Team
Kristin Avila
Maria Caycedo
is a versatile performing artist with experience in opera, pop & rock vocals, dance (ballet, hip-hop, Irish step dancing, belly dancing and Latin dancing) and modeling. She works as a User Experience researcher for a major market research company. She is passionate about building community, bringing the musical works of women and Latin American composers to the spotlight, and contributing to inclusion and equity in all spaces.
Abby Gryder (she/her)
Jennifer Kiernan (she/her)
S. Louie (she/her)
(New Mikado ’16) chose “Here Comes The Sun” by The Beatles for her highest elevation impromptu solo performance (around 19,100 feet) on Mt. Kilimanjaro’s crater rim, to celebrate the sunrise warmth, the view, and the fact that she hadn’t tripped and fallen in. She is enthusiastic about continuously and humbly cultivating higher standards, specifically for her singing, and generally for rectifying inequitable power asymmetries.
Brittany Mellerson
Jonathan Potter (he/him)
(’20) got his start on the stage creating and performing satires of children’s movies with a group of friends to raise money for The Women’s Building and SF Women’s Centers. He teaches computer science at City College of San Francisco. He aspires to help amplify diverse voices in technical and artistic fields.
Paul Sinasohn
Hi. I’m Paul. I’ve been a member of Lamplighters since 1981. Until the accident that left me paraplegic, I was an active singer/performer. I started singing in the San Francisco Boys Chorus at age 6 – and didn’t stop for 50 years. Besides Lamplighters, I sang in several a cappella groups in the 1980s and 1990s. In the 2000s, I performed at the Great Dickens Christmas Fair. I also build large displays out of LEGO. I grew up in San Francisco, and learned early to embrace multiculturalism and respect the traditions of other societies. My focus with the EDI committee will be representing patrons and company members who are differently abled.
Arie Singer
(Pirates ‘02) joined Lamplighters shortly after moving to San Francisco in 2001. With the company, she has performed in canon and non-Gilbert and Sullivan productions and many Galas. From 2002-2012, she did hair design for many productions. Arie was a founding member of the Lamplighters Guild, organizing Hidden Treasures events, Gala auctions, and many other fundraiser opportunities. She has an educational and professional background in social psychology, specializing in stereotyping and prejudice. She runs her own survey research consulting firm, and is an admin for a Facebook group devoted to talking to other white people about race in the USA.
Kristen Tansey
received her Bachelor of Music in Vocal Performance from UC Santa Barbara. She has performed with the UC Santa Barbara Opera, the Music Academy of the West, and with Lamplighters Music Theatre since 2015. Proud to be a member of the Lamplighters EDI committee, it is her mission to be a part of the movement rather than the moment. By day, she works at the streaming service, Hulu.
Cheryl Blalock
(’82) A passionate leader in the performing arts, Cheryl is Executive and Artistic Director of Lamplighters Music Theatre in San Francisco. Previously she was the Executive Director of Masterworks Chorale in San Mateo. Cheryl served on the board of directors for Lyric Theatre and the James Toland Vocal Arts Competition. She spent many years in high tech leading large teams and projects, and she is pleased to apply those skills in arts management.
Cheryl has performed over 40 lead soprano roles with Lamplighters, West Bay, Livermore, Oakland, Marin and Inland Opera Companies, and Lyric Theatre. She has directed operettas and musicals for Lyric Theatre and Masterworks and served as a faculty member at the San Francisco Girls Chorus. Cheryl maintains a private voice studio in San Mateo.
Phil Lowery (he/him)
(’94) has been working with Lamplighters regularly since 2000, as stage director, stage manager, production manager, erstwhile performer and is on staff as production coordinator. He is also a teaching artist and former middle school teacher, a role that included organizing affinity groups and leading identity-exploration activities. As a freelance director and general theatre practitioner, he is refocusing his work, looking at texts, casting and directorial choices through an EDI lens, and is excited to be doing the same with Lamplighters.