David Coffin (Master of Ceremonies) is a firm believer in not doing anything full-time. While he’s been on the Revels stage since 1980 and performed as Master of Ceremonies since 1990, he also presents two very interactive School Enrichment Programs: The History of the Recorder and A Maritime Voyage in Song. March through November, David can also be found on Boston Harbor, narrating harbor history and running the crew onboard the high-speed stunt boat, Codzilla. Working with kids is a passion for David, so taking over 10,000 inner-city kids out to the Harbor Islands every summer since 2000 through Save the Harbor/Save the Bay has been a nice way to round out his year.

During the pandemic, David created over 600 videos on TikTok trying to teach young people what a real sea chantey is (i.e. NOT THE WELLERMAN SONG!) A byproduct of these videos is the digital album The Sound of Time, a series of “one take” songs requested by followers on the app. David has produced a series of virtual concerts, two of which became a digital album; A Revels Hymn Sing and A Virtual Maritime Concert. David has several other solo CDs to his credit and was also featured in the Amazon Prime movie Blow the Man Down as the Singing Fisherman.

In his years with Revels, including 10 years standing behind Jack Langstaff and 36 years spent trying to fill his enormous shoes, David learned an awful lot about performing from Jack. He also owes a huge debt of gratitude to Paddy Swanson for giving him his various onstage roles and for preserving and honoring “the part that Jack built.”

Jeffrey Binder is a theatre artist and arts leader whose work spans directing, playwriting, producing, education, and nonprofit administration. He brings a lifelong commitment to storytelling that fosters empathy, joy, and a sense of belonging across generations and communities.

Binder spent nearly three decades performing on Broadway, in regional theatres across the country, and in London’s West End. He later served as Associate Artistic Director of Gulfshore Playhouse in Naples, Florida, where he helped shape artistic programming, expand education initiatives, and support a successful capital campaign culminating in the opening of a new state-of-the-art theatre complex.

As a playwright, Binder’s modern adaptation of Scapino is published by Samuel French and has enjoyed record-breaking productions. He is deeply passionate about building artistic homes that honor tradition while welcoming new voices and is energized by styles and performances that are uniquely theatrical.

Jeff is thrilled to join the Revels family along with his daughter Annika, husband Mike, and dogs Quincy and Penny – with occasional, reluctant participation from his creaky old cat, Torch.

Elijah Botkin (Music Director, Revels Music Director), a Boston-based conductor, arranger, choral educator, and performer, was named Revels’ Music Director in December of 2021. He graduated from Northeastern University in 2015 with bachelor’s degrees in Music History & Analysis and Mathematics. While at Northeastern, Elijah founded and directed the Northeastern Madrigal Singers, served as President and Assistant Conductor for the NU Choral Society, and sang with and arranged for the award-winning a cappella group Distilled Harmony.

Elijah’s work on Distilled Harmony’s quarterfinal-winning performance set won the distinction of Outstanding Arrangement from the International Championship of Collegiate A Cappella. His arrangement of “Nothing Feels Like You” by Little Mix also won a CARA (Contemporary A Cappella Recording Award) for Best Mixed Collegiate Song. In 2014, Elijah was granted the Gideon Klein Award in order to write his composition The Closed Town, which was premiered by the Northeastern University Chamber Choir in April 2015.

In addition to his role with Revels, Elijah continues to direct the NU Madrigal Singers and was recently named the Interim Music Director of the Reading Community Singers for Spring 2023. He is also a frequent performer with a variety of professional ensembles in the Boston area, with recent and upcoming performances including appearances with Carduus and the Boston Symphony Orchestra’s performance of Morton Feldman’s Rothko Chapel, the NU Madrigal Singers’ 10th Anniversary Concert, the Nightingale Vocal Ensemble’s recent concerts SALONMUSIK and BLUE SUN, and Nightingale’s season gala, Renaissance Reimagined. He is passionate about using choir and the power of singing together to bring joy to anyone and everyone willing to lend their voice.

Sarah Higginbotham (Assistant Music Director, Children’s Music Director) finds joy in developing authentic ways to create multigenerational community through art. She’s been a songleader in schools, camps, churches, and children’s theaters. Sarah was the Revels Education Director from 2005-2009, establishing after-school workshops and in-school residencies around greater Boston, and she has assisted Revels music directors for over 20 years. Sarah currently serves as Director of Communications & Christian Formation at First Church in Cambridge, UCC.

Patrick “Paddy” Swanson (Senior Artistic Advisor) began his career in London as an actor at the Arts Theatre in the West End. In 1969, following a European tour with the La MaMa Plexus Troupe, he moved to New York and received his world theater education as a resident actor at La MaMa E.T.C. His numerous directing projects include opera, ensemble pieces, music theater, and circus. He was a founding stage director of Circus Flora and the Artistic Director of Revels. Paddy taught acting and improvisation at the London Academy of Dramatic Art (L.A.M.D.A.), the London Drama Centre, and the Tisch School of the Arts at N.Y.U. He served as artistic director of the Castle Hill Festival in Ipswich, Massachusetts, directing and co-producing opera and theater works, including the premieres of Julie Taymor’s Liberty Taken and Peter Sellars’ production of Cosi fan tutte. He directed the Boston Camerata in Tristan and Iseult at the Spoleto USA festival and Shirley Valentine at the Alley Theatre, Houston, and the Charles Playhouse, as well as numerous other productions in the U.K. and Europe. His Actor’s Shakespeare Project production of Shakespeare’s King Lear with Alvin Epstein was nominated for three 2006 Elliot Norton awards and subsequently transferred Off-Broadway. Paddy’s most recent acting role was as Father Jack in Brian Friel’s Dancing at Lughnasa at Gloucester Stage. He was the Artistic Director of Revels for 34 years, and in his current role as Senior Artistic Advisor, serves as a consultant to the other eight Revels production companies performing throughout the United States.