Shannon Tompkins, Artistic Director/Choreographer

Shannon Tompkins is the director, choreographer and performer in the Syracuse area with over thirty-five years of experience in ballet, tap and jazz. She has been teaching dance since she was a sophomore in high school and has been choreographing professionally since the age of eighteen. Shannon trained at the Syracuse Dance Factory for nearly twenty years, and she continuously trains with local tap legend Barry Shulman. She spent several months performing professionally for the Golden Apple Dinner Theatre in both Sarasota and Venice, Florida. Over the years she has been lucky enough to assist several visiting professional choreographers including the current Producing Artistic Director of Rev Theatre Company, Brett Smock. Shannon has choreographed and directed for several area children’s programs including Syracuse Children’s Theatre, Manlius Pebble Hill’s summer stock program and Salt City Center for the Performing Arts TAFY program. She was the choreographer for Jamesville-DeWitt High School from 1995 until 2002 when she became the director of their musicals until 2013. Over the last twenty-five years Shannon has directed, choreographed and performed extensively for several local theatre companies including: The Wit’s End Players, The Talent Co., Theatre First Productions, Simply New Productions, Covey Theatre, Appleseed Productions, Rarely Done Productions, CNY Playhouse, The Town of Manlius, Baldwinsville Theatre Guild, Syracuse Summer Theatre and Salt City Center for the Performing Arts. Ms. Tompkins has been nominated numerous times for SALT (Syracuse Area Live Theatre) Awards for directing, choreographing and performing. She has won five times; four for choreography and one for leading actress in a play. Ms. Tompkins has worked extensively with children her entire life first in child care and later as a TA in special education. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Community and Human Services and currently works as a Student Engagement Specialist for Promise Zone: A partner with the School Based Initiatives of Onondaga County.

Shayne Knight, Music Director

As the Music Director of Front Row Players, Shayne Knight provides her experience from hundreds of performances as musical director, director, music coach, accompanist and stage performer. She has degrees in music education from Fredonia and Syracuse University and is an accompanist and musical director in parishes in the Syracuse Diocese. Ms. Knight has taught in the Liverpool school district for 25 years, during which time she produced and directed 23 student musicals.

Her Syracuse career playing musicals began with the Talent Company in 1991. She was the musical director and accompanist for that company’s first Empire Room show, Damn Yankees, in 1994.

Over the ensuing decades, she’s been blessed to work with many companies, including: Salt City Center for The Performing Arts, Appleseed, Cortland Repertory Theater, Wit’s End Players, Syracuse University Drama, Thanasis, Syracuse Children’s Theater, Rising Stars Children’s Theater, and many (many!) high school concerts and musicals.  She most recently played the Hunter Foster-directed production of Rent at the Redhouse.

Some of her favorite past performance opportunities include playing Maria in The Sound of Music with Theater 90, playing The Narrator in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with Syracuse Civic Theater, working with Loretta Swit in Moonstruck at Syracuse Stage, and performing with Michael Buble at the Turning Stone Casino.

Hali Greenhouse, Producer

Hali Greenhouse is ecstatic to be joining the FRP team! After being a fan and fellow patron, it’s been the best experience to be involved. This is Hali’s producer-debut as she has predominantly been an on stage actor. Most recently, she played Maggie in A Chorus Line at Baldwinsville Theater Guild. Other favorite roles include Sherrie in Rock of Ages at CNY Playhouse, Sophie in Mamma Mia at CNY Playhouse, and Squeaky Fromme in Assassins at Baldwinsville Theater Guild. Hali would like to thank Shannon, Deb, Chris, Emily, Ron, Shayne, and the entire FRP team for making her feel so welcome.

Ron Sweet, Acting/Improv Teacher

Ron began acting when he was 12 in Denver Colorado doing local commercials and traveling with Stage 11, a touring improv/sketch children’s troupe. Since then (and many years later), he has performed in over 200 stage shows, including the international improv troupe “Loose Screws” in HI, The Second City, and was on a house team at IO in Chicago.

Ron came to Syracuse in 2000, and has been an acting teacher for The Syracuse Children’s Theater, and The CNY Center for the Performing Arts.  In Syracuse Ron has performed with The Syracuse Civic Theater, The Talent Co, Simply New Theater, a DJ at WOLF Radio Disney, and various events for The Events Co. Ron was one of the co- founders of Rarely Done Productions and the Syracuse improv Collective where he has taught many classes on improv and acting. Ron also performs locally with his improv team “Satan’s Closet.”

Ron’s son Quin Sweet is an actor with Front Row Players and he is very excited to work with all the wonderful performers in this amazing troupe!

