GAYLE DAMIANO WAXENBERG

FOUNDING EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

Gayle’s career began on Wall Street where she managed the marketing and corporate communications for a premiere investment bank. During her 11 years there, she won a multitude of awards for the creative and strategic campaigns she directed. She later started her own marketing consulting firm, Waxenberg & Associates, working with advertising, public relations and direct marketing firms servicing the financial industry.   A born advocate, she left the for-profit sector and committed her self to raising awareness for those less fortunate. Combining her extensive business experience and philanthropic work, she began giving “voice” to the different communities she served, and continues to serve; domestic abuse victims, hospice patients, substance abuse victims, immigrants, at-risk children and mental health patients. Gayle has been repeatedly honored for her service by the organizations she serves.

Recognizing the power of the stories she captured, she launched the Telling Company in 2012 as a forum for telling real-life stories influencing social change through art.  She has now brought The Telling Company to NewYorkRep.

Her first play, A Bitter Pill, premiered in 2016 at the Hudson Guild Theater, as part of the Venus/Adonis Theater Festival. Gayle also produced the mulit-award winning film Influence, and the London production of Stalking the Bogeyman, which received an Off-West End (Offie nomination) for best production and direction. Produced readings included Ben Elton’s Olivier award winning play, Popcorn, starring Sharon Stone and Stacey Keach. She is proud to have launched and produced a community based program of readings, Thought Bubbles, to bring new theatrical work free to people who may not otherwise have access.

Gayle is also a Founder/Past President and currently a Board Member of The Graham School Education Foundation, which serves New York City’s most at-risk, underserved children, a Board Member of Danza Espanza, The American Spanish Dance Theater, and was an elected official.   She is also a member of the Dramatists Guild of America, the Off Broadway Alliance, Theater Resources Unlimited and a member of the League of Professional Theater Women.

JEFF GURNER

CO-ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Jeff Gurner has made a career in the arts for more than three decades, working as an actor, director, producer, musician, writer, and educator. He has performed on Broadway, Off-Broadway, on national and international tours, in regional theaters nationwide, and in numerous television series. As a voice actor, Jeff has recorded hundreds of commercials, scores of video game and animated characters, and is an award-winning audiobook narrator of more than two hundred titles, including multiple New York Times Best Sellers. He is also the co-owner of Apesauce Productions, one of the premier demo production and voiceover training companies in the United States. 

Jeff’s theater production company, Tequila Talking Theatrical, has developed several new plays and musicals including The Yellow Stocking Play (DW Gregory, Steven M. Alper & Sarah Knapp), Trans Am (Lisa Stephen Friday) An Un-hero’s Journey (Brett Macias), SEMITES: The Musical (Marc Brenner), The American Soldier (Douglas Taurel) and more. Now, he is enthusiastically bringing the work of Tequila Talking Theatrical to NewYorkRep.  

Jeff proudly serves on the Westport Country Playhouse Theater Council and volunteers for several Fairfield County arts organizations. He is a graduate of NYU, and currently resides in CT with his wife, Michelle, his sons, Ethan and Jonah, and their dogs, Tanner and Mabel.

KENNY METZGER

CO-ARTISTIC DIRECTOR

Kenny Metzger is an entrepreneur and producer with a varied background in the arts. He started as a professional performer, explored casting, and found his true passion in producing.

As the founder of Reel Artistry, a video production company specializing in promo videos for independent artists and creative brands, and the co-founder of The Entertainment Collective, an innovative entertainment networking group, Kenny is dedicated to connecting artists with meaningful resources and sustainable business solutions. This entrepreneurial spirit has informed his producing style, blending creative and strategic thinking to develop innovative approaches to the business of the arts.

Currently, Kenny serves as the CEO of A Life Well Organized, a luxury professional organizing company based in Manhattan. With his artistic touch, he often tells his clients and team, “Let’s ‘produce’ your new life!”

Kenny holds a BFA in Musical Theatre from Syracuse University. He continues to explore new possibilities in both the artistic and business worlds, dedicated to creating meaningful experiences and fostering innovation.