 |
 |
|
Complete Biography: RENE LEWIS (ACTOR, MUSICIAN, COMPOSER) TRAINING A Berklee College of Music graduate, Rene Lewis brings to his artistic work a diverse background, which includes stage work, studio recording, teaching and solo performance. Born in Washington, D.C., Rene was trained as a pianist and violinist by his parents, who both attended The Juilliard School of Music. He furthered his violin study with Andreas Makris, resident composer of The National Symphony Orchestra, where his father was first violinist for 41 years. In 1985, he began voice study with Myra Tate, both privately and at The University of Maryland where he studied for two years. Rene was accepted into Berklee and received a Professional Scholarship. He arrived in Boston in the fall of 1988 as a voice major, and immediately began to work in the region as a pianist/singer, writer, and music director. He was the Theater Director for Sunapee Arts from 1989 to 1992 where he created 8 new shows including a musical adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream, Media Games (an artistic reaction to the initial "Gulf Crisis'), and Clueless, the musical. In the summer of 1990, he was also selected to be a performer with Opryland USA!, in Nashville, Tennessee at The American Theater performing in the show stopping revue ?and the winner is! He graduated with honors in 1992, and continued to create in the Boston Theater community for a total of 10 years from 1988-1998. During this period he directed, wrote, and music directed over 50 original musicals, musical adaptations and cabarets including Pinocchio, Gulliver's Travels, and the award winning A Wrinkle in Time. In 1993, Wrinkle received the Moss Hart award for excellence in theater from the New England Theater Conference. FURTHER WORK Rene then co-founded the Young People's Theater (1992-1996), a youth theater organization dedicated to exploring original musicals through the creative process. In addition to producing two original shows a year, he created the YPT cast album with song favorites from the theater's repertoire. Mr. Lewis played piano for a number of shows, events and companies in Boston, and was music director in residence for both The Concord Youth Theater and Riverside Theater Works. He produced the original youth scripted That's what Kids are About in 1994 with The Regal Players, and received song commissions from The Mystery Caf?, as well as assisting on recordings for The Huntington Theater's original production of Oh Pioneers! with Mary McDonnell. Throughout the years Rene has performed as a singer-songwriter and actor. (See acting resume for further experience). In 1996, he travelled to the Lakota Reservations and peace conferences throughout the United States to begin work on the songs for his CD Earthquakes and Bliss. In 1998, he moved to Europe to perform and write in Amsterdam. In January of 1999, he visited India, where he created more songs and studied the life of Mahatma Gandhi and his teachings of non-violence. He returned to the United States and finished Earthquakes and Bliss with Brother Bliss duo partner Root Cuthbertson in Western Massachusetts. AWARDS, GRANTS, and COMMISSIONS In the spring of 1999, Rene received a commission from The Concord Youth Theater to write additional songs for an all new production of his Pinocchio. Rene returned to the show a year later with Impact Arts Events group in Connecticut, where he produced the music again with an entirely new script. Pinocchio continues to be performed in a number of venues including Impact Arts, the YMCA, Concord Youth Theater and the Massachusetts library system through a grant from the Local Cultural Arts Council. His original musical adaptation of A Midsummer Night's Dream was also revived in two venues from 2000 -2001 including standing room only performances with The Hampshire Shakespeare Theater Company. Rene began work with the company as Antipholus of Ephesus, in Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors. At the same time he joined the pop/funk band PARIS performing throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Vermont as lead male vocalist and violinist and keyboardist until the fall of 2001. NEW YORK CITY Rene relocated to New York City in the fall of 2001 to continue performing and study with master teachers in his field. His debut performances in Manhatten include comedy routines at Stand-Up NY and Caroline's on Broadway, and his original one man play Practice, Practice with The Stella Adler Conservatory. He composed the opening and closing numbers and performed in Six Actors in Search of a Schtick, but an agent will do! at the Actor's Institute, in January 2002. This past summer he wrote original songs for the musical The Vegas Fairy in Connecticut, extending his 3-year relationship with Impact Arts Events Group. IN CLOSING Rene's one-on-one work as a private teacher and his experience
creating music for a variety of media has given him a unique understanding
of performing that is essential to the writing and producing of
original works. His songbook contains over 100 songs and 30 musicals
and cabarets and he is currently in the planning stages of the autobiographical
one man show Confessions of a Drama Queen. He continues to vocal
coach adults and children in both the musical theater and pop idioms
for the stage and screen. His students have attended and graduated
from a number of prestigious schools including New York University
(Tisch), Columbia University, and the Royal Academy of Dramatic
Arts, and have appeared in professional companies in New York, Los
Angeles, as well as in major motion pictures. |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |