Volunteer Spotlight

Every month SLOC likes to recognize a volunteer in their community who has gone above and beyond the call of duty. These volunteers can be anyone from actors to set construction volunteers to ushers! We value every person that sets foot in SLOC and offers their time and talent to making the theater a great place to be.

May 2025

Laura Darling has illuminated the stage—literally and figuratively—through her exceptional work as a lighting designer at SLOC. With a keen eye for storytelling through light, Laura has transformed our productions of Once, Matilda, and, most recently, Peter and the Starcatcher into visually stunning experiences that captivate audiences. Her artistry in shaping mood, atmosphere, and emotion with lighting design has not only enhanced each show but has also elevated the entire theatrical experience for performers and patrons alike. SLOC is lucky to have such a passionate and talented designer bringing her vision, making every performance unforgettable.

April 2025

Jennie Canale has become one of the most in-demand Hair and Make-up Designers across the Capital Region theater community over the past few years. If you’ve worked with her or seen any of the productions she has designed, it is easy to see why. Her passion for cosmetology is evident through the beautiful hair and make-up design she implements for each performer. In the past three years, Jennie has leant her talent and expertise to ten productions around the Capital Region, including three at SLOC (Matilda, Falsettos, and Peter and the Starcatcher). With each production, she continues to exceed expectations and take every measure to ensure our performers look amazing. Jennie spends her days working as a hairstylist and cosmetologist at Studio Balayage in Rotterdam. Talent aside, Jennie is a kind, funny, and welcoming presence at our theater and we are fortunate to have her among our volunteers!

March 2025

Yonna Palmer is one of SLOC’s biggest cheerleaders. In recent seasons, she has been part of Matilda, Tarzan, School of Rock, Mean Girls, and Falsettos, as well as our SLOC Sings! fundraisers. As a proud mom of some of our talented SLOC performers, Yonna has served in the vital role of child guardian to help chaperone rehearsals and performances to make sure our youth cast members are safe and cared for. She is also a frequent usher and head usher (she loves to scan those tickets!!) where she always welcomes audience members to the theater with a smile. Yonna is an active champion of SLOC on social media, helping to promote our shows and encouraging members of our community to volunteer with or attend shows at the theater. We are proud to have Yonna as a member of our SLOC family as the best kind of stage mom!

February 2025

Tom Waters has a creative touch that Broadway set builders would envy. His ability to take a handful of vague ideas and create instant, functional stage magic is something any theater artist, on or backstage, would greatly admire. Our 2023 production of Matilda had a wild collection of seemingly impossible stage trick requests that Tom would shrug at, disappear, and come back with a simple, easy to operate magic trick only an hour later. His work on Peter and the Starcatcher has been nothing short of miraculous, taking Molly’s vision and breathing life into it. It is inspiring to see a man who worked for decades primarily as a postal worker showcase an artistic talent that would rival the set builders just around the block at Proctors. We’re honored to know a man of such kindness and talent. Tom Waters has saved more than a couple shows over the last few years, and we are all honored to call him our stage dad.

January 2025

Though Jennie Sinnott is new to our SLOC family, she has made a tremendous impact in a short amount of time. Throughout the production process of Mean Girls High School Version, Jennie volunteered her time assisting with set builds, painting, and costume projects. As the Set Designer for Falsettos, she has created a unique and multi-functional set that plays no small role in telling the story. What sets Jennie apart from other set designers is her unwavering commitment and collaboration with all technical designers and the production team. She has thrown her passion into her work, spending countless hours building and implementing new concepts to improve this production (and our theater). Despite her recent contributions to SLOC, Jennie is no stranger to our theater community, having designed recent sets for Albany Civic Theater, Home Made Theater, Sand Lake Center for the Arts, and Schenectady Civic Players to name a few. We are incredibly grateful for the time and talent Jennie has graciously shared with us this season and we hope she will return to SLOC again soon. We can’t wait to see what her creative mind comes up with next!

