History
Horse Trade Theater Group was founded in 1998. The aim was and is to form a mostly 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. In 1999, the Resident Program was created, 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. In 2006, FRIGID Festival was born. Followed by STEM Fest, The (Obie Award Winning) Fire This Time Festival, Queerly, Gotham Storytelling Festival, The Burlesque Blitz, our new Caribbean Music Series, and a comedy festival coming soon. Today we service over 16,000 audience members a year, hundreds of artists, over $200,000 in box office receipts, two free programs at Manhattan Correctional Center for the female population, two writer's workshops and much more.
Specialties
FRIGID New York's continuing mission is to seek out new art, new artists, and new audiences. We do this by creating an accessible community of varied voices that value collaboration, resourcefulness, diversity, and innovation. We provide a home for independent theater artists, with a focus on voices that require amplification. We nurture their development, and we help to establish their careers by promoting their work to local, national, and international audiences.