Producers, Directors, Stage Technicians, oh my! Thousands of people work behind the scenes to ensure the success of a music or theatrical production. We will get the chance to unpack the career paths of several backstage careers that support the larger storytelling that occurs on the stage.
Aaron Morton is an artist and storyteller from Plainfield, NJ. A graduate of Columbia University’s MFA Acting program, he brings an emotionally intelligent approach to every role—whether on screen, on stage, or in the room developing new work.
He has collaborated with visionary creators including Ava DuVernay and Lena Waithe, and is drawn to bold, character-driven stories that center the voices of those too often left out of the frame. His work spans television, film, commercials, videos games and theater, with a foundation in both classical technique and contemporary realism.
As an Acting Professor at both BMCC and Marymount Manhattan College, he is committed to nurturing the next generation of performers with a focus on authenticity, craft, and personal experience. He is also the founder of Bridge To Reality, a nonprofit whose mission is to increase the presence of people of color in the arts through the mentorship of high school students of color.
Jen Bender is the Associate Artistic Director at Paper Mill Playhouse, where she recently co-directed After Midnight with Dominique Kelley. Previously, Jen was Senior Vice President of Production and Development for The Araca Group, the lead producers of Wicked and The Outsiders, and spent three years touring North America, Asia, and Australia as the Assistant Artistic Director of Cirque du Soleil’s Ovo.
Her Broadway credits as Resident and Associate Director include The Lion King, Avenue Q, Honeymoon in Vegas, The Wedding Singer, and Steel Magnolias. She directed the world-premiere of Do You Hear the People Sing: The Dream Concert by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg featuring Lea Salonga, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Terrence Mann, and Stephanie J. Block (American Airlines Arena, Dallas), Wonderful Town (1st National Tour), Godspell (Muny), Rent (Surflight Theater), Trails (NYMF), and Caligula (House of Yes).
Jen was the Artistic Director of Broadway in South Africa and the Director of Programming and Artist Services at the New York Musical Festival (NYMF), which she co-founded in 2004.
Originally from Marion, Ohio, Jen is a graduate of the theater program at Northwestern University and teaches at New York University’s Steinhardt School.
Donald Holder has worked extensively in Theatre, Opera, Dance, Architectural, Film and Television lighting in the US and abroad for over 30 years. He has designed 62 Broadway productions and has been nominated for fourteen Tony awards, winning the Tony for Best Lighting Design for ‘The Lion King’ in 1998, and for the 2008 revival of ‘South Pacific’. Recent Broadway productions include: ‘McNeal’, ‘Call Me Izzy’, ‘Pirates! The Penzance Musical’, ’Paradise Square’, ‘Tootsie’, ‘Kiss Me Kate’, ‘Anastasia’, ‘Oslo’, ’She Loves Me’, ‘Fiddler On The Roof’, ‘The King and I’, ‘On The Twentieth Century’, ‘The Bridges of Madison County’, ‘Spiderman-Turn Off The Dark’, ‘Bullets Over Broadway’, and many others.
Projects at the NY Metropolitan Opera include ’Champion’, ‘Rigoletto’, ‘Porgy and Bess’, ‘Samson et Delilah’, ‘Otello’, ‘The Magic Flute’ and the premiere of ‘Two Boys’. Upcoming: ‘La Sonnambula’, ‘The Wedding Banquet’, ‘Macbeth’. His television/film work includes the theatrical lighting for two seasons of ‘Smash’ (NBC- Dreamworks), ‘Spirited’ (Apple Studios), ‘Oceans 8’ (Warner Brothers Pictures) ‘Gossip Girls’ (HBO Max), and ‘The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel’ (Amazon Studios). Mr. Holder is currently a professor of professional practice and head of Lighting Design for the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers- New Brunswick. He will begin the same role for the David Geffen School of Drama at Yale in Fall 2025.
Violet Asmara Tafari is a Creative Producer, Production Manager, and Curator whose work lives at the intersection of artistic ritual, community care, and technical execution. Rooted in a lifelong love for the stage and the spaces behind it, Tafari began her journey in production at a young age, moving fluidly between performer and technician. From these early experiences, she cultivated a deep understanding of how storytelling—across movement, sound, and image—can craft memory, shape culture, and foster community. Currently the Associate Director of Production at BAM (Brooklyn Academy of Music), Tafari oversees a diverse portfolio of performances, festivals, and community-centered programming.
Her leadership has supported the seamless execution of A Streetcar Named Desire, Next Wave, and other innovative programs, balancing shifting creative visions with operational clarity and budgetary oversight. With a commitment to both excellence and care, she works to ensure every artist and crew member feels held in the creative process. As the Operations Director of AFRIKIN, she has also uplifted diasporic and ancestral art practices through multi-day festivals, gallery installations, and cultural convenings. Across all her roles, Tafari brings a griot’s lens to production—guiding with intention, listening across frequencies, and honoring the sacred relationship between artist, audience, and space. Violet is the founder of Freequency Connects, a company dedicated to cultivating artistic ritual and supporting creative expression in all its forms. Whether managing backstage logistics or curating immersive experiences, she centers the transformative power of art to heal, connect, and expand our collective imagination.