The hunt for new Red Room space

Last week, W.M. Akers at Astor Place Riot first reported that the Red Room, the 32-seat performance space on East Fourth Street, will close this spring.

He followed up yesterday with a Q-and-A with Heidi Grumelot, head of artistic development at Horse Trade Theater, which operates out of the Red Room and the Kraine and Under St. Marks theaters. The Red Room will close after March 31. The landlord has unspecified plans for the space.

On the possibility of moving the Red Room elsewhere:

We're looking. We're just looking. We've gone to see a few spaces already. Nothing's developed yet. We're definitely serious about where we can continue to afford to do this work. If anybody has space — and I know how silly it sounds to ask that in New York — we're on the hunt right now.

But will they stay in the East Village? "We've talked about different opportunities uptown or in Brooklyn, but when you think about it, this is where we've always been."

Meanwhile, the Red Room is closing out March with the Blaze of Glory festival... Find the March schedule of events at the Red Room here.

[Updated] Report: The Red Room to close on East 4th Street

W.M. Akers at Astor Place Riot has the scoop this afternoon that the Red Room, the 32-seat performance space on East Fourth Street, will close in March. The Horse Trade Theater Company runs the space located upstairs from the Kraine Theatre and KGB Bar.

Akers has a comment from Horse Trade rep Emily Owens:

Horse Trade's landlord at 85 East 4th Street has decided to repurpose The Red Room, and it will no longer be a performing arts space. I believe he plans to turn it into some type of B&B. Horse Trade will continue to operate out of The Kraine Theater and UNDER St. Marks, and they're currently searching for a venue to replace The Red Room.

As Akers writes:

The Red Room was a tiny space — the kind that New York doesn't have enough of ... It was ideal for truly out-there theater, a hold-out for the Weird in an East Village that has gotten far too normal.

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Updated 4:20 p.m.
Horse Trade just released the following...

After 15 years Horse Trade Theater Group (Heidi Grumelot, Artistic Director, Erez Ziv, Executive Director) is sad to announce that they will no longer be operating out of The Red Room, a 32-seat theater located on the third floor of 85 East 4th Street. The landlord has decided to repurpose the space, and it will no longer be a performing arts venue. Horse Trade will be searching for a new third venue, and in the meantime will continue to operate out of The Kraine Theater at 85 East 4th Street and UNDER St. Marks at 94 St. Marks Place, for the foreseeable future.

We couldn’t let The Red Room go without a proper send off! So the month of March will be full of special events in The Red Room, as we say goodbye to a beloved East Village staple.

Find the March schedule of events at the Red Room here.