Who was Horse Head?
Horse Head produced projects from 2009 - 2019. We had a fantastic run.
Horse Head utilized “found” and site-specific spaces, producing events outside of traditional arts venues that further enhanced our storytelling. HH was committed to producing new and innovative works, providing theatrical experiences with explosive design elements, audience interaction, immersive qualities and pre-show “ritual” or “ceremonial” activities.
Our mission was to re-energize Houston audiences with theatrically designed experiences using nontraditional methods and local talent.
We only produced visceral art with a purpose. "Let us tell you a story."
Horse Head utilized “found” and site-specific spaces, producing events outside of traditional arts venues that further enhanced our storytelling. HH was committed to producing new and innovative works, providing theatrical experiences with explosive design elements, audience interaction, immersive qualities and pre-show “ritual” or “ceremonial” activities.
Our mission was to re-energize Houston audiences with theatrically designed experiences using nontraditional methods and local talent.
We only produced visceral art with a purpose. "Let us tell you a story."
“…one of Houston’s newest and boldest theatre companies…” - The Chronicle
“visceral theater that gets under your skin” … “bold, hard-hitting...thinking outside the box” - CultureMap
“Houston’s rogue renegades” … “Few nomadic groups are as inventive as Horse Head” - Arts + Culture Magazine
“Ideas and work and execution like this tickle all my theatre loving nerve ends and make me hungry for other iterations of out of the black box ideas. Ahoy theatre makers, the bar’s been set. Take notice.” - Houston Press
HH was a participant in the Houston Arts Alliance CBI Resident Incubator Program and was funded in part by the Houston Arts Alliance on behalf of City of Houston, received numerous Houston Arts Alliance on behalf of City of Houston Arts Project Grants and one National Endowment of the Arts: Arts Work grant.
CLOSING Company members
JACEY LITTLE
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JACEY LITTLE (Artistic Director) is the Artistic Director of Horse Head Theatre Co. and directed We’re Gonna Die by Young Jean Lee and The Flick by Annie Baker in 2018 with Horse Head. She also was the Co-Assistant Director on Catastrophic Theatre’s Curse of the Starving Class. Previously, she directed Church by Young Jean Lee, Sensitive Guys by MJ Kaufman (staged reading), The Whale; or, Moby-Dick (Houston Press 2015 “Best New Play”) and Spaghetti Code by Abby Koenig (BroadwayWorld Houston 2014 “Best New Play”) with Horse Head; Feathers and Teeth by Charise Castro Smith and Dollface by Katharine Sherman (Houston Press 2016 “Best New Play”) with Mildred’s Umbrella; the first workshop performance of Dialogues on Grace by Cressandra Thibodeaux; and Ten Ways on a Gun by Dylan Lamb with The Landing Theatre. Jacey is the former Literary Manager and Dramaturg for the Alley Theatre., former Production Manager for the River Oaks Chamber Orchestra and former Managing Director for Obsidian Theatre. Highlights of her Alley credits include Warrior Class by Kenneth Lin, The Mountaintop by Katori Hall and What We’re Up Against by Theresa Rebeck. Jacey holds an MA in Dramaturgy and Theatre Historiography from University of Houston and a BFA in Dramaturgy & Acting from University of Oklahoma.
LEAH SHORT
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LEAH SHORT (Dramaturg & Company Manager) holds a B.F.A. from University of the Ozarks in Theatre and Sociology and an M.A. in Theatre Historiography from University of Houston. Professional credits include dramaturgy at the Alley Theatre, Catastrophic Theatre, Houston Shakespeare Festival, Horse Head Theatre Company, and Black Lab Theatre, with directing and design credits at Clarksville Children's Company in Clarksville, AR, and stage management credits with Berkshire Theatre Festival in Stockbridge, MA and Horse Head Theatre Co. Leah is Company Manager of Horse Head Theatre Co. as well as a Theatre teacher and program director in AISD.
Tasha Gorel
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TASHA GOREL (PR & Social Media) graduated from The University of Texas at Austin where she earned a dual BA degree in Theatre and History. Since her move to Houston three years ago, she has started her own photography company (Natasha Nivan Photography), joined Horse Head Theatre Co. as a company member (overseeing all PR, social media management, photography, videography and marketing) as well as joining the team at Rec Room (front of house manager, in house photographer, videographer, and casting director.) Before embarking on her career behind the scenes, Tasha worked over a year with The Alley Theatre workshopping, acting in and touring their theatre for young audiences productions as well as appearing as an actress in over ten Houston theatre productions. Tasha also works for the digital branding company Culture Pilot, and manags and designs websites for artists throughout the city. Email her if you need anything done in the digital storytelling field at [email protected].
