Matthew Kossack
Executive Director
Since joining ‘The Barn’ in 2007, Matthew has directed, choreographed, and produced over 100 productions on the Artbarn stage, serving as Artistic Director for five seasons before taking on the Executive Director role in 2012, shared with Chloe Lara-Russack until 2020. A graduate of Boston College (BA English/Theatre), Matthew has performed professionally with many regional theatres including the Lyric Stage Company, Fiddlehead Theatre Company, Moonbox Productions, Wheelock Family Theatre and Reagle Music Theatre, as well as with many of Boston’s fine local and community theatres. He has taught dance and drama for a variety of organizations throughout the Boston area including Chelsea Youth Theatre, Creative Arts at Tufts University, The Performing Arts Connection, and Arlington Center for the Arts, and his choreography and direction have been seen on the stages of The Longwood Players, Open Door Theater, Newton Country Players and Apollinaire Theater Company. In addition to his work with Artbarn, Matthew is a regular performer with Theatre Espresso, a touring theatre-in-education company, and in his younger days was a competitive ice dancer and a member of Team USA Figure Skating. These days he is most often found dancing through the streets of Boston to the music in his own head. www.matthewkossack.com
MacMillan Leslie
Associate Director
MacMillan Leslie joined the Artbarn family in 2016, and it is one of the most fun and inspiring opportunities he has ever had. An alumnus of the University of Massachusetts Amherst, Mac is a director, actor, improviser, and performance coach. He has performed all over the greater Boston area with fringe and equity companies. He has also worked as a fight choreographer and performs musical improv all over the Boston area.
Laura Cohen
Business Manager
Laura Cohen
Business Manager
Chloe Lara-Russack
Executive Director Emeritus
Theater has always been a part of Chloe’s life. Graduating from Bates College with a major in Theater and Education she soon found herself stumbling upon the magical stage of Artbarn Community Theater. In addition to her role as Artistic Director at the Barn, Chloe also worked in Brookline Public Schools developing theater curriculum. Chloe has always maintained a strong passion and belief that theater has the potential to heal, build relationships and strengthen personal self-esteem. To further pursue this dream, Chloe left Artbarn in 2007 to attend NYU’s Drama Therapy Master’s program. After graduating in 2010 Chloe returned to the Boston area and worked as a theater specialist in the Boston Public School System. In addition to her husband, Dan, and her daughters, Rowan and Hazel, Chloe’s greatest passion has and always will be the “theater.” In the words of a greeting card that Chloe has received time and again: “Given a cape and a nice tiara, I could save the world.” Chloe never leaves home without her fairy wand safely tucked in her back pocket.
Adriana Alvarez
Choreographer
Adriana is excited for her first season with Artbarn! She received her BA in Theatre from Suffolk University (2019), where she choreographed a production of Guys and Dolls, as well as the world premiere of Ubu Roar. When she’s not choreographing, Adriana is a working actress in Boston. Recent roles include Athena (Pandora, Blue Spruce Theatre Company), Alison (The Stain, Playwrights’ Platform), and Lucretia Marie with King Richard’s Faire. Adriana has sixteen years of training in various styles of dance and has experience in teaching ballet, tap, jazz, and hip-hop, just to name a few.
Jackie Borck
Founding Director
Jackie co-founded Artbarn Community Theater with Cathy Jacobs in 1999 and retired as Executive Director in 2012. She graduated from Emerson College with a Master of Arts in Theater Education and has been teaching as a theater artist in residence for more than 25 years. Her skills in playwriting, directing, choreography, costume & scene design have helped transform the page to the stage for Artbarn’s young actors. When she’s not dancing at the barn, she’s out back weeding the vegetable garden with her rabbit Lucky.
Adam Brooks
Music Director
Adam has been writing silly music for silly people, both for the young and for the young-at-heart, since 2002. After graduating from Oberlin, he worked extensively with Second City Cleveland, writing, directing, and performing for countless shows, as well as teaching classes and workshops in musical improv. Adam returned to Boston in May 2005 to study film scoring at the Berklee College of Music while continuing to compose and perform with artists from all across the city. Credits include the critically acclaimed “Paragon Park: The Musical (winner of the 2012 NETC Moss Hart Award for Best Production), “What The Dickens!?”, “An Evening With Ladley & Craig”, and “Burlesque Me If I Love You.” Since joining in 2006, Adam has written extensively for Artbarn – many scripts and a great deal more songs – yet his greatest joy continues to be helping kids find their strength, confidence, and creativity on stage. Never stop playing.
Camille Cappello
Choreographer
Camille is thrilled to be starting this new adventure with Art Barn! She has been dancing since she was little specifically in the styles of ballet, tap, jazz, and modern, but she has always had a soft spot for musical theatre. She is currently pursuing an MFA at Emerson College in Applied Theatre after finishing her undergraduate training in Musical Theatre and Dance at the University at Buffalo. She has worked with nonprofit organizations including Young Audiences of Massachusetts, New York Stage and Film, the Fresh Air Fund, and Zip Zap Circus. She has fallen in love with the Boston theatre community and hopes to continue to work as a choreographer, director, teaching artist, and performer. Sing loudly and dance often!
