MEET OUR TEACHING ARTISTS
Leo Lion is a director, teaching artist, and improv/RPG storyteller, and the founding Artistic Director of The Firebird Project. With a background in adapting classics and myths for the stage, Leo brings a narrative-focused approach to teaching, encouraging students to find their own creative voice by exploring well-known stories in experimental ways.
Leo has directed twelve youth productions with Firebird Youth Theater, and leads the improv branch of our education programs.
Leo also works as a performing arts teacher at the International School of Brooklyn in their Middle School division, directing their Spring Musical and leading advanced improv training for 8th grade.
More about Leo at leolion.com
Zoe Senese-Grossberg is a director, playwright and teaching artist who has been directing with Firebird since 2017, and serves as our Associate Artistic Director. She is a National Jewish Playwrights finalist, a National Playwrights Conference semi-finalist, and she’s worked at renowned theater companies such as Rattlestick and the Workshop Theater. Zoe has a great passion for encouraging students to find their voice through text exploration and collaborative storytelling.
Zoe has been a teaching artist and associate director of seven Firebird youth productions, and leads the playwriting branch of our education programs.
About Zoe’s playwriting/directing work:
zoesenesegrossberg.org
Benny Rendell is a filmmaker, actor, and screenwriter, who grew up in Firebird’s youth ensemble and now performs in the resident company (Boy My Greatness, Rossum’s Universal Robots, Frankenstein). He studied filmmaking with Carlo Mirabella-Davis (dir. Swallow, The Swell Season, The Servant) and studied screenwriting with Ron Nyswaner (Philadelphia, Homeland, Fellow Travelers). Benny’s films have been selected for film festivals including the Woodstock, Austin, and Williamsburg Film Festivals. A proud homeschool alum, Benny is currently studying Filmmaking and Cinema Studies at NYU Tisch.
Find out more about Benny’s films and his independent production company at mirroruptonaturefilms.com
Isabelle Pflanz is an actor, somatic dancer, and teaching artist, and a resident artist of the Firebird Players ensemble (Our Town, Rossum’s Universal Robots) who grew up in the youth ensemble (eXpresso, Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Our Town). She specializes in physical theatre and devised storytelling, and has a background in classical acting and contact improv. With a love for telling stories through physical play, Isabelle helps students confidently engage their bodies and become supportive, collaborative ensemble members.
Sophie Falvey is an actor, writer, and teaching artist, and a resident artist of the Firebird Players ensemble (Rossum’s Universal Robots, The Seagull, Boy My Greatness, if i live until i be a man). They specialize in teaching theater devising and have a background in both classical and experimental acting, as well as clown & improv. Sophie’s playful, confident approach encourages students to come out of their shell and find their own storytelling style.
Kathleen (Kit) Dionne is a playwright, director, and RPG artist from NYC. Kit is an RPG game leader at Brooklyn Game Lab, and has served as a stage manager for Phoenix Theatre Ensemble’s Scandalton LIVE!, the New York Theater Festival (For Theo, 2023). An alumna of NYU Tisch (BFA Dramatic Writing, 2020), Kit is a passionate storyteller, theatermaker, and educator. Kit’s creative approach emphasizes collaboration, connection with other artists, and a curious willingness to play.