Meet the Team
Maddie Rostami
writing specialist
Maddie Rostami (she/they) is an educator, writer, and dramaturg with a passion for storytelling. This is her sixth season with composed; Maddie has helped over 100 composed students tell their own stories in imaginative, personal ways through the college essay process.
Beyond composed, Maddie is the Education Lead for 3Views on Theater, a theater criticism publication. As a dramaturg for new plays, she has collaborated with theaters around the country.
Maddie graduated with honors from Northwestern University, where she studied theatre and cognitive science.
Contact: maddie@
essayscomposed.com
Christine Trychin
writing specialist
Christine Trychin is an educator with 14 years' experience teaching writing, literature, and art history. This is her fifth season with composed. Before composed, Christine taught academic writing to undergrads at UC Berkeley. Outside the classroom, Christine has taught whitewater kayaking, rock climbing, and windsurfing. She is also a passionate ceramicist.
Christine graduated magna cum laude from the College of William and Mary. She received an MA from UC Berkeley in Slavic Languages and Literatures and a PhD from UC Berkeley in Art History.
Contact: christine@
essayscomposed.com
ari Brenner
Writing specialist
Ari Brenner (they/he) is a playwright, educator and dramaturg. As a writer, Ari studied under Tony Award-winning playwrights Lynn Nottage and David Henry Hwang; his plays explore queer, trans, Disabled, and Jewish themes and have been produced in New York, Washington, D.C., San Diego, and London. This is his third year with composed.
Ari graduated summa cum laude with a BA in English and Theater from Cornell University, then received his MFA in playwriting from Columbia University. As an educator, Ari is passionate about encouraging students to unlock their unique narrative voice and discover the joy in writing.
Contact: ari.essayscomposed@
gmail.com
Brad balukjian
Writing specialist
Brad Balukjian is a journalist and scientist. This is his second season at composed. He has written two books about the real lives of famous athletes and performers, the first of which, The Wax Pack, was named one of NPR's Best Books of 2020. He’s also written articles for National Geographic, Rolling Stone, Smithsonian, and many other publications.
He is currently a Research Associate at the California Academy of Sciences.
Brad graduated with a B.A. in island biogeography (a self-designed major) from Duke University and a Ph.D. in Environmental Science, Policy, and Management from UC Berkeley.
Contact: brad.essayscomposed
@gmail.com
kate kilbane | owner, writing specialist
Kate Kilbane is an educator, composer, and playwright with twenty years’ experience teaching writing, music and theater. In her twelve years with composed, she has worked with over eight hundred students on their college application essays. Helping students find their unique voices and empowering them to tell their own stories is one of her great passions in life.
Beyond composed, Kate and her husband have a storytelling band called The Kilbanes. They write music for theater, and their work has been produced throughout the United States. Kate is a singer, an electric bassist, an avid dancer and hiker, and a mother of two.
Kate received a full academic (Jefferson) scholarship to the University of Virginia and graduated magna cum laude with a BA in English. She also holds a Masters of Arts in Performance Studies from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
Contact: kate@essayscomposed.com