Joy Clark
Storybook Theater
Joy is a Boston and NYC-based union performer, director/choreographer, and educator. Joy attended the Boston Conservatory, receiving her Masters of Fine Arts in Musical Theater. She studied under Tony Award nominee, Maureen Brennan, and was chosen to workshop with Broadway songwriting team, Richard Maltby and David Shire on their own material from the musical Baby. Joy also trained as an apprentice at the Livermore Shakespeare Festival, as well as studying Musical Theater at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in New York City.
As a professional performer, Joy’s career has spanned theaters from the East Coast to the West Coast, her work ranging from the comedic to the dramatic; from Shakespeare to musicals, been described as a “chameleon” in the industry. Her performance as Fraulein Kost in Boston’s Moonbox Productions’ Cabaret earned her an Independent Reviewers of New England (IRNE) Award nomination. As a theater educator, Joy teaches all ages, from Kindergarteners to college students. Joy is currently a Theatre Faculty member at Emerson College and Berklee College of Music. As a choreographer, Joy choreographs for young people’s productions and professional theaters alike. Joy is currently choreographing for Moonbox Productions’ The Rocky Horror Show. Recent youth productions include Lion King Jr., and Fiddler on the Roof, for which Joy restaged Jerome Robbins’ original Broadway choreography. Joy’s choreography for professional productions of Seussical and Stuart Little was seen by hundreds of families at the Boston Children’s Museum and Wheelock Family Theater.
Rebecca Elowe
Storybook Theater
Rebecca Elowe is a drama educator, actor, and musician from Chicago. She recently graduated summa cum laude from Northwestern University with a degree in Theatre and a concentration in Theatre for Young Audiences. In Chicago, Rebecca taught drama workshops at Lifeline Theatre and sensory-friendly fine arts classes with Chicago Children’s Theatre’s Camp Red Kite program, and she could not be more excited to be exploring stories with the Sprouts this year! Rebecca also works with Watertown Children’s Theatre, Wheelock Family Theatre, and The Advent School’s After School Program.
Florrie Ives
Designer
Florrie Ives is an artist with a Masters degree in Art Education from the University of Georgia. For 10 years she taught elementary art in the public schools in both Atlanta, GA and Chelsea, MA. Florrie lives in Brookline with her husband Joel, their three children and dog, Pancakes. She currently teaches after-school art classes at the Lawrence School and is delighted to also be a part of the Artbarn team!
Jeff Kimball
Music Director
Jeff Kimball is a music director, performer, and improviser, and joined the Artbarn family in 2018. He’s active in community theatre, and is a resident music director and instructor at ImprovBoston. If you play your cards right, you might see him playing banjo and accordion un-ironically in public. To find out what inadvisable adventures Jeff is up to, check out jeffkimballmusic.com
Taylor Kirkwood
Music Director
Taylor Kirkwood is a passionate Boston based Musical Theatre Music Director, educator, pianist and composer. Taylor has MD’d for Stoneham theatre (now Greater Boston Stage Company), Boston Theatre Company, Watertown Children’s Theatre, The Driscoll School’s annual play, UMass Dartmouth’s Theatre company 20centFiction, and The Umbrella Theater, to name a few. Taylor has MD’d more than 60+ shows for Artbarn Community Theatre, where he’s had the pleasure of working with the Barncats Ensemble, Out of the Box Productions, Duck Soup Troupe, Traveling Geese Touring Co., Winterstock, and the Summer at the Barn Lower Barn ensemble. Taylor also has his own private piano lesson practice, plays the organ for the Pilgrim congregational Church in North Weymouth, where he also serves as a music director and choir director. “I love this company and what we stand for! So happy to be here and always looking ahead to how we can help each young actor grow and take risks in a safe supportive environment. We make it a priority to ensure every actor is seen and making their own individual contributions to the process, and has the best experience possible. Artbarn is a magical program that really knows how to encourage young actors to explore their own creativity in safe space.”
Kelvyn Koning
Music Director
Kelvyn Koning (he/they) specializes in composing for choir and theatre and performing as a countertenor and pianist. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Composition from Calvin University in Grand Rapids, MI, and a Master of Music in Composition from the Boston Conservatory at Berklee. Kelvyn has been commissioned to write pieces for Boston Latin School, Zeeland HS, Batesville HS, the Da Camera Singers, Quorum, and the Oriana Consort. His latest works include two full-length musicals, The Glassblower’s Daughter at the Regent Theater and The Prince and the Painter with Moonbox Productions.
