Center Stage Theatre

When people in Shelton and the Lower Naugatuck Valley think of theater, they think of Gary and Francesca Scarpa. The couple met in 1973 when they were dancing partners in a college production at Southern Connecticut State College. They began their directing career with a production of The Music Man with the Shelton High School Drama Club in 1976 when Gary was a young English teacher and Francesca was a senior in college.

In the ensuing years, the couple have devoted themselves to theatre education and to providing high quality, affordable theatre to the citizens of their community.

Gary and Francesca have directed and produced over 100 productions in their 35 year career. Besides directing at Center Stage Theatre, Gary and Francesca founded the highly acclaimed Youth CONNection in 1983, a theatre group for high school and college students, and they have directed productions for the Shelton High School Drama Club, the Sacred Heart Academy Drama Club, the Shubert Theatre Summer Academy for the Performing Arts, the Orange Players, the Amity High School Drama Club, the Quinnipiac University Theatre Department, and the Connecticut Experimental Theatre.

The Scarpas have had a profound impact on literally thousands of young people whom they have directed over the course of three and a half decades. In the process, they have devoted their lives to using their theatrical talent to serve the community of Shelton and the Lower Naugatuck Valley.

As a couple, they 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. Francesca Scarpa has been honored as Woman of the Year by the American Committee on Italian Migration. Gary Scarpa has been recognized by Long Wharf Theatre as Outstanding Theatre Educator as well as the Shelton Jaycees who named him Educator of the Year in 1989. In 2010, the Scarpas were recognized by the Boys and Girls Club of the Lower Naugatuck Valley, which present Gary and Francesca with the prestigious Raymond P. Lavietes Service to Youth Award.

Gary and Fran performing in various Center Stage Productions