About Horse Trade Theater

Horse Trade Theater Group was founded in 1998 by Russell Dobular, Kimo DeSean, and Erez Ziv in - what some would call - a moment of temporary insanity. Riding the wave of the flourishing then-downtown Off-Off Broadway scene, the aim was and is to form a self-sustaining theater group; one that would focus on new work and provide affordable rental space to scores of Independent artists as well as produce a massive quantity of stimulating downtown theater. It has been working. Changing paths from Central Park Handsome Cab Drivers (that’s right - horse drawn carriage drivers) to East Village Theater producers, Horse Trade took root at the legendary 85 East 4th Street (also home of the KGB Bar) in The Red Room and The Kraine Theater. Within a year they had expanded to include UNDER St. Marks, which had been an experimental Theater space since the 1970’s. Horse TRADE continues to hold ground on both St. Marks Place and ‘Downtown Theater Row;’ neighboring LaMama, New York Theater Workshop, Wow Café, DUO, Paradise, IATI, and many others, while preserving its self-sustaining model. In 1999, the Resident Program was instated, offering an artistic home to a select group of Off-Off Broadway artists, pooling together a great deal of talent and energy while focusing on their individuality as independent companies. Based on each company’s independent needs, this program provides an artistic home through rehearsal & performance space, as well as administrative, marketing, and artistic support. It has provided the platform for many new playwrights to be published in several editions of Plays and Playwrights, Playing with Canons, and numerous monologue books - enabling some of these works to be revived around the country and the world. Resident Alumni have gone on to tour all over the United States and Europe. Other essential Horse TRADE programs have included Guest Artists and Co-Productions, the LAB @ Horse TRADE, SF; The Sci-Fi Event, the HA! Comedy Festival, The Drafts, Told and of Course FRIGID new york. In 2006, Horse TRADE (with the help of EXIT Theatre – the home of San Francisco Fringe) was proudly accepted into the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals. and FRIGID new york was born, the first festival of its kind in New York City. FRIGID is an entirely Open and Uncensored Indie theater festival, in which the artists keep 100% of their earnings. over a daceade later that momentary lapse of judgment has seen the success of hundreds of Off-Off Broadway artists, and the develpement of a company that proudly continues to play a part in fueling and supporting the ever-evolving indie theater scene. Horse TRADE continues its commitment to an independent theater community, helping to sustain the numerous voices that make up the varied landscape of this vital art form. Horse Trade looks forward to begining its second dacade of programing with the return of FRIGID New York, joining The League of Independent Theater, new works by veteran and continuing residents, new artists, Beer and wine at UNDER St. Marks, Told, and The Drafts, to name just a few.