- MISSION STATEMENT
- SHORT BIO
- FULL HISTORY
- STAFF
Horse Trade’s continuing mission is to seek out new art, new artists, and new audiences. To create an accessible community of varied voices that values collaboration, resourcefulness, and innovation. To provide a home for independent theater artists by nurturing their development and helping to establish their artistic careers . To expose their work and promote it to local, national, and international audiences |
Horse Trade is a self-sustaining theater development group which focuses on new work. It has produced a massive quantity of stimulating downtown theater. Horse Trade’s Resident Artist Program offers a home to a select group of Independent Theater artists, pooling together a great deal of talent and energy. It is also the home of FRIGID New York – the first and only festival of its kind in New York City. |
| 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. |
| Erez Ziv (co-founder/managing director) has joyfully dedicated over a decade of his life to creating an entirely self sustaining off-off-Broadway theater company in New York City . His three stage performances include a bomb shelter performance of “Hit the Road Jack” at the age of 10 and speaking roles in two Yiddish productions (the last of which had him singing a Yiddish version of “the Age of Aquarius”). He has learned that he hates being on stage.
His educational history includes a BA in Jewish and Religious studies with a minor in comparative religion from the University of Minnesota, a semester at Oxford, and a never to be quite completed Masters Degree in Talmud and Rabbinics from JTS. He is a licensed fireguard, Handsom Cab Driver, sprinkler systems inspector, flame proofing Supervisor and wedding ceremony officiant. He is very happy to have helped to firmly establish Horse Trade's reputation in the downtown theater scene and to create a well respected, self sufficient organization that has created and continues to create a home for some the New York City's most innovative, talented and hard working theater artists. Thankfully the World keeps providing him with both fresh and refined talent to let loose on NYC. Erez is also a father. |
| Heidi Grumelot (artistic director) is co-creator and producer of the monthly storytelling show TOLD. She is the founding director of The Drafts, an acting ensemble responsible for development of over forty original plays to date as part of a monthly reading series. She is the Resident Coordinator for Horse Trade's six resident companies.
New York directing credits include punkrock/lovesong at The Brick Theater, Dido and Aeneas with The New York Collective of Performing Arts at The West End Theater and The Boston Early Music Festival, Donnie and the Monsters at UNDER St Marks Theater, and Accidents Do Happen, Tom's Things, and Turning the Glass Around in The Red Room. New York staged reading credits include The Flower Thief in The Red Room , A River Pure for Healing, and An Absolutely Perfect Life at UNDER St Marks Theater. Assistant director credits include Antony and Cleopatra, Love's Labour's Lost, and A Christmas Carol for the American Shakespeare Center. She has directed productions in Michigan, Virginia, and Mexico. |
| Shula Kaplan (bookkeeper/bartender/bottle washer) joined Horse Trade in 2008 after many years in corporate accounting. Thanks to Horse Trade, she has now found a way to merge her professional career with her passion for the arts. |
| Marlee Walters (office manager) Marlee came to Horse Trade in August 2011 as an administration/literary intern and convinced Erez and Heidi to let her stay. She is a recent graduate of Dickinson College, where she studied English and theatre and graduated cum laude in three years. She has directed two world premiere plays in New York, Everything Happens for a Reason and Note to Self: Enunciate, both at 13th Street Repertory Company. She has also worked in marketing and promotion for The Fire This Time Festival. She enjoys classic movies, directing, and organizing, and aspires to keep the Horse Trade office in tip-top shape. |
| Emily Owens (publicity) Emily Owens PR is a New York City-based public relations agency specializing in off-off Broadway theatre. We operate on the belief that theatre is an artistic, collaborative process, so why shouldn't your publicity be too? We work with you to highlight the unique angle of your show and help your production stand out from the crowd and get noticed. |
Emleigh Wolf (webmistress) began her relationship with Horse Trade Theater Group as a performer in God Tastes Like Chicken and then working the box office of Penny's Open Mic. Mostly known for her comedy, Emleigh accidentally fell into the web design business after being asked to remodel pennypollak.com. Shortly thereafter she was offered a job with Horse Trade. Currently she performs in various shows around the city and is working on her own show, The Terrible Manpain of Umberto MacDougal, which will be in this season's FRIGID Festival! |