Tyler Madsen is very excited to be working at Hillbarn again! Tyler is a Hillbarn Theater Conservatory alum who is briefly back in the Bay Area from a five-year stint in New York City. He earned a BFA in Theatre Arts from Molloy University and has had the pleasure of working at several Broadway theaters with shows such as Wicked, Hadestown, and Back to the Future. He hopes to soon earn a Master’s degree in Theatre Management. Most importantly, he’s extremely stoked to help a new generation of kids fall in love with the wonderful world of theatre!
Anna Sieben is beyond thrilled to have the opportunity to work with all these fabulous kids at Hillbarn this summer! Anna has experience working as an actor, choreographer, music director, and teacher all around the bay area. Notable credits include Leading Player in Pippin, the Chaperone in The Drowsy Chaperone, and Nostradamus in Something Rotten (Rita Moreno Award Nominee). This fall, Anna will be earning a B.F.A. in musical theatre where they are excited to continue their theatrical training.
Amanda Farbstein has been choreographing kids at Hillbarn long enough to see some go from elementary school to college! Among the other theaters and studios where she’s taught are MTC, NDNU, Broadway by the Bay, Pied Piper Players, Brisbane Dance Workshop, and Dance Arts Center. As a performer, you may have seen her at theaters such as Hillbarn, San Francisco Playhouse, Shotgun Players, CustomMade, Broadway by the Bay, PCPA, Theatre Rhinoceros, and Woodminster. She’ll teach anyone tap in any location and listens to Agatha Christie audiobooks whenever possible. She has a BA in English from Westmont College and trained at the PCPA conservatory. www.amandafarbstein.com
Izzy is an 18-year-old freshman at Loyola Marymount University pursuing her BA in Theatre Arts. Izzy is thrilled to be part of Hillbarn’s creative team and has previously done Hillbarn Conservatory shows such as, The Lightning Thief (Grover), Head Over Heels (Pamela), and Heathers (Martha Dunnstock). Recently, she made her Mainstage debut at LMU in “Bare the Pop Opera” and became a member of the theater frat/sorority and honors society on campus Alpha Psi Omega. Izzy loved working with the kids at Hillbarn in Gypsy and Honk and is so privileged to be working with them again!
Maya is a 19 year old freshman at New York University where she is getting her BFA in acting. She is so excited to be working with Hillbarn Conservatory this summer. She has been involved with Hillbarn since she was 8 years old, so this feels very full circle for her. Some of the past shows she has been in with Hillbarn include Head Over Heels and Heathers. Maya has also worked with Hillbarn Conservatory’s Honk last spring. Maya can’t wait for you to see all the hard work these kids have put in to bring this show to life!
Kennedy Johnson is so excited to join the Hillbarn conservatory team this summer! She recently graduated from the American Musical and Dramatic Academy, attending both the NYC and LA campuses. Her most recent creative credits include assisting with Mean Girls for TeenCo and assistant choreographing with both the SMHS drama and BHS drama departments for their past fall and spring musicals. Kennedy grew up here on the peninsula and did many theatre productions and dance competitions in her youth. She is excited to help teach the new generation of performers and give them a safe and open space to be themselves!
Jonathan Hagen is thrilled to be back at Hillbarn after working on Seussical last summer! You may have seen him in previous Hillbarn productions as Berger in Hair or Ram in Heathers. Halfway through his Music Education degree at NYU, Jonathan studies under several jazz legends including Lenny White and Manuel Valera. He is a working jazz multi-instrumentalist, arranging for the Joe Gloss quartet and playing in the NYU All-University Jazz Orchestra alongside Grammy-winning pianist Steven Feifke. Most recently, he spent a semester in Prague, where he organized youth concerts and played at the historic Agharta Jazz Club.
Samantha is excited to be choreographing The Descendents! It is her 4th year being a part of the conservatory staff. She has been involved with Godspell, Shrek, and Seussical in past summers. She has also performed in many Hillbarn shows including Urinetown (Hope), Mamma Mia! (Lisa), and Spring Awakening (Anna). Samantha has also worked behind the scenes at many other Bay Area theater companies as an assistant director, choreographer, stage manager, costumer, prop designer, hair and makeup artist, and dog trainer. She is grateful for this wonderful opportunity!
Emily is so excited to be back at Hillbarn for another summer of camp! Previously, Emily choreographed Hillbarn’s You’re a Good Man Charlie Brown and is thrilled to be stage managing this production of Descendants. Before she was behind the stage, Emily performed at Hillbarn and has been doing shows there since she was 11. You might have seen her play Shelia (Hair), Ensemble (The Four Gifts), and Anna (Spring Awakening) at Hillbarn previously. While Emily is not at Hillbarn, she is attending UCSB, where she is studying communications, performing improv, and continuing her love for the stage.
