Comedy with heart comes to the stage at the Chapin Theatre Company with the original play “Stilt Girl” written by Lou Clyde. The story gathers five uniquely different characters through an unlikely friendship. 

Two of the characters are breast cancer survivors bringing awareness to breast cancer this month. In fact, Clyde said there will be homemade breast cancer pins portraying the stilts and the pink ribbon for sale at the play. All proceeds will be donated to a local clinic.

 “We’ve also invited nurses to come to the rehearsal and wanted to make more than a play,” she said. “We want to spotlight the importance of the nurses and caretakers (for cancer survivors),” says Clyde.

“I wanted to do something totally different,” she added. “I’m originally from Buffalo (N.Y.) and decided I wanted something set in New York City. So it’s centered around two struggling actors in New York City.”

The play is taking place in Chapin Theatre’s new building, which was completed earlier this year. It’s the company’s third show in the building after operating as a mobile company, utilizing temporary locations, for years. “Stilt Girl” is rated PG-13 for a single curse word, Clyde said.

She described the main character, Izzy, as a “notoriously bad auditioner” who has a “tragic accident” at one of her many auditions.

“She has become an urban legend because of that,” Clyde said, explaining people need to see the play in order to understand where the name “Stilt Girl” originates from.

In the play, Izzy has been staying at a friend’s house on the couch and suddenly gets a text she’s being Izzy “gets talked into squatting at an Airbnb,” the playwright said.

Izzy rationalizes that because she’s cleaning the Airbnb it’s okay to temporarily stay there for the time being. As she’s cleaning the place, two women – the cancer survivors — come in who are renting the place.

“There’s a lot of stuff happening where she’s hiding, a lot of scrabbling. There’s a lot of heartfelt moments,” Clyde said. “You’re laughing one moment and crying the next.”

The five main characters all have pretty big parts, the writer added, and at some point an unlikely friendship forms. 

“Izzy is the main, title character in her early 20s and from Wisconsin. She decides to move to New York but she’s struggling,” says Clyde. “Stephon is her partner helping to clean the Airbnb’s. He’s rebranding himself and he’s pretty flamboyant.

“The two women from Atlanta (Tina and Debi) are cancer-free and bring their friend’s ashes from the oncology,” she continued. “Debi’s grandson (Max) is a sound engineer from Broadway and gives advice to be careful about people.”

Clyde added that the cast helped develop the character relationships during rehearsal.

She also explains that each actor resembles the character and fits them perfectly. For instance, Izzy played by Zanna Mills, is very comparable to Zooey Deschanel from the sitcom “New Girl.”

 “She dresses quirky and is like Zooey. That’s how she is in real life,” said Clyde. “Jacob, this is his first play but he’s done musicals before. He was recruited because he has the Max look.”