Cary Pepper is a playwright, novelist, and screenwriter. His plays have been presented throughout the United States
and internationally.
Among his one-act plays, Small Things won the Robert R. Lehan Playwriting Award and the Tennessee Williams/New Orleans
Literary Festival 2006 One Act Play Contest, and has been airing on National Public Radio as part of the Playing on Air series.
Stealing Melissa won the Doc Jim Martin Playwright Competition, and The Walrus Said won the Religious Arts Guild Playwriting Competition and Party Favors won the 2016 Goshen Peace Play Contest.
Among his full-length plays, How It Works was given a staged reading at the Abingdon Theatre in New York City,
was a Finalist at Dayton Playhouse’s FutureFest 2010, and won the 2012 Ashland New Plays Festival.
Cufflinked was a semifinalist in the 2014 Ashland New Plays Festival; And Jonah Rose Up was a semifinalist
in the Dorothy Silver Playwriting Competition; The Maltese Frenchman was a Finalist for the National Play Award.
He was nominated for the 2010 David and Lynn Angell Humanitas Comedy Fellowship, and is a four-time contributor to
Applause Books’ Best American Short Plays series (Small Things; House of the Holy Moment; Come Again, Another Day; Irish Stew).
His work also appears in Audition Monologues for Student Actors II (Meriwether Publishing); Scenes and Monologs from the
Best New International Plays (Meriwether Publishing); The Best Monologues from the Best American Short Plays - Volume Two
(Applause Books); and The Best Monologues from the Best American Short Plays - Volume Three (Applause Books).
Most recently, Death Does Larry became his second production by Drip Action Theatre Trail in their Arundel Festival (UK) presentation;
Crossed was named a winner in Drury University's 2019 One-Act Play Competition; and What Do They Want? made Cary the first
(and to date only) playwright to be included in The St. Louis Actors’ Studio’s LaBute New Theater Festival three times.
Cary is a member of the Dramatists Guild, a founding member of the San Francisco Bay Area playwrights group ThroughLine,
and a member of the Marin Playwrights’ Lab.
Now available as an e-book: REEL LIFE CRIME
A new take on The Maltese Falcon that mirrors the plot of Dashiell Hammett’s novel and John Huston’s film,
while being an original mystery in its own right, a tongue-in-cheek hard-boiled detective story,
an affectionate tribute to the noir genre, and a commentary on how much movies impact our culture
and our everyday lives.
Read an excerpt.
Buy or sample at smashwords.com
Available on Kindle
Available on Nook
Available on Amazon UK
Available on Amazon DE
Available on Amazon FR
Small Things is airing on Public Radio stations across the country as part of the Playing On Air series.
Listen here any time.
The Answer was published by One Act Play Depot under the title 0 To 60: Longwood University Ten-Minute Play Festival 2012 - Volume 1.
Anything Can Happen (10-minute version) was published by One Act Play Depot.
Two monologues from Small Things were published in Best Monologues from Best American Short Plays, Volume Two by Applause Theatrebooks.
Irish Stew (full version) was published in Best American Short Plays 2013 - 2014.
Applause Theatre & Cinema Books, New York, NY.
A scene from Come Again, Another Day was published in DUO: Best Scenes for Mature Actors.
Applause Theatre & Cinema Books.
Two monologues from Come Again, Another Day were published in Best Monologues from Best American Short Plays, Volume Three. Applause Theatrebooks.
"Out in the Cold," a monologue from Bob The Cop Case #7, was published in The Best Mens Monologues of 2019.
Smith and Kraus, 2019.
Irish Stew (10-minute version) was published by One Act Play Depot under the title Mental Jujitsu.
Crossed was named a Winner in Drury University's One-Act Playwriting Competition.
The Voice of the People was published in The Best New Ten-Minute Plays 2019 from Applause Books.
Applause Theatre and Cinema Books.
What Do They Want? was part of The St. Louis Actors’ Studio's LaBute New Theater Festival.
St. Louis, MO.
A Great Day for Democracy was awarded second place in the 2022 Marion Thauer Brown Audio Drama Scriptwriting Competition.
From the Hoot won the Playwrights First Best New Play Award, placing first among 750 scripts.
New York City.
What Do They Want? was presented as part of the 2023 Newmarket International Festival of One Act Plays.
Ontario, Canada.
The Turn-Around was voted Audience Favorite in Break A Leg Productions' 2023 One Act Slam.
New York City.
Living on the Edge was presented as part of Short + Sweet Dubai.
Bruno Saw the Doctor was presented as part of Short + Sweet Sydney.
Bruno Saw the Doctor was presented as part of Short + Sweet Hollywood.
Build A Wall was presented by Actors Theatre Playhouse as part of their 2024 10 Minute Play Festival.
West Chesterfield, NH.
House of the Holy Moment was presented as part of the 2024 Newmarket International Festival of One Act Plays.
Ontario, Canada.
Dust To Dust won the Panel Award at Eclectic Full Contact Theatre's 2024 Crashbox! Festival.