December 2024

Regeneron Pharmaceuticals holds an annual volunteer event called Day For Doing Good. Each October, Regeneron employees dedicate their time and skills to support their local communities. Since 2022, SLOC has been fortunate to be a benefactor of Regeneron’s generous volunteer efforts. A handful of volunteers spend a full day at SLOC, cleaning up our campus and removing any unwanted clutter. They have tackled projects ranging from deep-cleaning our balconies to clearing debris from our grounds. Virtually anything our theater needs cleaned, they happily take care of. Regeneron provides all of the tools and supplies necessary for the clean up day so there is never any cost to SLOC. We thank SLOC board member Michaela Torres for taking the lead to organize this event each year. We’re grateful to the Regeneron team for supporting SLOC and keeping our campus a clean and welcome place.

November 2024

Melissa Peterson is a longtime SLOC member, patron, volunteer, cheerleader, and friend to all. You may have seen
her acting in a show on stage, working in the concessions area during a fundraiser, or greeting people at auditions,
but, like so many of SLOC’s unsung heroes, much of her work happens behind the scenes. Melissa is one of our most in-demand props designers. She creates, borrows, constructs, and shops for exactly what each of her shows needs to bring the director’s vision to life, and always on a shoestring budget. She ensures that props are organized and ready to access for each performance. Some of her many credits include the current production of Mean Girls, The Wedding Singer, Merrily We Roll
Along, 9 to 5, and It Shoulda Been You. She always attends rehearsals with a smile, and with kindness and care for everyone she works with. We are so fortunate to have Melissa as a member of our SLOC family.

October 2024

The SLOC Sings Band is made up of almost 20 local musicians, including music educators, professional performers, and SLOC pit orchestra regulars. Led by the wonderful Dan Galliher, this group includes Robert Ackerman, Elias Assimakopolous, Alex Atchley, Martin Dawson, Madeline Civill-Mead, Cole Mead, Thom Coon, Jess FitzSisti, Nick Foster, Dennis Galliher, Jake Goodman, CJ Hughes, Adrienne Sherman, Elizabeth Sterling, Harmon Tunison, Joey Van Ullen, Omar Williams, and Jess Zlotnick. Members have come together four times since 2022 to provide the accompaniment for our SLOC Sings fundraisers. Their participation involves learning upwards of two dozen songs each year, rehearsing with the singers, and performing as a group on our mainstage. Their efforts have ensured that this fundraiser is a professional-level performance unlike anything else put on in this area. They have helped SLOC to raise well over $20,000 in much-needed income throughout this fundraiser’s history. We are grateful to them for volunteering their time to make SLOC Sings a success.

September 2024

Cameron Clarke Stevens made his SLOC debut in the 2022 production of Songs for a New World, where he understudied the other two leading roles alongside Regan. A longtime musician, Cameron graciously filled in as a last minute replacement for our rehearsal accompanist and played piano in the pit for our production of Violet, and then returned the following season as music director of First Date. Last season, audiences were captivated by his powerful performance as Bruce in Fun Home. Most
recently, Cameron volunteered to music direct Alice by Heart, assembling an all-volunteer pit orchestra for this fundraising event, which successfully raised over $9,000 for the company. Cameron and his husband are also generous donors, supporting SLOC in many ways. We are grateful to have Cameron as a cherished member of the SLOC family.

August 2024

Regan Zlotnick made her SLOC debut in the 2016 youth production of Footloose. Since then, she has graced the stage in eight SLOC productions, most recently captivating audiences as the title character in this summer’s fundraiser, Alice by Heart. However, much of Regan’s invaluable contributions to SLOC have occurred behind the scenes. Since our post-pandemic reopening, SLOC has prioritized having understudies for its productions whenever possible. Regan played a crucial role in this
initiative, starting with our first show after reopening, Ordinary Days, where she learned and understudied two leading roles. She continued this dedication by understudying two leading roles in the 2022 production of Songs for a New World and serving as the understudy for both Medium Allison and Joan in last season’s Fun Home. In addition to her onstage talents, Regan is a gifted artist who has lent her skills to painting sets for many of our shows, including School of Rock, Alice by Heart, and It Shoulda Been You. Her willingness to tackle some of the most thankless yet essential tasks has been deeply appreciated. We are incredibly grateful for Regan’s dedication, talent, and hard work. She embodies the spirit of SLOC, both on and off the stage.