Barry Weil
Levels Manager
Performing Arts/Theatre
Barry has been a theatre artist for more than 35 years and has been working with teenagers since 1992. He is an actor, playwright, director, filmmaker, visual artist, puppeteer and puppetry designer. Barry and his creative partner Tanya Khordoc are co-artistic directors of Evolve Puppets, and have been creating original theatre for more than two decades at venues that include La MaMa, St. Ann’s Warehouse, Here Arts Center, The Brick, Dixon Place and The Puppeteers of America National Festival. They’ve created shows like the high-energy vaudeville act Secrets History Remembers and the epic multimedia play Home (a Jim Henson Foundation Grant recipient). Barry & Tanya directed, designed and performed the world premiere production of former Czech President Vàclav Havel’s play Motormorphosis for UTC61’s Havel Festival, and were visited backstage by President Havel himself. Their puppet film Light as Paper was an Official Selection of the Vienna International Film Awards and other international film festivals. Evolve also designs, builds and directs puppetry for other companies, including the ten-foot-tall Andy Warhol puppet in Chasing Andy Warhol (which also accompanied Grand Marshal Laurie Anderson in the NYC Halloween Parade), and the innovative internally-lit characters in Devil and the Deep (a musical by Graham Russell of multiplatinum recording artists Air Supply). Finally, Barry has been inside the “Audrey II” plant for so many productions of Little Shop of Horrors that he’s starting to grow leaves. (Photo by Richard Termine)
Rock Abrahamson
Assistant Manager
Music
Rock holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music education as well as a minor in creative writing from Manhattanville University, where they served as rugby captain, president of Manhattanville’s NAfME (National Association for Music Education) chapter, and were music director for two a cappella groups. Rock finds joy in merging their passions with varied creative pursuits, whether it be teaching educational or developmental concepts through music, using pedagogy to create educational music arrangements in contrasting genres, writing about education and music, or growing edible flowers for homemade baked goods. Various groups have performed Rock’s musical arrangements, and Rock is enthusiastic about providing new musical experiences for all learners. Outside of the teen center, Rock may be writing articles advocating for rights in youth spaces, cooking a new recipe, spending time with their pets, reading a new book, tending to their fruit and vegetable garden, and volunteering for Laurel Music Camp, serving as co-coordinator of their Operations Committee, and on their Development and DEI committees. They are excited to be working with the Levels program to foster a safe and inclusive space that helps teens reach their full potential and discover new interests.
Rebecca Hirschhorn
Storytelling, Performing Arts & Design
After an eventful* tenure as a Levels teen, Rebecca returned to Levels in November of 2023 as a member of the staff. She could not be more thrilled to be back, and hopes to provide new teens with the community, creativity, and enrichment Levels provided for her. She began as a freelance “Dungeon Master” leading the collaborative storytelling game Dungeons & Dragons, which she first learned to play at Levels! In addition to being a tenth-level wizard, Rebecca is also a writer, costume designer, and an artist. She holds a B.A. in Writing, Literature, and Publishing from Emerson College, and leads Levels’ creative writing workshop. In her free time, Rebecca has a passion for books—reading, writing, and translating—and is slowly working on translating Victor Hugo’s 1869 novel L’Homme Qui Rit (The Man Who Laughs) from French to English.
*Fourteen shows: ten as a performer, nine as a costume designer, and three as a director!
Sara Gottlieb
Creative Arts
Sara holds a Bachelor’s Degree in English and Film Studies from Muhlenberg College and a Master’s Degree in Teaching American Sign Language from University of Northern Colorado. An ASL enthusiast since high school, she has taught sign language since 2018 to students of all ages and holds teaching certifications in both Colorado and New York. She currently teaches ASL as a foreign language at Benjamin N. Cardozo High School.
In 2018, after graduating from college, she joined the Disney College Program, working at Avatar Flight of Passage in Disney’s Animal Kingdom at Walt Disney World—the perfect job for a proud Disney adult.
Outside the classroom, Sara enjoys crafting, writing, and musical theater. She is currently collaborating with composer Jake Landau and writer Deborah D.E.E.P. Mouton on a new musical about Rosie the Riveter. Sara is a proud Levels alum, having participated in more than a dozen productions onstage and behind the scenes. She is thrilled to join the team at Levels to bring wonderful programming and experiences to current students.