HOBT Staff
Steve Ackerman
Mainstage Programming and Community Partnerships
He/Him/His
Steve Ackerman is a playwright and puppet artist who focuses on quick, crude, high-energy art making. He has his BFA in Acting from East Carolina University and MFA in Playwriting from Southern Illinois University. Previous projects include Action Sequence, Kaboom, and Cartooon!.
Elina Kotlyar
Director of Education and Community Outreach
She/Her/Hers
Elina joined the HOBT Team in 2017. She has served in a variety of part time roles and has happily joined the team full time this January (2024) as the Director of Education. Elina is an educator, a therapist, a stage manager and an arts collaborator. She can not wait to bring more joyous puppet play and learning to this community. Elina is an immigrant and loves to travel, explore and people watch. Her happy place is the water and the trees and you can often find her kayaking, hiking and digging in the garden. Her cats rule her life.
Michelle Pett
Development and Finance Consultant
She/ Her/ Hers
Michelle is a seasoned arts administrator and leader. She has held interim executive leadership roles at Mixed Blood Theatre, Steppingstone Theatre, the Rose Ensemble, and History Theatre; as well as Managing Director roles at Theater Latte Da and Eye of the Storm Theatre. Pett served as Board President and Vice President during nine years on the board of Open Eye Figure Theatre. Her work as an independent producer includes a site-specific production of Full Gallop with Sally Wingert, Dustin Lance Black’s 8, and the debut of the Twin Cities Free Night of Theatre.
Rachel (Chelly) Beaver
she/they
Puppet Librarian and Storyteller
Chelly is a puppeteer and storyteller from the northern metro with over a decade of storytelling experience and a huge love for children's literature. You can normally find Chelly at HOBT's Puppet and Mask Library the first and third Saturday of each month accompanied by her puppet companion Turnip the Dog. Stop by and join her for a storytime or workshop!
Kathy Kerekes
Billing, Contracting, Operations
She/Her/Hers
I am happy to be working with HOBT as the new bookkeeper. I have worked in many areas including the merchant marines, the EPA, the National Park Service, several law offices, building management/coffee shop owner, geriatric healthcare, and for the past 8 years, arts administration in southern MN.
I live with my long-term partner Jim, our two daughters who are 17 and 19 years old, three cats, and a bearded dragon. We live in southern MN where I love to garden, forage, kayak, and sew. When I have more than a few hours to play, I am likely to be found up on Lake Superior where I work on restoring a Morgan 34 sailboat.
Orren Fen
Social Media Content Creator
She/They
Since before Orren could even speak they have been making weird Queer art in South Minneapolis. Orren focuses her work on puppetry, drag performance art, prop and set design, dance, costume design, sequins and googly eyes.
Gender identity usually works its way into the art Orren makes along with other things like clowns, grandmas, inanimate things with faces, and silly little jazzy dance moves.
Orren has performed at many venues and events in the Twin Cities including Weird Stuff Only, Open Eye Theater, B.O.N.K., Puppet Cabaret MPLS, Heart of the Beast Theater, Full Moon Puppet Show, the Dick Von Dyke Show, and many School Dance showcases.
HOBT's anonymous report form for feedback, concerns, complaints. This form is reviewed by HOBT's Board Chair. For general questions, please email [email protected]