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 Renato
Biribin Jr. graduated Lebanon Valley College in
1990 majoring in Political Science with course
emphasis in Theatre Arts and English. While at
LVC, Renato brought John Guare’s masterpiece
House of Blue Leaves to the stage. He co-produced
and directed the ambitious undertaking at a time
when the school was not offering theater as a full-time
major. The production received much acclaim and
helped spark a new emphasis of theater arts at
the college. Along with a handful of other students,
Renato pushed the administration at Lebanon Valley
College towards offering a broader and enhanced
theater curriculum at the college. As an actor
at LVC he was seen in various comedic, straight
and musical theater roles such as Stanley in Brighton
Beach Memoirs, George Gibbs in Our Town, Kenickie
in Grease and Ozzie in On the Town. He was also
a local officer in the LVC chapter of the national
dramatic fraternity, Alpha Psi Omega and was a
member of the college’s Wig & Buckle
dramatic society.
After college, Renato worked with various theater
groups in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and
California as an actor, producer and director.
He studied acting and directing with George DiCenzo
in Philadelphia and New York. He directed musicals
such as Guys & Dolls, Godspell, and Damn
Yankees.
Some credits as an actor are Iago in Othello, Gavin
in John Daly’s Sunday, Monday & Albert
H. Drew, Bickham in Does a Tiger Wear a Necktie,
Megs in Strange Snow and the Ghost of Christmas
Present in Another Christmas Carol. He also played
Lun Tha in The King and I and Billy Bigelow in
Carousel. Though he enjoyed his time as a musical
theater performer, he was very honest in his own
assessment of his talent and decided to spare future
audiences from listening to him sing!
Renato is a freelance writer in Los Angeles, CA.
As a novelist, he is currently looking for a home
for his latest novel, THAT TREMBLING SUN, which
chronicles the life of an Italian-American man
born in Hoboken, NJ in 1917. He is represented
by Lettie Lee of the Anne Elmo Agency for this
particular work. He has also written two other
novels. The first, FLANAGAN’S is a coming
of age story that takes place primarily in a central
New Jersey bar where four men deal with their changing
friendship. The other novel, CANDYLAND, is a thriller
dealing with child abduction, slavery, and ultimately
one woman’s quest to find her son.
In Los Angeles, Renato has completed Dov Simens
seminar in film direction and production. As a
screenwriter, he is represented by Cathryn Jaymes,
former manager to Quentin Tarantino. He currently
has 5 screenplays being shopped around Hollywood
and has pitched ideas to production companies like
Lightstorm Entertainment, Baltimore Spring Creek,
Bel Air Entertainment, De Line Pictures, Jersey
Films, Landscape Entertainment, Sanford-Pilsbury,
Out of the Blue...Entertainment, Phoenix Pictures,
and Revolution Studios.
Renato’s collaboration with Julia Gregory
began in 1996 when he first showed up as a Production
Assistant on the premier reading of Camille. Soon
after that production, Ms. Gregory asked Renato
to help her re-write some scenes in her libretto.
After that assignment, Renato co-wrote music, lyrics,
and libretto with Julia Gregory on their hard rock
version of Bram Stoker’s classic novel, Dracula.
Their kick ass tunes from that rock score still
garner jaw-dropping responses from audiences. Julia
and Renato were able to entertain Los Angeles audiences
with a workshop version of Dracula; Sex, Blood
and Rock N Roll to critical acclaim.
Julia asked Renato to write the book for BERNICE
BOBS HER HAIR, a bustling 1920s musical based upon
the F. Scott Fitzgerald short story. That project
is currently being reviewed by various teenage
theater groups in Southern California. The first
act of Bernice sticks to Fitzgerald’s story,
but in the second act Renato and Julia write another
chapter in the chronicles of Bernice.
Renato and Julia’s latest endeavor, Felix & Fanny,
chronicles the life of the famous composer Felix
Mendelssohn and his talented but lesser known sister,
Fanny Mendelssohn-Hensel. Renato wrote the libretto
and co-wrote some lyrics for the show. In February
and March of 2005, he co-produced and directed
a successful workshop reading of Felix & Fanny
at the Actor’s Co-Op in Hollywood, California.
As President and CEO of Biribin Entertainment,
he has “optioned” Felix & Fanny.
In December 2005, as a producer he will begin capitalization
for an Off-Broadway run of Felix & Fanny. Information
on Felix & Fanny will be posted on a separate
web page in the near future for those people who
are interested in this elegant, chamber style musical.
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