10 Faculty and 7 Counselors
All our teachers and staff are C.O.R.I. & S.O R.I checked, we look at their work history and 3 references from unrelated parties are requested. Also, our head Counselors are college students trained in First aid.

Catalina Arrubla
Director

Catalina is the founder and director of Multi Arts. She is a well-known chamber music coach and oboe teacher. She has taught and directed several music programs at UMass, Northampton, Brattleboro and Springfield Music Schools. She is the co-founder of the Syrinx Ensemble, which performs chamber music throughout the New England area. Catalina is also an economist and has worked as director of a main branch of the Minister of Culture in Colombia, her home country. Catalina is a member of the Massachusetts Cultural Council's select list of creative teaching partners.

Sonia Arrubla
Artistic Director

A native of Colombia, Ms. Arrubla began her theatrical career as an actress at the age of 15 when she was invited to join Teatro Libre de Bogotá. One of the most important theater companies in Colombia, Teatro Libre gave her the opportunity to perform in the classics, as well as contemporary plays. In the eight years she was a member of the company, she toured the world—and virtually every town and city in her native land. As a young adult, Arrubla gained a national following when she moved to television, where she acted in mini-series, sitcoms, and numerous soap operas.

Arrubla moved to the United States in 1994 to segue into directing, enrolling at New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts, where she earned her undergraduate degree in film and television. She then completed her education with an MFA in film at NYU’s world-renowned master’s program. At NYU, Arrubla wrote and directed several short films, including “Sobrevivir,” winner of the 1999 Warner Brothers’ Award.

Since 2002, Arrubla has been the driving artistic force behind Multi-Arts. As its Artistic Director, she has produced and directed twelve plays, working with more than 600 children ages 6 through 14. In the summer of 2007, Arrubla filmed the feature film “Bubble Trubble”, which features an all-child cast, 80 percent of them drawn from her students at Multi-Arts.

Inés Arrubla
Dance

Inés is a contemporary Flamenco dancer who has performed, taught, and choreographed extensively throughout Europe and the United States. She is the founder of the Flamenco Dance Theater and has created five major theater-dance productions to date. Her work as a performer and choreographer has been produced to great acclaim, earning her a reputation as one of the nation's premier Flamenco performers. Inés is a member of the Massachusetts Cultural Council's select list of creative teaching partners.

Brian Bender
Music 

Brian (trombone, piano, percussion) performs frequently with various Jazz, Reggae, Samba, Latin Jazz, Funk, Klezmer, Celtic and Dixieland bands. He has performed in prestigious venues in Egypt, Israel, the Cape Verde Islands, Alaska, Italy, France, the United Kingdom and throughout the United States, including Carnegie Hall and at the Presidential Inauguration of Bill Clinton. Brian is a graduate of the New England Conservatory of Music. www.brianbender.com

Titus Neijens
Arts

Titus was born and grew up in Holland. He studied art at the Royal Academy of Art in Amsterdam. Titus is a professional illustrator whose work has appeared in several European magazines as well as in the New York Times and the Wall Street Journal. A co-founder of Claroscuro Productions, Titus has extensive experience with theater and film artistic design.

Andrew Smicker
Music

Andrew is from Allentown, PA and has been playing trumpet since the fourth grade. While he was in high school he was selected to perform in the COTA (Celebration Of The Arts) Cats Jazz Band with alto saxophonist Phil Woods. Andrew received his BFA in Jazz Performance from the New School University of Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City. While he was attending the New School he had the opportunity to study with some of the best trumpet teachers in jazz such as Cecil Bridgewater, Laurie Frink, and Joe Magnarelli to name a few. He also had the opportunity to play in groups under the direction of bassist, Cecil McBee, tenor saxophonist Billy Harper, and trombone player Benny Powell. Andrew has also received his Masters in Music in Jazz Composition and Arranging from the University of Massachusetts. While he was at UMass he studied composition and arranging under Prof. Jeffery Holmes. Andrew is currently performing in the Leah Radazzo group. He has performed at venues such as Ryles Jazz Club in Cambridge MA, the Regatta Bar also in Cambridge, and the world famous Blue Note Jazz Club in New York City, on two occasions.

Christine Dowal
Arts

Born and raised in Massachusetts, Ms. Dowal earned her Bachelor of Fine arts degree at the Massachusetts College of Art, Boston, where she studied design, drawing, sculpture, painting, fiber arts, paper-making, and photography. After several years travelling and working abroad, Ms. Dowal settled in Montréal, Quebec, raising and homeschooling two children, and instructing popular art workshops for youngsters. Through her small company, Le Bond Vert, she offers specialized art programs to schools and community groups.

Josh Gold
Dance and Drama. All workshops.

