FOUNDER AND CEO

Wendy Morgan-Hunter is the Founder and Managing Partner of High Octave Productions with recent projects including the Broadway production of THE SOUND INSIDE starring Mary-Louise Parker, directed by David Cromer, the Broadway National Touring Production of JITNEY, directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson, THE VISITOR starring David Hyde Pierce by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, directed by Daniel Sullivan and based on the film by Tom McCarthy at The Public Theatre, and ENDLINGS in partnership with Andre Braugher, playing at the New York Theatre Workshop and written by Celine Song. Wendy is currently executive producing a documentary feature based on the life of Tony- Award winner and HAMILTON star Renee Elise Goldsberry, in collaboration with Steven Cantor and Stick Figure Productions, of HE/SHE/THEY, a docu-series produced by Blumhouse and RAINBOW RAILROAD, a docu-series for Beech Hill Films.

Wendy has directed over 100 musicals, operas, plays and concerts in the United States including Guys and Dolls with the New Haven Symphony starring the opera’s Brian Cheney and Curt Olds and Broadway’s Megan Osterhaus, and Uphill Walkers starring Academy Award Winner Mercedes Ruehl. She is a dramatic coloratura soprano who has had a career in opera, oratorio and musical theater and has performed as a soloist with orchestras across the United States from Lincoln Center to the Hollywood Bowl, in Asia, and Europe. Wendy Holds holds a BM from USC’s Thornton School of Music where she was awarded the Marilyn Horne Endowment.

PARTNER AND CHIEF OPERATING OFFICER

Tami Benanav is the Chief Operating Officer of High Octave Productions. She is currently executive producing a documentary feature based on the life of Tony- Award winner and HAMILTON star Renee Elise Goldsberry, in collaboration with Steven Cantor and Stick Figure Productions, with Steven Spielberg as an Executive Producer. She has also produced local musicals for 5 years. Tami has traveled extensively including all 50 states and to many international locations and has lived and worked in multiple Spanish speaking countries.

Tami is the Founder of Campus View Consulting, a college consulting firm that works with students and families to help navigate the college search and application process. She is a skilled financial services professional with over 25 years of experience. Since 2005 Tami has worked as an independent consultant for small businesses. Previously, Tami worked in both private equity investing and investment banking, with a focus on Mergers & Acquisitions and privatizations.

Tami has an MBA from Wharton and an MA in International Studies from The Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania. She has a BA in Economics and Spanish from Bucknell University. Tami is fluent in Spanish.

EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT, HEAD OF TELEVISION & FILM

Gwen Goldbloom has 20 years’ experience in television, digital media and film, most recently as Vice President, Global Marketing for Fox 21 Television Studios, now part of Disney Television Studios. Prior to the Disney acquisition, Fox 21 focused on making creatively ambitious, award-winning, and critically acclaimed scripted series for cable and streaming platforms, including The Americans (FX), Homeland (Showtime), POSE (FX), The People v. O.J. Simpson: American Crime Story (FX), Sons of Anarchy (FX), Burn Notice (USA) and White Collar (USA).

As head of studio marketing, Gwen was responsible for managing the marketing and promotion of Fox 21’s shows across multiple distribution channels and platforms––Home Entertainment, SVOD, Consumer Products, and International TV Distribution––to generate awareness, drive incremental revenue and build long-term brand value for the shows. Prior to Fox 21, Gwen served as Digital Executive Producer at both Electus and Generate, two digital studios that were among the pioneering companies creating professionally produced, original online content. Prior to Generate, Gwen managed partner relations at AOL Television, working with all the TV Studios and Networks to promote their shows on AOL. Gwen received her BA in Russian Studies from UCLA, and earned joint graduate degrees from The Wharton School (MBA) and The Lauder Institute (MA, International Business and Russian) from The University of Pennsylvania. She is a member of both the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences (TV Academy) and the Producers Guild of America (PGA).

PRODUCER

Marisa F. Schafer is a Producer at High Octave Productions. Marisa sits on the Boards of Directors of A.C.T. of CT (A Contemporary Theater of Connecticut) in Ridgefield, Connecticut and Troupers Light Opera based in Norwalk, Connecticut. She also sits on the Board of Directors of the historic Lounsbury House in Ridgefield, Connecticut. She is a mezzo-soprano and performer, having appeared in productions with Troupers Light Opera, the Fairfield County Chorale, and other ensembles throughout the tri-state area.

Marisa graduated cum laude from Quinnipiac University School of Law in 2005 and is admitted to practice law in Connecticut, New York, and Federal District Court. She is a founding partner of Schafer Law, a boutique law firm in lower Fairfield County specializing in administrative law litigation. She has undertaken hours of pro bono legal work for Lawyers for Children America and Child Advocates of Connecticut, and has served as counsel for the Office of the Chief Public Defender in child protection matters.

