Ksenya Litvak
Set and Puppet Design, Puppet Maker
Our set and puppets are designed by Ksenya Latvik, who was the resident set and costume designer for Classika Theater for many years. The puppets are made by Ksenya as well. She received her post-graduate and MFA degrees from the prestigious St. Petersburg state Theatre Arts Academy in St. Petersburg, Russia. Her specialties include graphics, painting, sculpture, puppet, and marionette design and technology. She has an art studio where she gives classes for all ages and levels, and runs wonderful summer art camps for children. For more information, contact Ksenya at ksushalitvak@yahoo.com.
Ksenya made the goose’s giant puppet head, and the rest of the goose set, with its giant wings which also serve as performance spaces for the other puppets, was built by John Walters, who currently builds sets at Arena Stage.
Lilia Slavova
Director and Co-Writer of Script
The show is directed by Lilia Slavova, a director, choreographer, award-winning actress who was raised and trained in Eastern Europe. She was the recipient of a Stanislavski’s scholarship, and is currently the artistic director at Classika Theatre. She is a very gifted acting coach and while she works with people of all ages, she is especially talented at coaching children. Her rates are very reasonable, and she has the rare quality of being very direct and to the point while still being very kind. Please contact her at starsstudio@cox.net to learn more about these private lessons and her current group classes. Her coaching me for a monologue got me a new agent, and I’ve heard many other success stories from her students. She gives a very special flavor to the Mother Goose show with her unique style and approach to puppet theatre.
Micah Levy
Composer of Original Arrangements
Micah Levy, the composer of the show’s very special musical arrangements, has won a Parent’s Choice Award for his CD "The Probably Untrue Story of Mary (who) Had a Little Lamb". You can order this CD and listen to samples at www.sonusnovus.com. The score was performed by the San Diego Orchestra live for three performances, with Micah narrating the story, in 2006.
Micah is available for composition projects, which are now his focus. He has been commissioned to write three works for wind ensemble, and is also scheduled to score a documentary film entitled "Exiles and Homecomings" as well as incidental music to a multimedia production entitled "Our Fathers Never Took us Fishing" in 2007.
As a commercial writer he has created music for many, varied projects including films, toys, background "beds" for voice-over commercials and radio plays.