EVE LUPENKO FERRANTE

President

Marketing

I got involved in community theater in 2005 when my son Alex who was learning to act at Pizazz Studios asked if I would join him by participating in Oliver. I played the lead role of Nancy and from that point, I was hooked! When Pizazz closed, I performed in musicals and dramas with St. Paul’s Centerstage, Second Stage Productions and Broadway Bound and was also a managing member of Eastline Theatre. However, when I heard about the Slayer Players, I put these endeavors aside to become a member and I’m glad I did because we've accomplished so much in our first seven years and have even bigger plans for the future! 

In the “real world,” I am a board-certified dermatologist who specializes in medical, surgical and cosmetic dermatology for both adults and children. My career in medicine began when I attended the medical school at Stony Brook University after completing my pre-doctoral studies at the University of Virginia’s exclusive Echols Scholars program. At Stony Brook, I was inducted into the Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society. My clinical training included an internship in Internal Medicine at NYU-Winthrop Hospital in Mineola followed by a residency in Dermatology at New York Medical College. In my final year of residency, I was chosen to serve as the sole Chief Resident. 

In “the field,” after a 20-year stint in Garden City, I became Director of Dermatology for Dr. Stephen T. Greenberg’s newly-founded Greenberg Cosmetic Surgery and Dermatology group in Woodbury. My current hospital affiliations are Columbia-Presbyterian Hospital and Northwell Health’s Glen Cove Hospital and I also belong to the American Academy of Dermatology and the Long Island Dermatological Society.

Considering my "real-job" resposibilities, needless to say, I am pretty busy. But when I do have spare time, I love to devote it to community service. For example, I am the current Vice President of the Glen Cove Chamber of Commerce and a member of Glen Cove’s Charter Review Commission. I also sit on the boards of the Community Scholarship Fund, Glen Cove C.A.R.E.S. and the Glen Cove Arts Council. In the past, I have served on the boards of the Glen Cove YMCA and the East Island Association while also being appointed by the Glen Cove Mayor to the Community Development Agency. I enjoy speaking at local hospitals, professional organizations, schools and social clubs and am always happy to promote good skin health at any venue in our community.

JOHN KAPPENBERG

Vice President

Technical Director 

No one could be more surprised than I when, in 2023, Fred DiMenna asked me to help the Slayer Players bring his imaginative production of A Christmas Carol to life. I’d been long retired from my connection with stage and TV and was enjoying theater as a member of the audience. But his pitch was, as we say, an offer I couldn’t refuse.

My day job has always been in education. I’ve worked as a high school teacher (math, sciences, social studies, communication arts), school district assistant superintendent, university professor (chair of Leadership and Technology), medical school administrator (grant director and chair of Department of Medical Education), writer and editor (educational textbooks for Corwin Publishers; book trailers for Breaklight Publishers); researcher, author and peer reviewer for journals. But my heart has always been in theater.

In the 1960s, a close friend at the ABC television studios introduced me to the world of sound effects and off-Broadway productions. I became an officer in the Local 844 Union of Sound Effects Artists, leading to a lifetime connection with the technical magic of theater and television production. Part-time work included soap operas (All My Children, One Life to Live, Ryan’s Hope), network broadcasts (Wide World of Sports, 20/20, ABC World News Tonight), children’s television (Sesame Street, Nickelodeon), and special events (Rev. Ike National Television Crusade, multiple field and studio recordings).

In the 1970s, I founded Kappenberg Enterprises (kappenbergvideo.com), one of the first production companies to introduce professional sound design to Long Island high schools. Working with audio engineers, these shows road-tested new wireless microphone systems before they were introduced to Broadway productions. Over the years, we have produced more than 400 videos for schools, universities, the NY State Education Department, grant-funded nonprofits, and theater companies.

