IT OR HER To Be Part of The 7th Annual soloNOVA Arts Festival 5/5-22

Horse Trade Theater Group is pleased to announce that 2010 FRIGID Audience Choice Winner, IT OR HER, has been selected by the soloNOVA Arts Festival as their Favorite Solo Performance of the 2010 FRIGID New York Festival and has been chosen to be a part of the 7th Annual soloNOVA Arts Festival, presented by terraNOVA Collective at Performance Space 122 (150 1st Ave and 9th Street), May 5-22.

Somewhere between Pee-Wee's Big Adventure and The Tell-Tale Heart, Alena Smith's provocative dark comedy IT OR HER explores the basement of a suburban home where Andrew (Brian McManamon) has devoted himself unconditionally to his incredible collection of figurines. Suffering the loss of The Red One, he seeks to uncover The Ultimate Arrangement before his hideout is invaded, and his dark secret is revealed.

"McManamon's physicality was genius. He completely took control of the stage. I found myself amazed, over and over." Diánna Martin, The Happiest Medium

"Brian McManamon takes hold of the part and never lets go. The only actor in the show, he demands attention from the moment we hear his voice in the dark." Darron Cardosa, Theatre is Easy

"If this play is a mirror of the existential dread that dwells within us all, it's a Barbie mirror that only shows how beautifully tragic and glamorous a lost soul can be." Will Kenton, Cultural Capitol

IT OR HER will play May 7 at 10:15pm & May 14 at 10:45pm at Performance Space 122 (150 1st Ave at 9th Street) as part of the 7th Annual soloNOVA Arts Festival. Tickets ($20) are available online at www.ps122.org or by calling 212-352-3101.

Alena Smith (Playwright) plays include The Sacrifices (Summer Play Festival), The Piven Monologues (Joe's Pub) and The Lacy Project (A.R.T.; Ohio Theatre). Her work has also been produced and/or developed at the Public Theater, Playwrights Horizons, Soho Think Tank, the Yale Cabaret, the Philadelphia Live Arts Festival, Chashama, the Strand Theater, and a number of colleges and universities. Alena is a member of the 2009 Emerging Writers Group at the Public Theater, a 2008-09 Artists Fellow in Playwriting with the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA), and has been a finalist for the Princess Grace Award and the O'Neill Playwrights Conference. MFA, Yale School of Drama, ASCAP Cole Porter Prize in Playwriting.

JESSI D. HILL (Director) Recent productions include: Tommy Smith's Thirty Story Masterpieces (Red Fern Theatre at Centerstage NY), Alena's Smith's It or Her (Horse Trade Theatre Group's FRIGID Festival), Mia McCullough's Lucinda's Bed (Chicago Dramatists), Jeff Grow's Creating Illusion (terraNOVA Collective's soloNOVA Arts Festival, 2 NYIT Awards), and Johnna Adams' Angel Eaters (Flux Theatre Ensemble, 6 NYIT Award Nominations). Jessi is currently Director of terraNOVA Collective's Groundbreakers new play development program and has developed new plays with companies including The New Group, The Lark Play Development Center, The Playwrights Realm, Astoria Performing Arts Center, Diverse City and Youngblood. Jessi has served as Staff Repertory Director for The Acting Company, Director-in-Residence at Ensemble Studio Theatre and is currently a guest director at NYU and Fordham University. Jessi is a transplant to NYC from Chicago where she was a freelance director and Artistic Director of Stage Left Theatre, an ensemble based company dedicated to developing and producing new plays that raise debate and challenge perspectives on political and social issues. Hill is a recipient of the Denham Fellowship from the Stage Directors and Choreographers Foundation and was recently named a finalist for the NEA/TCG Career Development Program for Directors. MFA: Yale School of Drama.

BRIAN McMANAMON (Andrew) recently completed a sold out run of Alena's Smith's one character play It or Her at Horse Trade Theatre Group's FRIGID NY Festival (Audience Choice Award). In New York, Brian has worked with MCC, Youngblood, P.S. 122, Target Margin, E.S.T, Provincetown Playhouse, the BE Company and many others. He is a company member of the Lark Theatre's Playground. Regional credits include the title role in Hamlet at Burning Coal, American Buffalo and Skylight both at the New Repertory Theater, Single Lives at Boston Playwrights' Theater, the world premiere of Sinan Unel's play The Three of Cups at the Provincetown Theater Company, StellYY at the Berkshire Fringe and Shakespeare: The Remix at Capital Rep among others. Internationally, Brian performed in the world premiere of Pulitzer prize nominee Rolin Jones' play The Jammer which received the Edinburgh Fringe First Award. Brian also toured to Zagreb, Croatia with the critically acclaimed New York based company Theater Breaking Through Barriers. Brian attended the British American Drama Academy (B.A.D.A.) at Oxford where he worked with Caryl Churchill on her play's Hotel and She Bit Her Tongue both directed by MarK Wing-Davey. He serves on the acting faculties of the National Theater Institute (NTI) at The O'Neill Center and the Powerhouse Apprentice Training Program at Vassar College. BFA: Boston University, MFA: Yale School of Drama. www.BrianMcManamon.com

FRIGID NEW YORK was founded by Horse Trade and EXIT Theatre in 2007. Since founding The San Francisco Fringe Festival - the 2nd oldest fringe in the United States - nearly 17 years ago, EXIT has learned a thing or two about festival running. They introduced Horse Trade to the Canadian Association of Fringe Festivals (CAFF) in mid-2006. Besides feedback from dozens of thrilled CAFF participants and artists, Horse Trade was drawn to its main principle: "...to provide all artists, emerging and established, with the opportunity to produce their play no matter the content, form or style and to make the event as affordable and accessible as possible for the members of the community," Horse Trade is proud to sign on to the tradition and chill out the New York independent theater scene's ideas of what a theatre festival can be. In true support of theatre on the fringe of the mainstream, the artists take home 100% of their box office, and the festival producers do not receive royalties from future performances. The festival's producers are proud to support self-producing artists' growth and future success. New York City is an indisputable hotbed of groundbreaking talent and we're proud to once again invite artists to take advantage of this opportunity to let their ingenuity thrive in a venue that values freedom of expression and artistic determination.

THE SOLONOVA ARTS FESTIVAL is the longest running, premier festival for solo performers in New York City which celebrates innovative individuals who push the boundaries of what it means to be an artist, aims to redefine the solo form and uniquely invigorates the audience through the time-honored tradition of storytelling.

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