ELEPHANTS AND OTHER WORLDLY DILEMMAS to Play FringeNYC

The New York International Fringe Festival is pleased to present ELEPHANTS AND OTHER WORLDLY DILEMMAS, a new comedy written by Dina Laura, directed by Peter Zachari and starring Dina Laura, John Olson and Matt Stapleton, at the 19th annual New York International Fringe Festival. Performances run Saturday, August 15 @ 4:30 pm, Thursday, August 20 @ 8:45 pm, Saturday, August 22 @ noon, Wednesday, August 26 @ 7 pm and Saturday, August 29 @ 7 pm at The Steve & Marie Sgouros Theatre, located at 115 MacDougal Street, 3rd floor (West 3rd and Bleecker; subways: 1 to Christopher Street or A, B, C, D, E, F, M to West 4th Street). Tickets will be available online at www.fringenyc.org from July 17.

Sometimes it takes an elephant in the room to show you what you believe in. ELEPHANTS AND OTHER WORLDLY DILEMMAS, a new play by Dina Laura, is a comedy about faith and how it affects the decisions we make. Martha is a devout receptionist who can't make decisions without a sign. Seth is Martha's superhero-scientist-coworker who challenges her to leap, whether there's a sign or not. There's also Sal, a computer nerd in charge of other people's technology, but lost in his own life, until one night he stumbles into Crystal, a devilish bartender who's always in charge. When Fred, a mysterious temp, comes along to be there when people need him the most, we see that Fred might just need the most help of all. Join this motley crew on a mystical ride and discover that sometimes all you need is a little faith and a dead elephant. For more information, please visit: www.theelephantplay.com

The cast features Dina Laura as Martha/Crystal, John Olson as Seth/Sal and Matt Stapleton as Fred. John Olson, also a playwright, co-wrote the play Wonderful with Craig Ricks, a Broadway veteran of Cats and Carousel. A reading of their show occurred this past February at the Snapple Theater Center in NYC and starred Judith Light and Carla Gugino.

Dina Laura (Martha/Crystal/Playwright)is thrilled to be debuting her latest play at the 2015 NY International Fringe Festival! She has performed in productions including You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown, City of Angels and School House Rock Live!and also originated roles in shows including Eighty-Three Years, Jacob and Sarah, Somewhere in Texas and This Esther. Dina co-wrote her first full-length play, on the rocks, with Mina Radhakrishnan. The play won the "Best Audience" award at the 2008 Downtown Urban Theater Festival at the Cherry Lane Studio Theater, and subsequently premiered on the West Coast at Studio250 @ Off-Market Theaters in San Francisco. Other plays written by Dina include Alternate Side Street Parking (HERE Arts Center, 2009 Downtown Urban Theater Festival), and Making Moves (Theater for the New City, 2010 Downtown Urban Theater Festival). Her latest play, Elephants and Other Worldly Dilemmas,was one of the 2012 top ten finalists in the Stage Play category of the 81st Annual Writer's Digest Writing Competition. For more information, please visit dinalaura.com.

John Olson(Seth/Sal) is an emerging international actor and writer, best known for his new play Wonderful, co-written by Broadway veteran Craig Ricks. Wonderful earned considerable enthusiasm and support from a recent reading, starring Judith Light and Carla Gugino at New York's Snapple Theater - and producers look forward to a Broadway opening, 2016-2017. John was honored by Indiana University Theatre in 2006 with the Faculty Memorial Award; is a loyal member of the Dramatist Guild of America; and a proud alumnus of New York's premier acting conservatory, the William Esper Studio. He is also a well-known television personality in Sweden, featured prominently on Season 4 of SVT's hit series Allt för Sverige; is currently assisting various network affiliates (AMC and elsewhere) in developing a number of new serial dramas; and is working closely with HC Productions on independent feature film Kitsch, in which he will co-star.

Matt Stapleton (Fred) has performed with a number of companies around the Northeast, including Phoenix Theatre Ensemble, Emerging Artists, Berkshire Theatre Festival, the New York State Theatre Insitute, and Shakespeare on the Sound. Graduate of Sarah Lawrence College. Founding member of Triumvirate Productions. For more information, visit matt-stapleton.com.

Peter Zachari (Director) wrote and directed The 3rd Gender and Parker & Dizzy's Fabulous Journey to the End of the Rainbow for the New York International Fringe Festival, the latter returning for the Fringe Encores Series. At Theater for the New City he most recently wrote and directed Under the Knife: A Farce , as well asFat Asses: The Musical and the remount of Parker and Dizzy. Other directing credits include Into the Woods, Footloose, Rumors, Grease, West Side Story, They're Playing Our Song, Return to the Forbidden Planet and Moon Over Buffalo. For several years Mr. Zachari taught Acting and Directing for the Department of Theatre at Salem State University. He received his M.F.A. from the University of Florida and his B.F.A. from Salem State University. Twitter: @zachatack