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 | | Gary Ray Stapp |
| |  Gary’s theatre experience began as a fifth grader when he was cast in the role of Rex Charming in the class play, “Cinderella Western Style.” He still remembers his first three lines: “Nope.”, “Nope.”, and “Yep.” He later appeared in high school and college productions, and then in 1991, as a new resident of Garnett, Kansas, he became a founding member of The Chamber Players Community Theatre and has since participated in almost every production as either actor, director, or a behind-the-scenes guy.
In 2003, he added playwright to his resume when his first playwriting endeavor was performed by the Chamber Players family for an audience which broke the group's previous attendance record by fifty-percent, requiring an unprecedented two-performance encore, and so becoming the most successful play the group had produced in its thirteen-year history. Both stunned and overwhelmed by the accolades, he recovered and discovered a true passion for playwriting, and pried open an unexpected window of opportunity to express his imagination and creativity. Each successive play he’s written that has been produced by the Chamber Players has continued to break the previous attendance record. His plays have been produced across America and in Canada and Europe.
As a big fan of the comedy genre, Gary strives to mesh the art of one-liners with a good balance of physical buffoonery to create story lines that are quirky, yet with a sense of normal, and populated with characters that are colorful and vivid. He diligently tries to weave a story that an audience from all walks of life can enjoy, and hopefully even laugh at in reflection a few days later.
In February 2007, he was named the Kansas Arts Commission’s 2007 Mini-fellowship winner for playwriting. In 2008, his play Fashionably Late was chosen as the winner of a national playwriting contest titled "The Funniest Play on Earth 2008." Currently, he is associated with several play publishing companies.
“A few years ago, I cracked open a fortune cookie and found this message: 'Ideas you believe are absurd, ultimately lead to success!’ So now, I have what may be an absurd goal of getting my work produced on a professional regional stage, not to mention my dream of seeing my art on Broadway. But who knows what ‘fortune’ awaits me...after all, it was just a note in a cookie! In the meantime, I’m having fun creating new stories and hatching new characters. I encourage the curious to open one of my scripts and cross the threshold into my whacky imagination." | |
| | | Visit Gary Ray Stapp's web page: http://www.garyraystapp.com/ | | | Plays by Gary Ray Stapp with Heuer Publishing: | | DADDY'S GIRL | | DECKING THE HALLS WITH BOUGHS OF FOLLY | | FASHIONABLY LATE | | LOST (AND FOUND) IN IKEA | | SAINT PETER'S ESCORT SERVICE | | TROUBLE WITH CATS | | UPS 'N' DOWNS OF ROLLIN' HILLS | |
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