NYMF Names Jen Bender Director of Programming and Artist Services

The New York Musical Theatre Festival (NYMF) today announced that Jen Bender has been named as the new Director of Programming and Artist Services for the organization. Jen returns to NYMF after having served as a founding producer of the Festival in 2004.

In the role, Bender will be responsible for providing leadership for the strategic programming of the annual New York Musical Theatre Festival and the design and execution of services provided to the writers and producers of shows presented by NYMF.

"We are excited to have someone with Jen's talent and experience leading our Programming for the 2015 Festival and beyond." said Executive Director & Producer Dan Markley. "It's especially gratifying to be working with someone who was there when it all began and continues to believe passionately in the impact NYMF has on the development of new musicals."

"After serving as one of NYMF's Founding Producers in 2004, I'm thrilled to return in a full-time capacity," added Bender. "I will ensure that NYMF remains committed to its mission of being, first and foremost, an artist service organization dedicated to the development of new musicals and new voices. From our fully-staged productions to our developmental readings, I look forward to building a festival that showcases work of the highest-caliber."

Bender succeeds Mary Catherine Burke, who is leaving after a successful tenure in order to lead the creative team on the national launch of Chick Flick the Musical, a musical valentine to chick flicks and female friendship.

Jen Bender is a director and producer working in theater, television, and live events. She is the Associate Director of the new Broadway musical Honeymoon in Vegas by Jason Robert Brown and Andrew Bergman, currently running at the Nederlander Theater. Other Broadway credits include The Lion King (Resident Director), The Wedding Singer, Steel Magnolias, and Avenue Q (Assistant Director).

She spent the past three years touring North America, Asia, and Australia as the Assistant Artistic Director of Cirque du Soleil's Ovo.

Jen directed the world-premiere of Do You Hear the People Sing: The Dream Concert, an evening of music by Alain Boublil and Claude-Michel Schonberg featuring Lea Salonga, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Terrence Mann, and Stephanie J. Block. The concert is currently being performed in symphony halls throughout North America.

From its creation in 2008, Jen was the Artistic Director of Broadway in South Africa, a non-profit organization that aims to develop a cross-cultural exchange between youth in need and artists who seek to use their change for good. She is also a co-founder of New Voices Collective, a concert series of art songs by contemporary American composers, and the New York Musical Theater Festival (NYMF), currently in its 12th year.

She directed the 1st National Tour of Wonderful Town, with choreography by Kathleen Marshall. Regional credits include Godspell at the St. Louis Muny and Avenue Q at the Wynn Las Vegas. She served as John Kander's assistant on The Visit at the Goodman Theatre, which led to work as a music copyist on Carousel at Carnegie Hall, starring Hugh Jackman and Audra McDonald, music assistant on Broadway's Sweet Smell of Success, Sinatra at Radio City Music Hall, and No Strings at City Center Encores. A passionate supporter of new works, she directed the premieres of Like You Like it and Trails at NYMF, as well as numerous concerts and readings at Lincoln Center, Birdland, Hammerstein Ballroom, Ars Nova, Hudson Theatre, and Joe's Pub.

Jen was a guest director at Michigan State University, where she also taught musical theatre and graduate acting.

She has worked with students of all ages as a teaching artist for the BFA program at Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Camp Broadway, The Broadway Experience, Kamp NYC, The Artist's Crossing, Broadway Classroom, and the summer program at Usdan Center for the Creative and Performing Arts.

Originally from Marion, Ohio, Jen is a graduate of the theater program at Northwestern University and a proud member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society (SDC).