Josh Gold (G~LoX) is a self taught Teacher, Director, Choreographer and Performer from PVPA who specializes in Funk Dance, Mime, Blacklight Theater, and Costumes. G~LoX has danced many places including Tokyo, NewYork, Czech Republic, and Amsterdam. His Teaching experience is over a decade strong spanning from Springfield to the Berkshires, and everywhere in between. Josh's students are usually between the ages of preschool-college, but occasionally Adults join in on the fun too! "I'm a Multi-Artist, and U CAN TOO!"

Ilana Meredith
Drama. Workshops I, II and III.

Ilana graduated from N.Y.U., Tisch School of the Arts' B.F.A. drama program, where she studied at the CAP21 Musical Theatre Program, as well as the Experimental Theatre Wing. She spent several years performing throughout the country in musical theatre productions, including work with various children's theatre companies. She has also done professional voice-over work and appeared in the award winning independent film, Let Them Chirp Awhile. Since 2004, she has been performing in children's educational shows at the N.Y. Hall of Science in Queens. Ilana has taught improv at the Gifted Child Society in N.J., as well as at the P.S. 166 After-School Enrichment Program in NYC. She has also worked as a "Playlab" teacher at A-Ha!, a developmental learning center in NYC. Currently, she plans to begin graduate school this fall to obtain her masters' degree in childhood education. For more info., please visit her website at www.IlanaMeredith.com.

Iris Berkman
Dance. Guest Artist.

Iris has taught Modern Dance and Creative Movement to children for over 20 years. Iris is a native of Israel, where she first studied dance, and where she danced professionally for several years. She received degrees in Dance and Education at Hunter College in New York City. She studied with many dance teachers and choreographers in New York, and taught at various schools and studios there before moving to the Valley. Currently, she dances with the Lisa Leizman Dance Company in Northampton. Iris, together with Mary Bull, is a cofounder of the Dance Project in Amherst, offering classes in creative and modern dance to children ages 3 – 18.

Curtis Widem
Play Writing. Workshop I, II & III.

Curtis' teaching, writing and performing experience make him an ideal instructor for Multi-Arts. Besides teaching at Hartford Children's Theatre, the Farmington Valley Arts Center and Footlights, Inc., he has created and taught his own classes; the latest being "Create Your Own Cereal Commercial!" He's also been entertaining and educating audiences for nearly a decade with his Thing Machine, a comedy skit in a vending machine. His child-friendly "advertising performances" have taught families about the plays at Hartford Stage, the Education Programs at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, and the borough of Queens in NYC's famed family festival, CultureFest.
He is a graduate of the University of Hartford Art School, and eagerly looks forward to sharing his knowledge with his students - www.thingmachine.com

Nicole McClure
Play Writing.

Nicole has taught at Multi Arts for two years, leading classes in Play Writing, Drama, Music, and Circus Arts. She is a student at Hampshire College where she will complete her senior thesis in Painting next year. Originally from Seattle WA, She has studied and taught writing and performance with various performing groups on both the east and west coasts, including Youth Speaks Seattle, The Free Box Circus, Tacoma Teen Council Theater of the Oppressed, and Clowns Unlimited. Nicole also performs locally with her band Didi Loves Gogo. She is excited to join us for a third awesome year!

Gian Didonna
Play Writing & Drama. Workshop IV.

Gian Didonna is a plawright, actor and director whose plays SINISTER MAN and THE NIGHT TROMBONE, appeared in the LABrynth Theater Company’s Barn Series at the Public Theatre in December 2007 and 2004 respectively. His plays THE DANUBE PROJECT was also workshopped by LABrynth at their Summer Intsenive at Bennington College of Summer 2005. In 2003, as winner of the Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation playwrighting grant, DiDonna wrote RENATI THE KING, which was workshopped at the Project Theatre Ensemble where he was named Writer in Residence. He has also written GEORGIA (Downtown Urban Theater Festival, 2006), GELATO, (Multi-Arts Summer Program for Children, 2006), THE TALE OF THREE MOONS (MASWFC, 2004), THE CHI (Upstart Theatre Company NYC, 2000). Other awards include “Finalist” at The Last Frontier New Play Lab Competition in Valdez, Alask, 1999. Teaching credits: Playwriting and Dramatic Literature at the College of Staten Island, Acting at Queensborough Community College, English Literature at St. John’s University. Training: MFA in Playwriting at Goddard College, BA from New School, Certificate in Acting from London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. He is currently developing a screenplay about children and sex trafficking..

JOEL TOMAR LEVIN
Video

Joel studied film at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, where he earned a Student Academy Award nomination for his short film This is Not a Picture. He presently works as a film editor and graphic designer, developing content for Rethos.com and the Manhattan Neighborhood Network. For fun, Tomar enjoys taking long walks in the woods and improvising with the Upright Citizens Brigade.

Caroline Romedenne
Photographer, Graphic designer.