This is Zoe’s first year on the creative team for Hillbarn Conservatory! Currently studying Psychology, Music, and Theatre Arts at Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, she’s excited to be back in the bay. She’s worked and performed with San Carlos Children’s Theatre, Los Altos Youth Theatre, San Carlos Chicken’s Ball, as well as performed in past productions at Hillbarn.
Adrienne is the Conservatory Director here at Hillbarn, professional actor, and has choreographed and directed for various productions throughout the peninsula. Past performance credits include; Language Archive (TheatreWorks), Peter and the Starcatcher (Theatreworks and Hillbarn), and Beneath the Tall Tree (TheatreFIRST) where she made her playwriting debut alongside Jeffrey Lo. She has a BA in Anthropology, a minor in Classics, and practiced archaeology abroad. Adrienne looks forward to directing and choreographing San Mateo High School’s production of The Wedding Singer this winter. Love to her amazing family and as always for dad and Brian.
Rick is an accomplished Music Director, Musician, and Orchestrator. His extensive experience includes Hillbarn Theatre’s Mainstage, Teen Co Conservatory.. with notable projects like The Lightning Thief, Carrie, Spring Awakening, The Producers, Sweeney Todd, and West Side Story. Rick collaborates with many of our local schools, colleges, and theatres such as TheatreWorks, 42nd Street Moon, Woodminster, and others. He’s provided music for Theme Parks, Studios, and has worked at many international venues like Theatre Royal (London) and Royal Derngate Theatre (Northampton). BATC, TBA awards for musical direction Orchestration work includes: Jinx the Musical and Pitch In.
Brynn Ayoob performed in Hillbarn Conservatory Theatre shows since middle school. She assisted the teen show last summer and is excited to be the choreographer for Freaky Friday! Brynn has loved performing her whole life and is currently a sophomore Musical Theatre major at NYU Tisch. She just finished a run of her first Off-Broadway show, A Chorus Line. She is grateful to be a part of this amazing production team, proud of these talented kids, and excited to be back home with her Hillbarn family.
Robyn is a recent graduate at San Mateo High School, where she first discovered her love for tech theater, and is delighted to return to Hillbarn’s Summer Conservatory again to stage manage. Past stage management work includes Seussical and The Wedding Singer (SMHS), and notable crew work includes Something Rotten (SMHS) and Pippin (SMHS). She thanks her amazing friends and family for continuing to support her, as well as the company for all their hard work.
Izzy is an 18-year-old freshman at Loyola Marymount University pursuing her BA in Theatre Arts. Izzy is thrilled to be part of Hillbarn’s creative team and has previously done Hillbarn Conservatory shows such as, The Lightning Thief (Grover), Head Over Heels (Pamela), and Heathers (Martha Dunnstock). Recently, she made her Mainstage debut at LMU in “Bare the Pop Opera” and became a member of the theater frat/sorority and honors society on campus Alpha Psi Omega. Izzy loved working with the kids at Hillbarn in Gypsy and Honk and is so privileged to be working with them again!
This is Nicolette’s sixth consecutive year working at Hillbarn and is thrilled to be returning for her second year as the Conservatory’s Production Manager. Nicolette is going into her third year at CSU Chico where she is getting her BA in Media Arts (Production) and minoring in Dance and Theatre Arts. She is excited to have a magical time at camp with all the kids and looks forward to working with all the incredible creative teams this summer!
Mickey Skinner is so excited to be working with this fantastic bunch! This is their second summer working with Hillbarn and they couldn’t be happier to be back with this wonderful team and amazing talent. When they aren’t working behind the scenes, Mickey can be found on a stage! They were a founding member of Hillbarn’s Teen Conservatory, playing Roxie Hart in their production of Chicago, and recently were part of the NYC workshop of the new play A Brand, A Lifestyle. Enjoy the show, and support trans kids!
Aryn Kim is thrilled to be working at Hillbarn this summer. Although she did crew for last summer’s Seussical, this is their first time costume designing at Hillbarn! They’ve previously done costume design work at San Mateo High School for Wedding Singer, among other roles backstage for Pippin and Something Rotten.
Brigitte (she/hers) is a native Bay Area actress and theatre maker. When Brigitte is not on the stage she is taking your calls managing the Hillbarn Box office. Brigitte Is very excited to be back performing on the Hillbarn stage with such an incredible wealth of bay area talent. Some past roles include Ensemble/swing in Kinky Boots (ROLT), Kelly Manning in The Mad Ones & Heather Chandler in Heathers (PSP), Ali in Mamma Mia (San Jose Stage Co), Poppy in Noises Off (Hillbarn Theatre), Little Red Riding Hood in Into the Woods (LASC).
