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Meet Gary Scarpa

Gary Scarpa is an author and former theater director from Connecticut. He writes coming-of-age fiction and theater memoir, drawing on four decades of theatrical experience. His upcoming memoir, Lessons from the Stage, and his Gabriel DeMarco novel series explore themes of growth, creativity, and the transformative power of storytelling.

As an English major at Southern Connecticut State College in New Haven in the early 1970s, Gary dreamed of going on to graduate school in another state to pursue a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing. A commuter, he was looking for a big adventure that would take him away from his small hometown of Shelton, Connecticut. As the summer prior to his senior year approached, Gary even purchased a book that listed summer internship opportunities around the country, thinking he might begin with a somewhat smaller adventure before pursuing graduate school possibilities.

As an English major at Southern Connecticut State College in New Haven in the early 1970s, Gary dreamed of going on to graduate school in another state to pursue a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing. A commuter, he was looking for a big adventure that would take him away from his small hometown of Shelton, Connecticut. As the summer prior to his senior year approached, Gary even purchased a book that listed summer internship opportunities around the country, thinking he might begin with a somewhat smaller adventure before pursuing graduate school possibilities.

Around the time he was poring over those summer listings, a friend whom Gary knew only as Duke, a Vietnam War veteran who bore a closer resemblance to Jerry Garcia than to a soldier, suggested to him that he audition for a play in the college’s theater department. Having always been involved with singing and music, Gary followed Duke’s recommendation and auditioned for his first stage production.

He immediately fell in love with both the theater and a fellow cast member, and the rest is history. As fate would have it, Gary decided to marry that cast member and together Gary and his wife, Fran, embarked on their own joint big adventure, dedicating their lives to family, careers in education, and creating great local theater in their community.

The talented couple would go on to direct approximately two hundred productions during the course of a 43 year career. After directing the Shelton High School Drama Club for eight years, the couple founded the highly successful Youth CONNection Players in 1983, a summer theater company for high school and college students, and their life in the theater culminated when they founded Center Stage Theatre in 2005, building a small community theater into a thriving non- profit with a half million dollar budget. Along the way, Gary was recognized by Long Wharf Theatre as an Outstanding Theatre Educator as well as the Shelton Jaycees who named him Educator of the Year in the late 1980s. As a couple, Gary and Fran have been recognized for their service to the community, having received the Silver Seal Award from the Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Millennium Award, given by the City of Shelton. Additionally, they were recognized by the Lower Naugatuck Valley Boys and Girls Club with the Raymond P. Lavietes Service to Youth Award in 2009, and they were inaugural honorees, inducted into the Shelton High School Hall of Fame in 2017. Now retired from education and theater, Gary has realized his early goal of becoming an author. He has published two novels in his Gabriel DeMarco series and is preparing to launch Lessons from the Stage, a theater memoir, in Spring 2026.

Meet Gary Scarpa

Gary Scarpa is an author and former theater director from Connecticut. He writes coming-of-age fiction and theater memoir, drawing on four decades of theatrical experience. His upcoming memoir, Lessons from the Stage, and his Gabriel DeMarco novel series explore themes of growth, creativity, and the transformative power of storytelling.

As an English major at Southern Connecticut State College in New Haven in the early 1970s, Gary dreamed of going on to graduate school in another state to pursue a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing. A commuter, he was looking for a big adventure that would take him away from his small hometown of Shelton, Connecticut. As the summer prior to his senior year approached, Gary even purchased a book that listed summer internship opportunities around the country, thinking he might begin with a somewhat smaller adventure before pursuing graduate school possibilities.

As an English major at Southern Connecticut State College in New Haven in the early 1970s, Gary dreamed of going on to graduate school in another state to pursue a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing. A commuter, he was looking for a big adventure that would take him away from his small hometown of Shelton, Connecticut. As the summer prior to his senior year approached, Gary even purchased a book that listed summer internship opportunities around the country, thinking he might begin with a somewhat smaller adventure before pursuing graduate school possibilities.

