Our Team

  • Wendy Morgan-Hunter

    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.

  • Tami Benanav

    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.

  • Gwen Goldbloom

    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).

  • Marisa F. Schafer

    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.

  • Chris Bolan

    PRODUCER, DIRECTOR, ACTOR

    Chris Bolan has had a career both on and off-Broadway and has performed as an actor with many top regional theater companies in both the United States and Canada while also working in film and television. In 2016 Bolan was Artistic Director for the critically acclaimed European Premiere production of Oh Hell No! at the Alfo Puccini Theater in Milan, Italy and has directed legendary LGBTQ and Civil Rights Activist, David Mixner, in three World Premiere productions at the Florence Gould Theater in NYC.

    Bolan recently directed the documentary feature film, A Secret Love, based on a member of the All- American Girls Professional Baseball League made famous by the Hollywood movie, A League of Their Own. A Secret Love will premiere on Netflix in 2020 and was produced by Ryan Murphy Productions, Blumhouse Television, NowThis, and Beech Hill Films. Chris is a recipient of the Jerome Foundation Emerging Artists Award for directing and is also a Founding Partner of High Octave Productions with recent projects including the Broadway production of The Sound Inside starring Mary-Louise Parker, directed by David Cromer, as well as the Broadway National Touring Production of Jitney, directed by Ruben Santiago-Hudson. Bolan is a company member of the award-winning New York based Wheelhouse Theater Company and is a member of the Board of Directors for LUMBERYARD Center for Film and Performing Arts. Bolan holds his MFA in acting from New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts and is part of the adjunct faculty in the theater department at Western Connecticut State University.