Kelvyn is a founding member of the Nightingale Vocal Ensemble, for whom he sings and composes music, and has also sung with the Calvin Alumni Choir, Quorum, and the Oriana Consort. He performed as a soloist at the Beaver Island Baroque Festival in his home state of Michigan and has premiered several new vocal and piano works by his friends in Boston. Kelvyn accompanies voice lessons, choirs, and musical theatre at Boston Latin School and Boston Conservatory and plays piano as a soloist and accompanist around Boston. During the COVID era, he was challenged to record music weekly – a vulnerable and enriching experience – and to compose children’s musicals and choral music regularly from his studio. Kelvyn’s vision is to foster empathy, healing, and social justice for individuals and communities through music. He is excited to begin his journey with Artbarn this year!
Ashley Rabon
Designer
Ashley Rabon has been sewing since she was 11 years old, creating costuming since she was 16, and has sewn for private clients for the last 15 years. Though she briefly studied fashion design at Framingham State University, Ashley is mainly self-taught. She is passionate about learning new and creative ways of doing things. She loves working on film and theatre, having 5 Indie films/shorts to her credit, and has worked for Wheelock Family Theatre, Lyric Stage Company, and Reagle Music Theatre, among others. Ashley is so excited to join the Artbarn Design Staff after many years working at Camp Kaleidoscope in Newton as the Costume Designer and Sewing Teacher. When she is not working behind the scenes in the dark, she can be found with her spawn taking part in Live-Action Roleplaying Games or working at the New York Renaissance Faire.
Euridice Rivas
Designer
Euridice has been part of the Artbarn family since the beginning. Originally from Caracas, Venezuela, Euridice was professionally involved in music since her early teens, as vocalist of several ensembles, film scores and multimedia productions. She studied Liberal Arts at Universidad Central de Venezuela (UCV) and then moved to Boston to complete a B.A. in Professional Music from Berklee College of Music. In addition to working as a musician and a voice coach, she has attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts and MassArt in Boston to further explore her life passion for visual arts. During the full time mom years, Euridice started building theatrical sets while volunteering at her daughters’ school plays. Not too long after that, in 2001, she joined the staff at Artbarn Community Theater as a designer. Since then, Artbarn has been the creative ground for her vision as a visual artist. Euridice is very passionate about the arts overall and the undeniable power it has to heal and better humanity. She finds herself in a constant desire to learn, explore, and discover the many ways she can create, inspire, connect, and deliver. She feels incredibly enriched and grateful for her journey as an artist, and for all the people who have inspired her. www.euridicerivas.com
Steve Sarro
Music Director
Steve Sarro joined the Artbarn family in 2013, and considers it one of the most fun and creatively rewarding experiences of his life. He currently music directs for the Field Mice, Duck Soup, and Rafters programs, and directs for Summer at the Barn. An alumni of Berklee School of Music, he is a pianist, guitarist, bassist, singer, and composer. He recently served as music director, keyboardist and background vocalist for WE’RE GONNA DIE (Company One & ART), and is a resident music director and instructor at ImprovBoston where he teaches musical improv and can regularly be seen music directing shows for their home and touring shows.
Hannah Shihdanian
Director / Choreographer
Hannah began her Artbarn journey with Duck Soup in 2013! She then expanded to working with the Barn Cats troupe and last choreographed their production of Spamalot in 2019. She has a BA in Theatre Performance from The University of Vermont and has worked professionally for the A.R.T. (under direction of Diane Paulus), The Greater Boston Stage Company, The Umbrella Stage Company, Reagle Music Theatre, and others. Hannah has choreographed for Wellesley Theatre Project (over 40 productions), Babson College, The Umbrella Stage Co, Needham Community Theatre, Alexander Children’s Theatre, as well as others. In 2018, Hannah moved to TX with her two kids, and has been incredibly grateful to return back to Artbarn this past fall and now virtually! Hannah is expecting her third baby in November 2020!
Alyssa Weathersby
Choreographer
Alyssa (B.M. Vocal Performance ’14, M.M. Vocal Pedagogy ’17) joined the Artbarn family in 2017 and is thrilled to continue working with such an amazing program with the Rafters team. She is an interdisciplinary performer, choreographer, and director whose work spans the music, theatre, and corporate industries. Alyssa guest choreographs and directs in educational and professional companies across the country, and holds a now-virtual private voice studio. Her recent collaborations have included projects with Colorado University, Alkemie early music, and Okta. Learn more at www.alyssaweathersby.com.
Eugene Zeleny
Designer
Eugene Zeleny is an engineer, woodworker, designer, and teacher, and joined Artbarn in 2021. Since graduating Northeastern University for mechanical engineering, he has sought out learning opportunities in any field that can teach him something new. He has designed medical devices, indoor garden hydroponics systems, 3D printed shoes, consumer products, household furniture, and festival art installations. Eugene currently teaches woodworking to 3rd graders at Minni Space, and sells customized leather, wood, and 3D printed gifts on Etsy. To find out more about Eugene’s projects and installations, check out www.wouldworkshop.com.