Around the time he was poring over those summer listings, a friend whom Gary knew only as Duke, a Vietnam War veteran who bore a closer resemblance to Jerry Garcia than to a soldier, suggested to him that he audition for a play in the college’s theater department. Having always been involved with singing and music, Gary followed Duke’s recommendation and auditioned for his first stage production.

He immediately fell in love with both the theater and a fellow cast member, and the rest is history. As fate would have it, Gary decided to marry that cast member and together Gary and his wife, Fran, embarked on their own joint big adventure, dedicating their lives to family, careers in education, and creating great local theater in their community.

The talented couple would go on to direct approximately two hundred productions during the course of a 43 year career. After directing the Shelton High School Drama Club for eight years, the couple founded the highly successful Youth CONNection Players in 1983, a summer theater company for high school and college students, and their life in the theater culminated when they founded Center Stage Theatre in 2005, building a small community theater into a thriving non- profit with a half million dollar budget. Along the way, Gary was recognized by Long Wharf Theatre as an Outstanding Theatre Educator as well as the Shelton Jaycees who named him Educator of the Year in the late 1980s. As a couple, Gary and Fran have been recognized for their service to the community, having received the Silver Seal Award from the Valley Chamber of Commerce and the Millennium Award, given by the City of Shelton. Additionally, they were recognized by the Lower Naugatuck Valley Boys and Girls Club with the Raymond P. Lavietes Service to Youth Award in 2009, and they were inaugural honorees, inducted into the Shelton High School Hall of Fame in 2017. Now retired from education and theater, Gary has realized his early goal of becoming an author. He has published two novels in his Gabriel DeMarco series and is preparing to launch Lessons from the Stage, a theater memoir, in Spring 2026.

Meet Team Scarpa

Mia Scarpa

Editor

Mia first discovered her talent for editing when, as an undergraduate, she was a tutor in the Writing Center at Muhlenberg College in Allentown, Pennsylvania where she majored in Theatre. A former high school English teacher, Mia holds a Master of Arts in Teaching from Sacred Heart University as well as a Yoga teaching certification from the Kripalu Center for Yoga and Health in Stockbridge, Massachusetts. She currently resides in Manhattan where she is a professional actress and a member of Actors’ Equity Association and where she is in business as a writing tutor.

Francesca Scarpa

Literary Advisor

After a lifetime of storytelling in the theater, Fran’s experience interpreting dialogue and understanding what makes a story work made her the perfect literary advisor for Gary. A former theater director and co-founder of Center Stage Theatre, Fran brings decades of narrative expertise to every manuscript. When not advising Gary, Fran is enjoying retirement.

Gina Scarpa

Marketing Advisor

Gina holds a degree in Marketing from Post University, and she is the owner of Positive Voices Studio where she makes her living as a voice-over artist and the teacher of voice-over skills. Gina has contributed to Gary’s writing ventures by advising him on the use of social media and general marketing.

Mike Scarpa

Social Media Advisor

After serving as the model for the hitchhiker on the cover of Exit 14, Mike is taking a more active role by advising Gary on social media marketing for all of his books going forward.

What Happened to Exit 14?

I would like to thank the many people who supported me in my first writing venture by ordering and reading Exit 14. Writing it was a labor of love.

In August of 2020, I made the difficult but necessary decision to unpublish Exit 14, taking it off the market completely. The book was based, in part, on the real-life deaths of two siblings, Peter and Elizabeth Goumas, which took place more than 50 years ago. Of course, many novels are based, to some greater or lesser extent, on real people and real events.

When surviving members of the Goumas family reached out to me to express concerns after reading Exit 14, I sought the counsel of a publishing lawyer who advised me that First Amendment laws were completely on my side and instructed me not to communicate with the family. However, because of the sensitive nature of suicide and because I do not want my work to cause anyone pain, I chose to reconsider that advice.

I met with a member of the Goumas family, heard their concerns, and posted a statement on my website and social media committing to unpublish the book. I also apologized for any emotional pain my novel caused and donated $1,000 to a scholarship fund established by the Goumas family in memory of their brother Peter.

Readers should know that any copies of Exit 14 currently seen on Amazon are sold by third-party sellers, not by me-something I have absolutely no control over. Many thanks to the friends and readers who continue to support my writing.