Music

Ellen Gerstein is a director, writer, actor and member of the Alliance of Women Directors. She wrote and directed Waiting For Ronald, which won international awards for its inspiring story of a mentally challenged man creating a new independent life. Her feature script, Just South of Normal, won the Roy W. Dean Screenwriting Grant. She co-wrote, and starred in a short film, Silent Laughter out of the prestigious AFI Directing Workshop for Women. Ellen also co-wrote, co-produced and starred in the award winning interactive play Club Disco, which ran for eight months at the Lillian Theatre.

She brought her experience as a licensed therapist and standup comedienne to the stage, writing and starring in her one-woman show, My Psychotherapy Comeback Tour, which was a semi-finalist in the Samuel French Short Play Contest and played in the New York Fringe Festival.  Ellen Gerstein's film credits include her most recent roles in America is Still the Place, Treasure Of The Black Jaguar, and Swelter with Alfred Molina. Her television credits include recurring roles as Aunt Rande on Shameless for Showtime and as Tina on The Whole Truth for ABC.  Ellen studied acting with Lee Strasberg, script analysis with Stella Adler and is a lifetime member of the Actors Studio.

Hollie Cavanagh is a Singer/Songwriter from Liverpool, England. In 2001 when Hollie was only 8 years old her family moved from Liverpool to McKinney, Taxes. In middle school she entered the talent show with a friend and discovered she could sing. When she was 17 she drove to Austin, TX to audition for American Idol. When Hollie was unfortunately cut at the top 40, American Idol judge Jennifer Lopez gave some encouraging words, "Come back in a few years and you could win the whole thing ... you are that talented. The next year Hollie returned to audition for American Idol Season 11, she was praised by the judges for her diva-like voice and quickly became a fan favorite progressing to top 4 finalists. After the competition Hollie and the other idols embarked on a 50-city tour.

On May 26, 2012, the Mayor of McKinney, TX proclaimed it as “Hollie Cavanagh Day”. Hollie was given a key to the city along with her own street “Hollie Cavanagh Way". Hollie currently resides in Los Angeles, CA and is busy writing and recording her own music as well as pursuing an acting career with Integrity Talent Agency.

Catherine Grealish is an LA-based composer for film, games, media and live performance and has experience in a wide range of genres. A multi-instrumentalist, she is a classical and jazz singer, and plays violin, piano, and guitar. Catherine has been nominated for the Independent Music Awards for her soundtrack for the film All Things Hidden.

Her music has been featured in award-winning films, including the shorts The Last Light and Dressing Up. She has also scored many other independent films including The Last Buck Hunt, Citizen Heroes and All Things Hidden. Catherine is currently scoring her second video game Ancient Aliens.

Catherine's work for Didgeridoo and chamber orchestra "For Those Who Have Walked Ahead" premiered at Benaroya Recital Hall as part of Celebrate World Music in March 2013. She also had an orchestral work "Artist and The Muse" premiere in 2012. Catherine continues to be involved in numerous film, game live performances projects.

She completed her Bachelor of Music at Cornish College of the Arts with a focus on Jazz composition and performance. Catherine then graduated with a Master of Music from Boston University. She also studied at the Pacific Northwest Film Scoring program.

Catherine is from Tasmania, Australia. She moved to the United States in 1998 to pursue a career in music.

Tyler Westen is an innovative composer, skilled in a wide range of film, television and theatrical music. His extensive experience enables him to create compositions from orchestral to rock, with style and elegance for any musical situation, including action, adventure, drama, romance, horror and comedy. He is highly skilled in technical support, has organized and conducted musical ensembles, and has produced many recording sessions, often standing in when the original composer is unavailable.

Westen recently collaborated with Adrian Lee on the animated feature, Dragon Nest, and is currently writing songs forLocals Only, a new theatrical musical from producer Bill Borden, creator of High School Musical.  Which will premier in Los Angeles in October of 2014.  Westen also composed the score for Sea Horse, an independent feature incorporating a variety of compositional techniques to compliment the thrilling and sometimes terrifying landscapes of a post-apocalyptic Alaskan wilderness.

Westen previously held positions as Composer’s Assistant for Clinton Shorter and Trevor Morris.  He most recently provided vital technical and writing support during demanding post-production schedules for the major films Pompeii and Olympus Has Fallen, in addition to TV series Intelligence, The Borgias, 666 Park Avenue, The Vikings and more. His responsibilities included technical support for multi computer writing rigs, project completion oversight, orchestration support and composition assistance. Westen also worked as Composer’s Assistant for Grammy-nominated composer Stephen Endelman, Oscar-nominated composer Javier Navarrete, and noted professional composers Nathan Wang and Gary Chase. Major projects included films and television shows for Anchor Bay, Sony Pictures Classics, ABC, The Syfy Channel, and 20th Century Fox. Westen also played guitar on the soundtrack The Grand and performed guitar on camera in the Jane Fonda film, Peace, Love and Misunderstanding.

Westen received his Bachelor’s Degree in Music Composition at Occidental College, where he won the Elinor Remick Warren Award for “Best Student Composer of the Year.” While at Occidental, Westen co-composed scores for over 30 short films and conducted the Caltech-Occidental Symphony Orchestra performing his own composition, Dark Horse.

Westen’s knowledge and enthusiasm for music comes from a longstanding experience with instrumental composition, beginning with the guitar at age 14. A rock ‘n roll kid at heart, Westen played guitar and bass in a number of rock bands throughout his teenage years and through college, with performances at such noted Hollywood venues as the Whiskey-A-Go-Go, Knitting Factory, Pig 'n Whistle, Viper Room and Rainbow Room.

Ralph Guzzo is a professional film and stage actor, as well as published songwriter. Ralph’s credits include a lead role on Broadway in Nicole Burdette’s play Chelsea Walls and performed with Al Pacino in Salome, Directed by Estelle Parsons. Recent film credits include lead roles as General Gustav in Starship Rising and Starship Apocalypse both directed by Neil Johnson. Ralph acted in the Feature 'Americas Still the Place ', a biopic set in the early 1970s directed by Pat Gilles. Other recent film Credits include Hard Candy, directed by Luke Slendebroeke and Ovation, directed and written by Henry Jaglom. Ralph appeared in the space comedy feature film Nobility, written by Ej De La Pena.

On the Music part of his career Ralph and partner Tyler Westen have written music/lyrics for six songs that are in the upcoming Musical 'Locals Only' a Bill Borden Production debuting at Santa Monica College in 2014 and moving to the Broad Stage in 2015.On a personal Note Ralph wishes to express that it has been a pleasure working with Ellen on many fronts including, songwriting, music producing, film producing and acting.