Text Box:     Text Box:     Text Box: Text Box:     Text Box:     Text Box: Text Box: Text Box: Text Box: Text Box:     Text Box: Text Box:     Text Box: Text Box:     Text Box: Text Box:     Text Box: Text Box:     Text Box: 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.

Gary Ray Stapp
Text Box: Home

Playwright

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

— AACT Spotlight, January/February 2010
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: Fashionably Late Text Box: Love Thy Neighbor# 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: 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.

PUBLISHERS

 
Text Box: Heuer Publishing, LLC Text Box: Brooklyn Publishers Text Box: Eldridge Publishing Text Box: Big Dog Publishing

WINNER

 Kansas Arts Commission

2007 Mini-fellowship

for

Playwriting

 

CONTEST WINNER   

“FASHIONABLY LATE”

 selected as the winner of

Cheshire Comedy’s

FUNNIEST PLAY ON EARTH 2008

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.
Text Box: Introducing my newest full-length comedy … “APRONS” Text Box: Gary Ray Stapp 311 W. 5th Ave. Garnett, KS  66032   Email  gary_ray_stapp@yahoo.com Text Box: STUCK — (12 minute comedy, 1m 1w) A New Year’s Eve dinner for two turns into anything other than romantic when a piece of chicken gets stuck in the man’s teeth and a debate of etiquette versus comfort pits him against his wife. Text Box: The 4th Digit — (10 minute comedy/mystery, 2w, 1 flexible) 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. Text Box: IT’S NOT UGLY, IT’S ART! — Reginald Fitzgerald Broake, a Manhattan art dealer, throws his conscience under the bus when he seizes a rare opportunity to buy a lost Picasso from an unsuspecting heir for what amounts to pennies in terms of the painting’s apparent true value. With opportunity pounding at Reginald’s door, he’s quick to find a buyer. However, before Mrs. Agnes Alfred-Anjou can get to the gallery with her old-money purse, misfortune strikes when the painting is ruined as a result of an accidental romantic antic between Broake’s assistant, Abby, and the gallery security guard, Max. An immediate “cover-up” takes place, and while Max and Abby are caught in the middle, it becomes apparent to them that art, like love, is truly most appreciated by the eye of the beholder. Text Box: APRONS — The mistress of a Long Island estate is very rich, completely eccentric, and suspiciously homicidal and yet she regularly gets lost in her own home. So how has she managed to get away with murder? Lady Di has accomplices of course! Four of them to be exact: Adeline, Lydia, Angel, and Felicity, each uniformed in a white apron, armed with a feather duster, and humorously dangerous as they have chosen to protect their employer from the police in order to perpetuate their very generous incomes. But when the body count takes a sudden jump, the camaraderie of the maids begins to unravel into comedic chaos as they struggle to sweep the bodies under the rug and hidden from both an attorney and from an off-duty homicide detective who happens to be married to one of them. And when confession leads to arrest, the women learn the valuable lesson that crime doesn’t pay…or does it? Text Box: “ Just had to drop a note to say that we thoroughly enjoyed doing this play (The Trouble With Cats) . We did "Love Thy Neighbor" last year and it was equally well received. As the director, I had many chuckles (and sometimes tears of laughter) from the first read through-absolutely love your sense of humour as well as the numerous unexpected "surprises" interwoven within your scripts. Have my eye on "Daddy's Girl" next year. Thank You for such great entertainment! Keep writing!” Mary McIntosh, Plenty & District Community Players, Plenty, Saskatchewan, Canada Text Box: “...masterful one-liners and amusingly quirky characters…” — Mary Johnson, The Baltimore Sun Text Box: Trouble With Cats Text Box: Daddy’s Girl Text Box: Ups ‘n Downs of Rollin’ HIlls Text Box: Family Ties & Little White Lies Text Box: Stuck Text Box: The 4th Digit Text Box: It’s Not Ugly, It’s Art Text Box: Aprons Text Box: "Your work has so much substance between the lines that we find new ideas to explore every day. I have always been a fan of producing lesser known plays in place of the old standards. We have enjoyed not only the unprecedented audience response, but also the enjoyment in producing “Love Thy Neighbor” and “Daddy’s Girl” . After seeing a production of plays such as yours that require the actors to create new characters instead of portraying what they have seen over and over again, our audiences are enthralled with the what we do and are amazed that such brilliant works are not better known." -- Don Johanneck, Drama Advisor, ISD 630, Red Lake Falls, MN Text Box: My Actor Page

“The laughs kept rolling one after another, after another, after another. Fantastic show!”

— Kipp Ochsner

Overland Park, KS

“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

“Playing Gafina Hambefferschmidt has been the highlight of my acting career. In my 40 years of theatre experience, I have played Doty 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

“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 have ever performed!”

 — Don King, director

Garrettsville, OH

“This whacky comedy has twists and turns to delight any audience.  Throw in a live-in mother-in-law, a nosey neighbor, a couple of mobsters and FBI agents, and TV execs begin to drool with envy!”

— Pharos Tribune, Logansport, IN

(Civic Players of Logansport)

“We had a really wonderful audience and they LOVED Stuck!  Many great laughs and fabulous feedback.”

— Judy Clause, director,

Foolkiller Holidays

Kansas City, MO

“Never have we ever had so much fun doing a play, and our audiences enjoyed it with equal enthusiasm!”

 — Owen Lyons,

Rice Memorial High School Drama Club

South Burlington, VT

“False advertising! The show was not a ‘laugh your @$$ off’ comedy, it was a ‘laugh until you pee your pants’ comedy!”

— Alyssa Sobba, Garnett, KS

“Daddy’s Girl was fabulous and certainly the best play that we have ever performed for our dinner theatre patrons.  We received roars of laughter and eyes full of tears from our audience … “ 

— Ann Trzinski, director

Wisconsin Rapids, WI
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!

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.