Rene Neville:  

Life WHAT DO I DO WITH MY FREE TIME? I'm very involved with community theatre. For those who may remember, I have a background in dance. For the past 9 years, I have been involved with the Endicott Performing Arts Center (EPAC) located on Washington Ave in Endicott, NY. EPAC was the former home of the Lyric Theatre back in the day (i.e., Vaudeville), and in the 50's - 70's the building was a movie house (remember Animal House? I saw it there). Aside from being a member of (and active choreographer for) the Repertory company, in the past 9 years I have also served on the faculty of the Children's Theatre Program (dance), served on the faculty of the Performing Arts School (I adjunct jazz, modern, and tap), and have taught "Stretch and Relaxation" classes (think Yoga, Pilates, and Dance a la René). This year marks my 41st year of dance (I really do hate to make us feel old, but...), and in those 41 years I have worked/choreographed for Tri-Town Theatre, SUNY Binghamton, Summer Savoyards, Lois Welk and the American Dance Asylum, EPAC, P'fodeuxgé, and Pink Inc (NYC based) among others. In May 2008 I realized a dream come true when I wrote, produced, directed, and performed in a dance project entitled "ART [the] Dance." The cast assembled was a "dream team" of choreographers and dancers whom I have had the pleasure of performing with over the years. Great actors also performed spoken word pieces throughout the performances. I converted a second floor loft in an old manufacturing plant in Johnson City into a theatre for 4 nights. This included everything from hiring 2 lighting designers to design lights for the performances and install the lighting system, to hiring a sound engineer, booking a stage manager, and renting risers and chairs so the audience would have theatre seating. It was exhausting and exhilerating, terrifying and enriching. God bless everyone who came. It was a great story to tell and to share, and I know my life is blessed and richer for having done it and for meeting all of those who came and shared in the story. I am currently in rehearsals for "Chicago" which will be performed at the Endicott Performing Arts Center (EPAC) on 11/14, 11/15, 11/16, and 11/21, 11/22, 11/23. The Fri & Sat performances are at 8:00 pm, and the Sunday matinees are at 3:00 pm. Tix = $18 with reduced pricing for seniors and children. For details, visit the EPAC website which is located under endicottarts. Yes, I know...that was a shameless plug I'm a performer, what can I say? CAREER I work at Binghamton University, formerly known as SUNY Binghamton, formerly known as Harpur College in the Music Department. Great job, LOVE the students, and the musicians are pretty groovy too... RELATION...Expand for more