Mary Dimino to Direct TOSSED SALAD at Players Theatre

A playwright walks into a bar...Playwright Fred Rohan-Vargas, scouting talent for his new comedy Tossed Salad, was in the audience when comedian Mary Dimino performed her stand-up routine. He knew immediately he found his director.

"Mary Dimino has that instinctive comedic timing I am looking for. She is naturally funny, both on and off stage. Her charisma was energizing and I thought wow, she is something special."

The two have paired to bring the new comedy short Tossed Salad, written by Rohan-Vargas, directed by Dimino, to The Players Theatre in the Short Plays & Musical Festival. Tossed Salad, a short about the diversity of New Yorkers, was selected as one of 16 shorts that will be presented in the 2016 Short Plays & Musical Festival at The Players Theatre.

Playwright Fred Rohan-Vargas is author of several full lengths and one acts that have been produced nationally and abroad. He holds an MFA in dramatic writing from New York University. His plays have been published by The Riant Theatre (Anything But Black) and JAC Publishing (Crystal). He is founder of Mixing It Up Productions. Fred has served on the panel for Queens Council on the Arts and on the panel of judges for the Daytime Emmy Awards (sponsored by The National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences).

Director Mary Dimino has become a strong voice in the New York solo show scene. Mary Dimino is a MAC Award winner for Outstanding Female Comedian and a Gracie Allen Award winning actress. Her one-woman show Scared Skinny won the Overall Excellence Award for Outstanding Solo Show in The New York International Fringe Festival. Dimino's follow up solo show

Big Dummy won the United Solo Award of Theatre

Row for First Sold Out Show. Scared Skinny has been running successfully for the last two years at the Corner Office Theatre in Times Square Arts Center. Big Dummy plays regularly in colleges and theaters nationwide, coming off a recent run at the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble in PA.

On TV, you can see Mary Dimino's familiar face often as the new spokesperson for Life Reimagined, starring in both the national network and print ad campaigns. Mary Dimino's TV appearances include NBC's Today Show, FOX, PBS, HBO's Chris Rock Show, VH-1's Best Week Ever, Comedy Central's Graham Norton Effect, NY-1, American Movie Classics Movie Moments, sketches on Late Shows with David Letterman and Conan O'Brien, and numerous national commercials. On stage she has played the Maid of Honor in Tony & Tina's Wedding, Carmella in Surprise, and Vidalia in the off-Broadway hit My Big Gay Italian Funeral at St. Luke's Theater. She is a regular member of the nationally touring stand-up comedy troupe The Italian Chicks.

The assorted cast of Tossed Salad includes veteran actor Duane Scott (Anything But Black, Well Preserved), Stephanie Curtiss (comedian and fashion model, Red Angels), Janaki Gerard (conservatory trained actor, singer and dancer, Sisters Keeper), Geovanni Cedeno (Ballroom Entry, Tribeca Film Festival), Allison Hohman (Stage Manager, Broadway Merchandising Inc.)

The Short Plays & Musical Festival is running now through June 26st at the Players Theatre on the 3rd floor Sgouros Theatre located at 115 MacDougal Street in the West Village. Performance dates for Tossed Salad are Thursday June 23 at 7pm, Friday June 24 at 7pm, Saturday June 25 at 7pm and Sunday June 26 at 3pm. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased online.

For tickets visit www.shortplaynyc.com or at box office.