Horse Trade Theater Group to Kick Off HT Encores 2014, Jan 7

Horse Trade Theater Group's audience is young, diverse, hip, artistic, and plugged in! Come see some of the best indie theatre of the year, back by popular demand for a limited time only! Horse Trade's 2014 Encore Series will feature performances by Hanna Cheek in Clay McLeod Chapman's Commencement, the Drama Desk nominated RadioTheatre, 2013 FRIGID NY Audience Favorite Antonia Lassar in The God Box, Ron Stroman in The Sikofitall Gudtyme Tour, and UNDER St. Marks variety favorites Bare. Storytelling, Cabaret Showdown and The Open Mic Downstairs.

The Open Mic Downstairs At The Open Mic Downstairs the focus is the stage! Sign-ups get seven minutes to try anything in one of the most supportive rooms in New York. Whether it's a performance art piece, comedy, music, storytelling, dance, or something entirely off the top of your head, you'll find a home in the attentive welcoming community at UNDER St. Marks. Tue 1/7 @ 9pm & Tue 1/14 @ 9pm $3

RadioTheatre Now in its 10th Season, RADIOTHEATRE has produced over 60 stage works, nominated for Drama Desk Award, won 2 NY Innovative Theater Awards, nom. 13 times, 5 times as Best Performance Group. Known as "The Theatre Of Imagination," RadioTheatre combines great storytellers, a custom orchestral sound track and award-winning sound design to create truly unique works. Wed 1/8 @ 8pm, Sat 1/11 @ 6pm & Sun 1/12 @ 6pm $18

The Godbox Written & Performed by Antonia Lassar Directed by Nikki DiLoreto When her daughter dies, Gloria discovers the unthinkable, her daughter wasn't a practicing Jew! Amid Buddha's and Bibles, she searches for her daughter's true faith in order to give her the right funeral. A hilarious and poignant tale of how faith is passed on, and what happens when it isn't. Thu 1/9 @ 8pm & Sun 1/12 @ 8:30pm $15

The Sikofitall Gudtyme Tour Written & Performed by Ron Stroman This was day two- the seventies- according to the colored calendar- where a decade equals a day- a daycade. The Sikofitall Gudtyme Tour introduces you to the colored calendar as it trips your way down memory lane to show that your good ol' days ain't everyone good ol'days- that when it comes to perspectives- every one carries one- a purse- Ron knows purses. Fri 1/10 @ 8pm & Sat 1/11 @ 8:30pm $18

Cabaret Showdown Hosted by Mark McDaniels The Cabaret Showdown is a hysterical monthly game show that takes place the second Sunday of every month at UNDER St. Marks. Be there as contestants compete for the chance to star in their very own show. Whether you are a contestant or in the audience you are guaranteed to have a blast!!! Touring competition winners can be invited to be featured in their own cabaret locally or in NYC. Sun 1/12 @ 7pm $12 (including a free drink)

Commencement Written by Clay McLeod Chapman Performed by Hanna Cheek One actress plays three women drawn together in the grim aftermath of a high school shooting-the mother of the shooter, one of the shooter's victims, and the mother of that victim. It is a deep exploration of the lives of three women that, according to SEE Magazine "... will leave you wringing your hands in helpless empathy." Mon 1/13 @ 7pm $18

Bare. Raw stories paired with raw Burlesque. Hosted and curated by Peter Aguero (The Moth, The BTK Band), Bare. will rip the heart out of your chest, place iT Lovingly back in, and proceed to do it all over again. Mon 1/13 @ 9pm $15

HT Encores 2014 will run January 7-14 at The Kraine Theater (85 East 4th Street between 2nd Ave and Bowery). Tickets ($3-$18) are available online at www.horseTRADE.info or by calling Smarttix at 212-868-4444.

HORSE TRADE THEATER GROUP is a self-sustaining theater development group; with a focus 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.