Mikalina Rabinsky

Mikalina Rabinsky: Building Ensemble and the Art of Adaptation

Mikalina Rabinsky is a theater artist and teacher in the Chicago area who is forever grateful to Joyce and Byrne for her foundational training and artistic home. As a senior faculty member at the Piven Theatre since 1998, she has directed and adapted many shows with the Young People’s Company and has taught both adults and children Improvisation, Story Theatre, Adaptation, Scene Study and Commedia dell’Arte. She also works in Puppetry, Mask and Found Objects. She has always emphasized collaboration with an ensemble to best make use of their unique voices to tell a story. Her work has been seen at Links Hall, The Conspiratorium, Peter Jones Gallery, The Ukrainian Institute of Art, Redmoon, Around the Coyote, Chicago’s Her-Ra Festival, Heart of Gold, The Spare Room, Rhythm Night Club and Millennium Park. Some recent favorite endeavors include: Directing Dead Man Walking at Piven Theatre for The Quality of Mercy Project; performing with The Conspirators in the Commedia dell’Arte show, The Resistible Rise of Herr Helmut Drumpf; and participating with artists from around the country and world in a professional artistic intensive, The Catapult, through the Chicago International Puppet Theater Festival.