As a teacher and administrator, I directed more than 40 theatrical, multi-media and special events, including classic dramas (Billy Budd, Medea, Macbeth, Hamlet, Faust, Rope, Ten Little Indians, A Christmas Carol); comedies (The Odd Couple, Young Frankenstein); musicals (Kiss Me Kate, Guys and Dolls, Camelot, Of The I Sing) – and many others.

It is an honor to join Fred, Eve, Kevin and their troupe of talented performers in this wonderful company. Beyond to the joy they bring to their audience and community, I’m especially excited to be part of an enterprise that values creativity – and even some risk-taking – in pressing the boundaries of what local theater can produce.

KEVIN HORTON

Technical Assistant

Creative

Okay, so you’re probably surprised to see that I am now performing as a Slayer Player. Indeed, you might be saying, “But isn’t he the local newspaper guy? I thought he retired and went into teaching and on-line marketing. And didn’t he write a children’s book?” Well, yes to all of the above, but I couldn’t resist the opportunity to get back on stage as a Slayer Player when Fred DiMenna contacted me in the fall of 2018. 

The thought of acting was appealing because it conjured up memories from my youth. At the age of 10, I played a boy walking the Victorian streets of Sea Cliff in a film called “Soldier Home.” It was a large production, it was exciting and I was hooked! I went on to perform in high-school productions including a role as Peter Cratchit in A Christmas Carol. My big line was, “Here’s the Christmas Punch!” and I delivered it with such gusto that my mother gave me a standing ovation (although admittedly, she was always my biggest fan). In high school, I participated in performances by The Glen Players, a local theater group and then studied acting at Nassau Community College under the tutelage of professors who worked with Eddy Murphy and Billy Crystal. I wound up majoring in Communication Arts at NYIT, which set the stage for my career behind the camera and the pen. 

In 1991, I started a community newspaper, the Gold Coast Gazette, working alongside my mother covering news of the Gold Coast. We had an amazing ride together on a weekly basis for over 25 years; however, times changed and I was ready for a new challenge in 2016 so I sold the company and, by 2018, was back on stage as a Slayer Player. Full circle indeed! But in addition to my exploits with the community-based theater group, I also now “perform” in front of students as a professor at NYIT where I teach journalism and video production. What is more, at NYIT, I am an advisor for the same school newspaper that I was editor in chief of when I was a student! The more things change . . . And rest assured, one of the classes I have taught at NYIT is “Fake News” so all of the above is true, so help me God! For more information about my past and present endeavors, please visit www.kevinchorton.com or speak to me at the next Slayer Players event.

FRED DiMENNA

General Manager

Treasurer

Creative

My career on stage began differently compared to the typical actor. I “performed” as a competitive bodybuilder for 20 years, 10 of which were spent at the professional level in the World Natural Bodybuilding Federation. During my career, I achieved my pro card by winning the amateur drug-free Mr. United States title in 1994 and, as a pro, placed second in the heavyweight division of the 1998 Pro Natural International Championships. In 2003, I retired from competition and turned my attention to furthering my education.

I pursued a Master’s degree in Exercise Physiology at Adelphi University and achieved a 4.0 GPA and the School of Education’s Dean’s Award in 2005. I followed that with a four-year stay in England during which I achieved my PhD in Exercise Physiology by performing research at the University of Exeter, the leading university for sports science in the U.K. Upon my return to the States, I continued my research endeavors with the group at Exeter in addition to groups at the Pulmonary Institute at the Sheba Medical Center in Israel and the Faculdade de Ciências at São Paulo State University in Brazil. I also serve as a Research Associate in the Division of Endocrinology, Diabetes and Bone at the School of Medicine at Mount Sinai Hospital. To date, I have amassed 52 PubMed-recognized publications as lead or co-author. I have also held positions as Adjunct Professor of Exercise Physiology at Columbia Teachers College from 2011 to 2019 and Adelphi University from 2011 to present. 

