning marigolds, suits up in fatigues, and irrationally resolves to “mop up” the new neighbors all by herself. However, a flock of pink flamingos drives her over the edge and lands her in the local jail. But victory may still ultimately be Leona’s—with the help of her weed-eater!

Text Box: “Our community has thoroughly enjoyed Gary Ray Stapp's plays. In fact, Daddy’s Girl and The Ups 'n Downs of Rollin’ Hills were the most well-attended and received out of ANY of the plays we've ever performed!” — Don M. King, director, Garrettsville, OH

Text Box: DADDY’S GIRL — Benard Muloovy, proprietor of Maudie’s Diner, is served a full plate of comic chaos when his deceased wife enlists a mischievous angel to help her reunite Benard with their daughter, Elizabeth. But suspiciously, two Elizabeths appear and suddenly Benard must decide which young woman is his real daughter. Contributing to his dilemma is a forgetful waitress, a yin-yang geriatric duo, and a motorcycle mama anxious to become the next Mrs. Muloovy. In a contest of laughter and tears, lines are drawn, sides are taken, and rules are broken, as one young lady reveals a secret and ultimately claims her paternity.

Text Box: THE UPS ‘N DOWNS OF ROLLIN’ HILLS — It’s no longer business as usual at the Rolling Hills City Hall because there is a new mayor in charge and it’s a woman! Mavis finds she has her hands full as the civic leader of her community and she vows to move Rolling Hills in a positive direction even if she has to push it along all by herself. But distractions abound as a trio of sisters, who are all candidates for a long vacation in a mental institution, and a trio of cousins, who live in a hole in the ground and are the male counterparts of the Abernathy sisters, bring their own problems to the city council. Toss in a dog-lovin’ redneck, a French Businessman, and a goofball spy, and the public meeting of the Rolling Hills city council heads south and the citizens find themselves unwittingly enrolled in a class of “self-improvement” taught by none other than the mayor herself. Then things go from bad to worse when a kidnapping takes place and the highbrow MacAllisters from Addison Heights show up to steal a major industrial project from the needy hands of the Rolling Hills community. But in the end, a surprise development makes one citizen an unimaginable hero.

Text Box: “This whacky comedy has twists and turns to delight any audience. Throw in a live-in mother-in-law, a nosy neighbor, a couple of mobsters and FBI agents, and TV execs begin to drool with envy!” — Pharos Tribune, Logansport, Indiana (Civic Players of Logansport)

Text Box: FAMILY TIES AND LITTLE WHITE LIES — Eddy is a struggling playwright and a dad in charge of taking care of the house, the kids, and the mother-in-law while his wife works at a fast-food restaurant. But, the house is a disaster, the triplets are out of control, and the mother-in-law has dementia. Toss in some FBI agents, an unlikely mobster duo, and an opinionated neighbor lady, and suddenly a romance blossoms amidst a dubious hostage situation. Luckily, there’s no shortage of rope or chaos as Eddy and family turn the tables on the bad guys and find themselves just laughs away from exposing a family secret.

Text Box: “We had a really wonderful audience and they LOVED Stuck! Many great laughs and fabulous feedback.” Judy Clause, director, Foolkiller Holidays, Kansas City, MO

CPCT Treasurer

Association of Kansas Theatres Treasurer

THE 4TH DIGIT

A mysterious blue box left behind on a park bench piques the curiosity of two women and its contents invoke a verbal game of cat and mouse. When a police officer happens by, declarations of ignorance and innocence are voiced, but one, or both, or perhaps all three are not who they appear to be.

“Since arriving with the thunderous debut Daddy’s Girl, Gary Ray Stapp has become a community theatre favorite.”

— AACT Spotlight, January/February 2010

“...masterful one-liners and amusingly quirky characters…” — Mary Johnson, The Baltimore Sun