Chris Ecker, Stage Manager

Christine is a Caseworker for Onondaga County Department of Children and Family Services and a Mentor for Advocates, Incorporated.  Christine earned an AAS in Early Childhood Education from SUNY Cobleskill and a BS in Human Development and MS in Child Life from Wheelock College (now known as Boston University Fenway Campus).  She has worked in the Education and Human Services fields for almost 30 years.  Christine began her involvement in theater when Front Row Players began and enjoys every minute of her time spent with this talented group of actors!

Emily Cipriano, Stage Manager

Emily got her start in theater during her freshman year at East Syracuse Minoa CHS. She went on to work various roles on the Stage Crew such as Props Mistress, Assistant Stage Manager and Stage Manager for ten shows there. She has previously acted as Stage Manager for Bye Bye Birdie, White Christmas, Pride & Prejudice, and two Senior Variety Shows during her sophomore and junior years. While at ESM, Emily also wrote and performed her own skit during her Senior Variety Show as well as her own one-act play. She earned her BA in English with a Concentration in Creative Writing at SUNY New Paltz before returning to Syracuse and joining the team at Front Row Players in 2019.

Andrea Calarco, Costumer

Upon graduating from Columbia University, where she received a BA in Music, Andrea worked in the NYC theater and music worlds as a professional actress/musician,  earning membership in the Actors’ Equity Association (AEA)  and the Screen Actors Guild (SAG). Her three most favorite roles have a common theme: Cunegonde in “Candide,”  Johanna” in Sweeney Todd, and Anne in “A Little Night  Music!” After some time raising her five children, she focused her efforts on music education and outreach, serving as President of the Board of The Diller-Quaile School of Music in NYC.  Since moving to CNY in 2009, Andrea has turned toward costuming and/or running wardrobe for numerous theaters, groups, and schools including Front  Row Players, Redhouse Arts Center, Syracuse Children’s Theatre, and Symphoria.  In 2020, she received two nominations for SALT costume awards for productions with the  Baldwinsville Theatre Guild.  In addition to her theatre activities, she sits on the Senior Activity Centre Board where she focuses on fundraising efforts.

Christopher Rogers, Consultant

Chris Rogers is an administrator with Onondaga Cortland Madison (OCM) BOCES, before that he was an Assistant Principal and before that he taught middle and high school English for 15 years. While he was an English teacher he also directed musical and dramatic productions, with nearly 30 productions in total. Chris was committed to exposing high school students to significant theatrical works including the works of Shakespeare, Miller, Kesselman, Simon and many others. Chris studied drama under Kimberly Bouchard at the State University of New York at Potsdam, performing, writing and directing projects from one act plays in a black box theater to very large productions on the main stage. Chris lives in Chittenango with his wife Kristin and his three children, when he is not working or directing he enjoys reading, watching movies and all aspects of technology.

Dr. Kay Paulson, Consultant

Kay Paulsen-or “Dr. P,” as she’s affectionately called by her students, has more than 40 years’ experience as a professional singer and as a primary, secondary and post-secondary music teacher. The holder of a D.M.A. in voice performance & pedagogy from the University of Colorado Boulder, she gives private lessons throughout Syracuse, where she also has taught at Signature Music. As a soprano, Kay has sung with the Lyric Opera of Chicago; the Chicago and Atlanta symphony choruses; and various other orchestras and choral societies throughout Illinois, Colorado and Idaho. She also has extensive teaching and administrative experience, having trained vocal performers, as well as primary and secondary-level music teachers. Many of her former students have gone on to teach music at all levels as well as professional singing careers, performing all over the world in genres ranging from opera to hip hop. Kay earned doctoral, master’s and bachelor’s degrees in music and education from University of Colorado, Boulder, Northwestern University and Greenville College (Ill.), respectively.

Our Business Team

Deborah Cavanagh, Founder and President

Deb Cavanagh is a Licensed Associate Real Estate Broker with Arquette & Associates Realtors Inc.  She volunteered at the Christian School of Performing Arts for 4+ years doing costuming and helping backstage during productions which gave her knowledge and the idea to create this program.  Deb graduated from LeMoyne College with a BS in Business Administration, with a dual minor in Marketing and MIS. She lives in East Syracuse NY with her husband Brian and two children.

Christine Byrnes, Business Manager

Ms. Byrnes has over 30 years experience in the financial services industry, specifically in management, operations and administration. She has held various positions from Director of Administration to Chief Administrative Officer of a $13B hedge fund. She provided day to day oversight of the business and their operations. Ms. Byrnes served as Vice President of the Down Syndrome Association of Central New York, Inc. and marketing and communications associate of Advocates, Inc., a not for profit organization providing services to individuals with developmental needs.  She lives in Manlius, New York with her husband and special needs daughter, Maggie. She has a bachelor’s degree from San Diego State University.