The Frigid New York Fringe Festival, now in its 8th year, keeps getting better and better.  With ticket prices that won't break your pocket, Frigid is notable for being the only festival of its kind on the East Coast where 100% of all box office proceeds go to the artists themselves.

This fact alone makes Erez Ziv, Co-founder and Managing Director of Horse Trade Theater Group, one of the best producers in the business to work with.  StageBuddy's Glenn Quentin got a chance to chat with Ziv about the origins of Frigid New York, its unique selection process, and why this is the the festival to support.

StageBuddy: How did you get your start in theater?

Erez Ziv: [laughs] That was pure accident, a big mistake I made 15 years ago.  I used to drive a horse and carriage in Central Park -- I still do on Sundays -- and one of the guys I was working with had a theater company and needed some help.  I helped, and got pulled in a little deeper than most people.  It's been great; I really enjoy what I do.  It's a wonderful job, it's good to see a house full of people who leave the theater with smiles on their faces.

SB: In your words, what is the Frigid Fringe Festival?

EZ: It's one opportunity every year to work with completely new people who we don't choose on our own; it helps us keep the pool of talent that we work with very fresh.

SB: How'd you start producing the Frigid Fringe Festival?

EZ: I met Christina [Augello] from San Francisco -- she runs the Fridge out there -- and she told me about how they do their Fringe selection process, where 100 percent of the box office goes to the artists. It sounded really cool and it was something I wanted to try -- and it's been working very well for the last eight years.

SB: What would you say is the biggest difference from when you started till now?

EZ: The first year we did the festival we didn't even have house managers; it was just three of us and a lot of volunteers running the festival.  This year we have two tech guys in every venue, a house manager for every venue, a lot more volunteers.  It's just generally become a lot easier to run.

SB: What's the selection process?

EZ: It's the easiest selection process: we do it by lottery.  The first 15 companies get into the festival because they were the first ones to press a button -- first come, first served.  At this point it takes between two and six seconds for the last few years to actually get in on that route.  The next round happens on Halloween at a Halloween party. And then we draw the remaining 15 participants out of a hat. Very randomly selected.

SB: Why is this the festival to check out if you're going to watch one this year?

EZ: The shows are fantastic; we have a couple of shows that are a total sell out.  In terms of supporting artists this festival is the best one.  Every dollar that you pay for a ticket, every penny, goes directly to the artists; we don't keep any cut.  That happens all over Canada, a few other States, but it doesn't happen anywhere else on the East Coast.  It's really the best way to support local artists in New York.

There is still time to catch shows at the Frigid Fringe! For more information, as well as reviews of Fringe performances, click here.

(This interview has been edited and condensed.)