THE VILLAGE CIDIOT Comes to The New York Fringe Festival

Lauren Letellier will present The Village Cidiot, written and performed by Lauren Letellier and directed by Martha Wollner. The production will be presented as part of the 2026 New York City Fringe Festival with FRIGID New York at the Chain Theatre Studio (312 W 36th St. 4th floor, New York, NY 10018) with performances on Sat April 11 at 5:35pm, Mon April 13 at 6:15pm, Tue April 14 at 6:15pm, Thu April 16 at 6:15pm & Sun April 19 at 3:55pm.  

In The Village Cidiot a dyed-in-the-wool Manhattanite loses her big corporate job and moves, reluctantly, to a tiny upstate town where there’s no Chinese take-out, no dry cleaner, and the nearest Starbucks is an hour away. Will her city skills be any match for rural reality, or will marauding bears, a bad septic, and hostile locals finish her off first? A heartfelt journey about navigating life’s disruptions with humor, compassion, and tick repellant. 

Lauren Letellier (Writer/Performer) is a writer, performer, and municipal historian. THE VILLAGE CIDIOT premiered to critical acclaim at the 2023 Bridge St. Theater’s SoloFest, where critics called it "uproarious and poignant," "an entrancing piece of theater," and "laugh-out-loud funny.” It has been produced at Ancram Center for the Arts, Spencertown Academy Arts Center, The Stissing Center for Arts & Culture, The Rochester Fringe Festival, and The Mount. Her previous solo show, THE FIERY SWORD OF JUSTICE, satirizes the similarities between dysfunctional families and dysfunctional corporations. Critics called it “bold, funny, wise and brave” … “hilarious and harrowing.” 2014 New York International Fringe Festival, 2015 Rochester Fringe Festival (“Fringe Festival Favorite,” Rochester Democrat & Chronicle), The Producers Club (NYC), Stageworks/Hudson, Ancram Center for the Arts, Stissing Center for Arts & Culture. Lauren shares the role of Hillsdale NY Town Historian with her husband Chris Atkins. Together they research the nooks and crannies of Hillsdale’s history to bring people, places, and events to life for a 21st century audience. Before relocating to Hillsdale from NYC, she was a senior executive at several global communications agencies.

Martha Wollner (Director) is a member of NYC's LAByrinth Theatre Company. An actress, director, playwright and teacher, Martha developed Writing on Your Feet, a technique to assist actors in the development of solo shows. Her direction has won four stars in festivals both nationally and internationally. She has been seen on the stages of The Public, Cherry Lane, SOHO Rep, EST, LAByrinth Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe Festival and has worked with the Royal Shakespeare Company in developmental workshops for the company’s season. Martha’s plays have been featured in developmental series at Southern Rep Theatre, Cherry Lane, LAByrinth’s Barn Series and New Frontier Play Festival. As a story producer for documentary film, her work has been nominated for an Academy Award and won numerous Emmys, a Dupont Award, and Best of Festivals (Sundance / Tribeca / Telluride).