ERIC TRULES, filmmaker, is a native of New York City and has been in the performing arts for over 30 years. He began as a modern dancer and choreographer with Shirley Mordine, and then co-founded Mo Ming, the nationally renowned Dance-Theater in Chicago. Eric was one of the first federally funded CETA grant recipients in America for his dance work, which also received support from the Illinois Arts Council and the NEA. He then returned to NYC and founded and directed its Resident Clown Troupe, The Cumeezi Bozo Ensemble, a company which was funded by the National Endowment for the Arts, appeared at Lincoln Center and Town Hall, and toured Holland, Switzerland, and France. Trules created the concept and program of "Free Public Laughs" which brought the performing arts to alternative, under-served and ethnically diverse communities throughout the metropolitan area.