BOARD OF DIRECTORS
LYNN BROWN
PRESIDENT
JOSEPH MACHADO
TREASURER
BUZZ BELLMONT
SECRETARY
Advisory Committee
Lindsey Ball
Suzie Harmon
Taavi Mark
Mark Marotto
Hank Mattice
Victoria Scott
Chris Watkins
HORSE HEAD FOUNDERS AND FRIENDS, circa 2009
Horse Head was founded in 2008 by a group of strong-willed and ambitious Houston theatre artists. The collective presented an inaugural event, Ceremony, in July 2009 that was designed to train audiences in the “Horse Head” way of theatre. Horse Head’s founders included:
Rooted in Robert Edmond Jones’ theory of what theatre could be, HH’s 2009 founding mission statement was:
“Imagine… going to the theatre and encountering an audience with as much passion, vivacity, and emotion as you find at a major sporting event. Horse Head Theatre Company believes this is the type of crowd that should be inherent in the theatre. We are a company dedicated to a new approach in creating the art of theatre, and in doing so, forming a type of theatre that currently does not exist. Our approach to generating this form of theatre is to look at the production as an organic whole, and to continually evolve a new way of looking at theatre by learning, not how things are being done, or how they might be done, but how they might best be done.
“Imagine… a theatrical experience beyond the artist realm of entertainment… where the reenergizing capacity of the ancient Greek theatre at Epidaurus is brought back to life in a new theatre relevant to contemporary culture. Horse Head Theatre Company productions will offer an artistic experience that facilitates this recharging in all participants (audiences, actors, designers, etc.).
“Imagine… a group of artists doing regional premieres and incorporating the best local talent to produce it… exclusively. Our company firmly believes that the artist pool we have to pull from in Houston is more than ample, and that talent is certainly not dictated by zip code.
“Imagine … “creating a theatre that to this point only exists in dreams.” - REJ
“Horse Head Theatre Co.’s mission statement is to move passionately towards a new theatre.”
In 2014, founding Artistic Director Kevin Holden passed the HH reins to Jacey Little. Jacey and the second wave of Horse Head artists reworked this mission statement to be:
“Horse Head Theatre Co.’s mission is to re-energize Houston audiences with theatrically designed experiences using nontraditional methods and local talent.”
Historically Horse Head utilized “found” and site-specific spaces, producing events outside of traditional arts venues that further enhanced our storytelling. HH was committed to producing new and innovative works, providing theatrical experiences with explosive design elements, audience interaction, immersive qualities and pre-show “ritual” or “ceremonial” activities.
HH received a number of awards including the 2016 Houston Press MASTERMIND award, annually recognizing individuals or organizations for their significant contributions to Houston’s artistic community, as well as the Houston Press 2016 “Best New Play” award for our original work, The Whale; or, Moby-Dick by Timothy N. Evers & Philip Hays.
- Kevin Holden, Artist Director
- Frank Vela, Managing Director
- Jon Thompson, Director of Development
- Drake Simpson, Associate Artist Director
- KC Scharnberg, Marketing Director
- Mike Bell, IT Director
- Bree Welch, Associate General Manager
- Anthony Contello, Technical Director
Rooted in Robert Edmond Jones’ theory of what theatre could be, HH’s 2009 founding mission statement was:
“Imagine… going to the theatre and encountering an audience with as much passion, vivacity, and emotion as you find at a major sporting event. Horse Head Theatre Company believes this is the type of crowd that should be inherent in the theatre. We are a company dedicated to a new approach in creating the art of theatre, and in doing so, forming a type of theatre that currently does not exist. Our approach to generating this form of theatre is to look at the production as an organic whole, and to continually evolve a new way of looking at theatre by learning, not how things are being done, or how they might be done, but how they might best be done.
“Imagine… a theatrical experience beyond the artist realm of entertainment… where the reenergizing capacity of the ancient Greek theatre at Epidaurus is brought back to life in a new theatre relevant to contemporary culture. Horse Head Theatre Company productions will offer an artistic experience that facilitates this recharging in all participants (audiences, actors, designers, etc.).
“Imagine… a group of artists doing regional premieres and incorporating the best local talent to produce it… exclusively. Our company firmly believes that the artist pool we have to pull from in Houston is more than ample, and that talent is certainly not dictated by zip code.
“Imagine … “creating a theatre that to this point only exists in dreams.” - REJ
“Horse Head Theatre Co.’s mission statement is to move passionately towards a new theatre.”
In 2014, founding Artistic Director Kevin Holden passed the HH reins to Jacey Little. Jacey and the second wave of Horse Head artists reworked this mission statement to be:
“Horse Head Theatre Co.’s mission is to re-energize Houston audiences with theatrically designed experiences using nontraditional methods and local talent.”
Historically Horse Head utilized “found” and site-specific spaces, producing events outside of traditional arts venues that further enhanced our storytelling. HH was committed to producing new and innovative works, providing theatrical experiences with explosive design elements, audience interaction, immersive qualities and pre-show “ritual” or “ceremonial” activities.
HH received a number of awards including the 2016 Houston Press MASTERMIND award, annually recognizing individuals or organizations for their significant contributions to Houston’s artistic community, as well as the Houston Press 2016 “Best New Play” award for our original work, The Whale; or, Moby-Dick by Timothy N. Evers & Philip Hays.
