our TEAM
*We are always looking for new members to join our Board. Email contact@puppetart.org if you are interested!
IRINA BARANOVSKAYA, Principal Designer, is a founding member and served as its principal designer of PuppetART for almost 30 years. The puppets featured in the current repertoire were designed and crafted by Irina.
ADNAN CHARARA is a Lebanese-American artist who has lived and worked in the U.S. since 1982. With an unquenchable thirst to create since he was a child, he drew, painted, sculpted and assembled his way from Seattle to Boston to Detroit, where he currently makes his artistic home. Adnan works in multiple mediums with several ideas at a time, treating his studio practice like a detail-oriented factory. His hard-working dedication is masked, however, by his whimsical and humorous treatment of serious subjects. Adnan resides in Dearborn, a quick drive from the Cass Corridor neighborhood that houses his studio. He bought the historic Astro building in 2011 with an ambitious plan to develop it into a multifunctional space, including an exquisite gallery, gift shop, two store fronts and his sprawling subdivided studio. That plan has come to life with the help of architects and designers, and he continues to focus his energy on both his artwork and his community involvement.
STEVE GABRYS, Facilities Committee Chair, is a real estate advisor and consultant. In addition to serving multiple commercial real estate roles in the private sector (project manager, real estate broker, owner’s representative, investor), he served as the real estate development director for the Detroit based, nonprofit group Southwest Housing Solutions for 12 years. In that time, Steve and his team successfully developed and financed multiple affordable housing and community projects in Detroit. Many of these projects were historic renovations of existing buildings serving specific tenant groups, ie. artists, veterans, people in need.
BARBARA GOTTSCHALK, Secretary and Development Committee, is a retired educator from Warren Consolidated Schools. Barbara saw for herself how puppetry can reach all kinds of students including the ones she taught, English language learners. She first got involved with PuppetART by taking her students on field trips to PuppetART performances and facilitating PuppetART performances & residencies at her school. Now she helps with grant applications and provides insight from an educator’s perspective.
IGOR GOZMAN, Founder, Creative Director, is a theater director and founding member of PuppetART. For the last 45 years he has dedicated his talent to the fine art of puppetry. He has learned the craft at Leningrad Institute of Theater, Cinematography, and Music. Before emigrating to the USA he directed a number of productions at puppet theaters across Russia. Upon arriving in the US he founded PuppetART with his life partners Lyudmika Mikheyenko and Irina Baranovskaya. Since 1995 they together with the army of volunteers have built what is now known as PuppetART.
LYUBOV KAGAN, Advisor
LYUDMILA MIKHEYENKO, President, is a founding member of PuppetART and served as its drama director for almost 30 years.
LAURA NANES, Director, Laura Nanes is an accomplished musician, director and a certified music teacher. She has her Master’s Degree in Vocal Performance from Michigan State University, having achieved her Bachelor’s Degree there as well. While at MSU, Branham appeared as Donna Elvira in Don Giovanni, Antonia in Les Contes d’Hoffmann, Anne Trulove in The Rake’s Progress, Despina in Cosi fan tutte, Jessie in Mahagonny Songspiel, and Carla in Nine. She was also Rose in the southern premiere of Caroline, or Change, a Jeanine Tesori musical. Ms. Nanes grew up performing musical theatre with Paper Bag Productions in Detroit, sang with the Great Lakes Lyric Opera Company and also danced with Eric Johnston’s Detroit Ballet Company. While teaching for Detroit Public School, Ms Nanes launched the first ever elementary musical theatre program and won an American Theatre Wing Grant for her work there. With directing credits from Miami Children’s Theatre to the Children’s Theatre of San Jose and the Bay Area Children’s Theatre and currently Detroit Country Day School, Ms Nanes is a gifted director and play write and is thrilled to be back in Detroit with PuppeTree Productions.
NICHOLAS S. POBUTSKY, Program Committee, is the principal puppeteer and has been with PuppetART for over 20 years.
AARON TIMLIN, Chairperson/CEO, is an accomplished nonprofit management professional with over two decades experience in the field. He is the current Interim Director of PuppetART and President of the Chalfonte Foundation. Aaron held the positions of Executive Director for the Contemporary Art Institute of Detroit and the Detroit Artists Market, and is the founder and curator of detroit contemporary. He is a graduate of the Kennedy Center’s arts management program and completed New Detroit’s two year nonprofit capacity-building program. He has also held memberships and offices in several public and private organizations, including the Ferndale Arts & Culture Commission and the Forum for Contemporary Art at the Detroit Institute of Arts, among others.