Caroline Romedenne was born and raised in Belgium. She studied Art Photography at the ‘Beaux-Arts of St-Luc’, in Liege. Caroline has worked as a professional photographer between Brussels and Paris in both fashion and portrait. As she travels, Navajo Land becomes home, moved on to Colorado where she trades her 35mm for digital media. Old passion rise and graphic design emerge… She works today as a professional graphic designer in both web and print publishing blending photography and design. See some of her work here

Juan Carlos Carpio
Music. Workshop IV.

Juan is an Ecuadorian musician and educator with a concentration in guitar, bass guitar, wind, and percussion instruments. His main musical interests derive from the diverse music styles of Latin American culture. He has toured Europe and Latin America with various groups including the internationally renowned Altiplano ensemble. Juan has spent time in New York City as a working musician in residency with different Latino Theater companies such as The Pregones Theater and the Puerto Rican Traveling Theater. Since 2001, Juan Carlos has been a resident in The Pioneer Valley and has collaborated with local projects such as José Gonzales and Criollo Clasico, Viva Quetzal, Dan Kennedy and others.

Our Conselors...



Heather Smith
Heather graduated from Hampshire College where she studied art, history, and dance. Since a young age she has been involved in the arts, performing in theater productions, dance, and musical performances. Her performances with various groups have taken her around the United States and as far away as Europe. She is extremely excited to begin her first year at Multi-Arts.

Abolee Montanari
Abolee grew up in Amherst Massachusettes and is currently a student at Ithaca college in a sociology and social worker program. She has been studing classical Indian dance, Odissi style for the past 15 years from Ranjanaa Devi. She has been in many shows, taught classes, and workshops all around the area. Over the years Abolee has also studyed a number of other dance styles including ballet, jazz, hip-hop, modern, tap, and flamanco to not only bradon her knowlege of dance but to also increase her ability to teach and relate to other dancers. !

Caitlyn Squires
Caitlyn is a student at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst where she has recently been accepted into the Secondary Teacher Education Program with a concentration in English. Caitlyn has a variety of teaching experience; she spent three years as choreographer to the Hanson Middle School Show Choir and taught religious education at Saint Joseph the Worker Parish in Hanson, Massachusetts, her hometown. In addition to working with youth, Caitlyn enjoys singing, dancing, acting and writing. Her specialty is musical theatre; she was most recently on stage with the UMass Theatre Guild. As an artist of multiple trades and a future teacher, Caitlyn believes in the incredible benefits of creative arts for children of all ages.

Trenda
Trenda is from Albany, New York and is a rising senior at Smith College majoring in American Studies with a minor in Theatre. Focusing on theatre for social justice and change, she is interested in the many ways theatre and other art forms can be used to educate both youth and adults. Aside from her interests in writing, directing, acting and singing, she loves cooking, dancing, and making music with random things. She hopes someday to establish an organization that combines all of the above.

Kiara Ana Perico
Kiara is a freshmen Viola Performance Major at Boston University's School of Music. She attended The Hartsbrook School from First through Twelfth Grade and within the school curriculum, participated in a yearly play performance, chorus, orchestra, practical arts and visual arts. Throughout middle school and high school she partook in different community orchestras, community theater and spent her summers at Greenwood Music Camp. Kiara loves swimming, playing music, performing and artistic activites!

Corrine Byrne
Corrine is a singer songwriter from Marshfield, MA currently studying music and opera at Umass Amherst. She plays guitar and banjo, sings with Umass Opera Workshop, Chamber Choir, Arcadia Players Baroque Ensemble, and she is the music director of the award-winning Umass Dynamics A Cappella. She also loves photography, art, and movies!

Sophie Ragone
Sophie is a Theatre and Spanish double major at Smith College, just recently returned from spending a year studying abroad in Puebla, Mexico. She enjoys acting in and directing plays for audiences of all ages. Her most recent role was that of the grandmother witch in a Mexican rendition of a Russian children's folktale. Sophie's all time favorite play is Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman, which takes place in a swimming pool. She also enjoys making ice cream, and sending postcards.

Doug Zhang
Doug comes from Fremont, California, and is currently enrolled in the Secondary Teacher Education Program at University of Massachusetts Amherst. He received his Bachelor's Degree in Biology, and has a comprehensive knowledge on the human body in relation to its movements. He is also an actor, an artist, an athlete, and a beginning dancer. Expression is the key to his existence, and he loves to share his passion with the younger generations.

Christina Eliopoulos
Christina comes from Burlington Vermont and is currently attending Smith College as a studio art major. After painting for many years, she has now developed a love for sculpture and making things with her hands. Christina likes to incorporate sewing, painting, fabrics, wood, wire and found objects into her pieces. Two major interests include the preservation of artwork of the past and helping to create a positive artistic influence in the lives of young people.

Flarnie Nonemaker
Flarnie, who hails from Minneapolis, Minnesota, is studying Art Education at Hampshire College. She will be entering her final year in Fall of 2008, and plans to spend a semester student teaching in an art classroom. She love making art with children and has participated in classical, jazz, and African drumming ensembles. She hopes to one day publish a children's book and run an after-school art program.