Now to acting. While pursuing my Master’s, I found my way back to the stage as an actor as opposed to athlete by performing for Pizazz Studios, a company that produced local theater. For Pizazz, I played a diverse array of characters including Ebenezer Scrooge and Jacob Marley in A Christmas Carol (different performances of course!), Daddy Warbucks in Annie, Bill Sykes in Oliver, Howard in Sparky’s Magic Piano, Franz and the Nazi in The Sound of Music and, no doubt, my most demanding (at least physically!) role, the plant in Little Shop of Horrors. It was during my tenure at Pizazz that I met Susan Potter Weppler who contacted me in 2016 about a theatre group she was forming called the Slayer Players, I said, “Yes!” before she even asked me to join. We have grown quite a bit since then and have even bigger plans for the future so stay tuned!

CHEF JEANINE DiMENNA

Community Liaison

Public Relations

I love cooking and I love servicing my community. And, of course, I love my friend, boyfriend, fiancé and/or husband since 1979. So, when Fred helped start the Slayer Players in 2016, it was only natural for me to assist by spreading the word about upcoming shows and allowing the group to use my restaurant for rehearsals and performances. I even make occasional on-stage appearances although unlike most performers, I’d prefer staying behind the scenes. But If Fred needs me in this capacity, I do it for him. This includes playing his wife in Classic TV Live! I’m Dreaming of a (Black &) White Christmas . . . in Living Color! and a recurring role as the Undertaker’s Woman in A Christmas Carol (“I don’t drink, dead men walk around when I do!”).

My love of cooking began at a young age. As a teenager, I’d hang out with friends in front of the Tiffany House Restaurant at the Glen Cove Golf Course. We'd blast music and create a ruckus that drove the owners crazy. Eventually, they tired of chasing us away and invited me in to wash dishes. From the get-go, the kitchen was like home to me and I’ve been “living there” ever since!

Not long after starting, I was named Head Chef while complementing hands-on training with a formal one at New York Institute of Technology. I then moved to the corporate sector working as Garde Manager Sous Chef at the Harrison Conference Center for 12 years before returning to the private sector at Page One Restaurant. Before long, I was Head Chef and partial owner. At Page One, I became involved in community service so when then Mayor Suozzi asked if I could get the restaurant at the golf course up and running for the summer of 2013, I was happy to do so. Yes, after 30 years, I was back where I started and, in 2024, completed a 10-year stint at the restaurant renamed the View Grill.

While I’m proud of what I’ve accomplished in the field, I’m even prouder of rewards I’ve received for community service. The pinnacle was being named the Glen Cove Herald’s Person of the Year in 2021. I am also proud of my appearance on the Food Network’s 2014 series Kitchen Casino. The competition required cooking skill, speed and adaptability with a $30,000 first prize at stake. I took second on the episode entitled “Fear of Searing.” Oh well, you can’t win ‘em all!

GILL ASSOCIATES

Photography

Videography

At Gill Associates Photography, we offer a wide array of photo and video services to both commercial and social accounts. Our president Tony Gallego and his “left-hand man” Bob Canavan pride themselves on their creative output backed up by a personalized commitment to their clientele. From corporate and non-profit assignments to weddings and all types of individual events, our studio has been satisfying clientele for over 30 years.

In addition to our work in the field, at Gill Associates, we perform production services that include movie film and video tape transfer, slide and negative scanning, audio cassette and reel-to-reel tape capture, photograph copying and restoration, quality photo enlargements and poster printing. We also specialize in video editing. Importantly, all of these services are performed in house which ensures both security and quality control. 

At Gill Associates, we are deeply committed to providing our services for local civic and community organizations, religious institutions and schools. In this regard, we are proud to serve as the official photography and videography company of the Slayer Players Theatre Company. We endeavor to assist them in their artistic endeavors in any way that we can.

For more information about all of the services we offer at Gill Associates Photography, please call us at 516-676-1833, visit us online at http://gillassocphoto.com/ or stop by our office at 58 School Street in downtown Glen Cove. You can also meet up with us at any Slayer Players performance because we’ll be there recording the happenings and enjoying the show!