Faculty

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. In his younger days, he was a competitive ice dancer and a Team USA Figure Skating member. These days he is most often found dancing through the streets of Boston to the music in his own head.

MacMillan Egan

Associate Director

MacMillan Egan 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

Moira Applebaum

Music Director

Adam Brooks

Composer / Playwright

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 / Dance Instructor

Camille is thrilled to be starting this new adventure with Artbarn! 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!

Florrie Ives

Designer / Storybook Theater

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.”

Molly Menner

Director

Molly Menner began her Artbarn journey in 2022 as the drama specialist during Summer at the Barn. Now, she is the director of Duck Soup Troupe as well as the assistant director of Rafters and Barncats. Over the years, she has been a theater educator at schools, summer camps, and community theaters around New England.

Molly grew up in a theater like Artbarn that shaped her creativity and self-esteem. She wouldn’t be directing today if it weren’t for those formative experiences and she is committed to helping every child at Artbarn discover those same values. Molly is so grateful she gets to do this work today!

Liana C. Percoco

Choreographer

Liana C. Percoco is a movement-based performing artist, educator, and choreographer.  She has worked with The Young Company at Greater Boston Stage Company since 2016 choreographing musicals and teaching workshops in dance, devised performance, and yoga for youth theatre artists. She is excited to join Art Barn Community Theatre this Fall!   Her original dance theatre, site-specific choreography, and dance films have been shown at festivals and venues around the country including American Dance Festival’s Movies by Movers (NC), Experimental Film Virginia, ChaShama (NYC), LaMaMa Spoleto (IT), Links Hall (Chi), Green Street Studios and The Dance Complex (Bos) and has performed as a tap dancer in Tony Williams’/City Ballet of Boston’s Urban Nutcracker.  She has a B.A. in Dance from Columbia College Chicago and is also a Licensed Massage Therapist and Registered Yoga Instructor that strives to create personal empowerment through embodied expression.

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.

Eurídice 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

Sarah Simon

Choreographer / Designer / Storybook Theater

Sarah is thrilled to be back at Artbarn after many years as an actor and intern. She attended New York University Steinhardt where she studied Educational Theatre and American Sign Language. With experience in directing, designing, stage management, dramaturgy, and applied theatre facilitation, she is deeply invested in the power of the arts to build community, foster self-expression, and social skills, and change lives.

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.