PRODUCER

Chris Bolan is a multi-hyphenate artist with a distinguished career spanning stage and screen. His acting credits include Broadway and Off-Broadway productions, as well as performances with leading regional theaters across the United States and Canada. He has also appeared in numerous film and television roles.

Beyond his acting career, Mr. Bolan is an accomplished director, producer, and writer. His recent feature documentary, Satisfied, based on Tony Award-winning actress and Hamilton star Renée Elise Goldsberry, premiered at the 2024 Tribeca Film Festival in the famed Beacon Theater to critical acclaim, and just completed a successful wide national theatrical release through Fathom Entertainment. The film is a collaboration with Steven Spielberg’s Amblin Entertainment and Stick Figure Productions and features Lin-Manuel Miranda and Ariana Debose.

Mr. Bolan also directed and co-wrote the critically acclaimed Netflix Original Documentary, A Secret Love, which tells the story of a member of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League, famously depicted in Penny Marshall’s A League of Their Own. An official selection of the 2020 SXSW Film Festival, A Secret Love was produced by Ryan Murphy Productions, Blumhouse Television, NowThis, and Beech Hill Films. The film garnered nominations from the Critics’ Choice Awards for Best Director (First Feature Documentary) and Best Documentary Feature, as well as a Dorian Award nomination for Best LGBTQ Documentary. It won the AARP Movies for Grownups Award for Best Documentary and is listed at #3 on the 161 Best LGBTQ+ Films of All Time with a 100% certified fresh score on Rotten Tomatoes Mr. Bolan is also a recipient of the Jerome Foundation Emerging Artists Award for directing.

Bolan is producing partner with High Octave Productions, with projects including The Sound Inside (Broadway/Studio 54) starring Mary-Louise Parker, The Visitor (The Public Theater) starring David Hyde Pierce, Jitney (Broadway National Tour), and Endlings (New York Theater Workshop). Bolan is a company member of the award-winning New York based Wheelhouse Theater Company, is on the Board of Directors for LUMBERYARD Center for Film and Performing Arts and is a member of the faculty at the Norwalk Conservatory for the Arts and Western Connecticut State University. Mr. Bolan holds an MFA from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.

Upcoming projects include a narrative feature film adaptation of his documentary A Secret Love with renowned writer and actress, Paula Pell, and Rainbow Railroad, a feature documentary with Academy Award winner, Alex Gibney’s Jigsaw Productions.

PRODUCER

Kristin Randall Burrello is Producer with High Octave. She is an artist, farmer, arts administrator and performer with extensive experience in non-profit leadership, artistic collaboration, project development, and organizational management. She served as Producing Artistic Director at Chicago’s Redmoon Theater where she produced mainstage theatrical works, site-specific spectacle productions and citywide cultural celebrations. Select credits include: the annual All Hallows Eve Ritual Celebration in Logan Square and for the Mayor’s Office of Special Events; Nina developed on site at UCLA’s Sculpture Garden and performed in Chicago’s Humbolt Park; Galway’s Shadow performed in the windowed façade of the Museum of Contemporary Art; Sink, Sank, Sunk performed on the banks of the Chicago River in Ping Tom Park; Long Live the King (the King is Dead) in Lincoln Park and the Chicago Historical Society; and Hunchback at Steppenwolf Studio and the Public Theater in NYC as part of the Jim Henson International Puppet Festival.

As a consultant, she has worked with Blair Thomas & Company, the Chicago Children’s Theater and Lookingglass Theater. She has also worked as a Teaching Artist with the Chicago Arts Partnership in Education, as Co-Administrative Director and Teaching Artist at the Piven Theatre Workshop, and most recently as Drama Director at E.O. Smith High School. Kristin served on the Board of the Ballard Institute and Museum of Puppetry at the University of Connecticut and Oak Grove Montessori School in Mansfield, Ct. An award-winning floral designer, she is the owner of Muddy Feet Flower Farm in Ashford, Ct and a founding member of the Connecticut Flower Collective.

PRODUCER

Kristen Young is passionate and dedicated to bringing the community together through the Performing Arts. She is a classically trained violinist who can be spotted throughout the tri-state area playing for orchestras such as the American Chamber Orchestra. Kristen holds a Master's in Violin Performance and Arts Entrepreneurship from the University of Oklahoma and a Bachelor’s in Arts Management from the University of Delaware. She has industry experience from her time at LAVA/Republic Records and Reservoir Media, and she also led marketing efforts for the University of Delaware Master Players Concert Series. She is the Director of Performing Arts at the Museum of Contemporary Art in Connecticut, the Performing Arts Adjunct at Greens Farms Academy, and a board member of the Stand Together Against Racism.