Our Creative Team
Christopher Rogers, Director
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.
Shannon Tompkins, Assistant Director/Choreographer
Shannon Tompkins is a 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 Merry Go Round Playhouse, 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, The Town of Manlius 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 four times; three for choreography and one for leading actress in a play. Shannon has also worked for 8 years in the Syracuse area as a Teaching Assistant supporting students with special needs.
Dr. Kay Paulson, Musical Director
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.
Sean Egan, Assistant Director
Sean Egan has been a longtime volunteer of Front Row Players before just recently becoming a director. Sean has been involved in many musicals himself. Including “Guys and Dolls”, “Thoroughly Modern Millie”, “Beauty and the Beast”, “Titanic”, “The Phantom Of The Opera”. In 2018 he was nominated for “Outstanding Male Actor in a Leading Role” as Prince Topher In Rogers And Hammerstein “Cinderella” He also works at Weichert Realtors The Bollinger Group as an Administrative Assistant and hopes to pursue real estate after getting his Bachelors Degree In Communications and Marketing.
Our Business Team
Deborah Cavanagh, Founder and President
Deb Cavanagh is a Licensed Real Estate Agent on The Karim Team with Century 21 Arquette Properties and a Freelance Writer for Family Times Magazine with a frequently running column, Atypical Family. She has written for local agencies that support children and adults with special needs, including Exceptional Family Resources, The Down Syndrome Association of Central New York, CHAT, and AccessCNY. She coordinates the Hornet’s Corner Snack Shack at FM High School, and the Central Region Special Olympics Gymnastics Team. 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 Manlius, 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 provides 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. Currently, Ms. Byrnes is the general manager of Howling Wolf Enterprises, a financial literacy platform where she is responsible for many aspects of marketing, administration and product and business development. 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.
Frank Vair, Inclusion Director, Eastern Hills Bible Church
Frank Vair has worked with the special needs community for over 15 years. He has worked with several local not-for-profit agencies, and has been involved with Arise at the Farm, Arise and Ski, and is a current Mentor with Advocates Inc. He has been involved with everything from special needs farm camp, to job coaching, and working one-on-one with individuals in order to help them accomplish their goals. He brings with him all these experiences to his position at Eastern Hills where he helps families with special needs children get plugged into the church and the community at large.