Elephant Run District

Elephant Run District is an NYC-based indie theater and film company devoted to developing the work of a core group of artists, challenging expectations, engaging our audiences, inspiring dialogue in the communities we serve, and creating long-lasting memories. ERD seeks to entertain its audiences while addressing issues that affect our society. The District is a place where traditions collide and new possibilities are explored in the hunt to create stories that are ultimately human.

The company gets its name after the time when founding members Aimee Todoroff and Chris Harcum first met on a chilly Monday around midnight in 2010. This happened to be the final time the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus ran their elephants across 34th Street to get them to Madison Square Garden. People cheered the elephants while others protested the cruelty. There were cops shouting, sirens blaring, clowns cheerily waving on tall bikes, horses majestically trotting, and stilt walkers gliding above the crowd. The elephants zipped by much faster than you might imagine. It was exciting and unexpected, just like how we feel good theater should be.