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Elevator Repair Service, a theater ensemble, was founded by director John Collins and a group of actors in 1991. Since that time, ERS has built a body of highly acclaimed work and has appeared on stages around New York, the U.S. and Europe.

The group's theater pieces are built around a broad range of subject matter and literary forms. They combine elements of slapstick comedy, hi-tech and lo-tech design, both literary and found text, found objects and discarded furniture, and the group's own highly developed style of choreography.

ERS creates its performances through extended periods of collaboration. Sources for the group's work include novels, non-fiction writings, films, plays, television programs, and various other media. Each ERS piece is developed over the course of a season through several work-in-progress showings to small audiences and culminates in an extended run in New York. Since 1997, ERS shows have toured the United States and Europe.

ERS has been seen all over downtown New York and has cultivated a loyal – and growing – following. The company has performed in such venues as Performance Space 122, The Performing Garage, HERE, The Ontological at St. Mark's Church, The Flea, The Kitchen and Soho Rep. Abroad, ERS performances have been presented in Holland, Belgium, Slovenia, Austria, Norway, Germany, France, Portugal and Switzerland; and, in The United States, the ensemble has been presented in Columbus, Seattle, Minneapolis, Houston, Burlington, Washington D.C. and Portland (OR).

Since its first production in 1991, the company has received frequent high praise in the New York, national and international press. New York Magazine has called ERS "the best experimental theater group in town," while New York Newsday has called the group's work "wacko enough to be truly inspired." Reviewing its 1996 piece, "Shut Up I Tell You" ArtForum noted that "in an admittedly spotty theatrical season E.R.S. . . . stands out not only for its humor and intelligence, but also for its defiant theatricality . . . one of the most intriguing theatrical events I've experienced in some time." The Village Voice says of "Total Fictional Lie," "The work, here, has integrity, intelligence, and precision as well as imaginative skill; and its actors have talent for days." And The New York Times praises TFL for its "fresh and surprising perspective."

ERS’ most popular piece to date, and its most controversial, is Gatz. This marathon presentation of the entire text of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby has been called “a theatrical tour-de-force” and “breathtakingly good theater” in major European newspapers. Gatz, which is still awaiting permission from the Fitzgerald estate to be performed in New York has propelled ERS to a new level of visibility and acclaim and its success has enabled ERS to grow by leaps and bounds in a relatively short time. Read more about Gatz’s history and plans in The New York Times.

ERS is and has been supported by The National Endowment for the Arts, The New York State Council on the Arts, a state agency, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, The Edward T. Cone Foundation, The Rockefeller Foundation, The New England Foundation for the Arts, The Greenwall Foundation, The Alliance of Resident Theaters-N.Y., The J.P. Morgan-Chase Fund for Small Theatres, Altria Group, Inc., The Mental Insight Foundation  and the Association of Performing Arts Presenters Ensemble Theatre Collaborations Grant Program, a component of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation Theatre Initiative and individual donors.