A true New Yorker, Rena was born and raised in Goshen, NY, about 60 miles north of New York City. She started on stage at age 4 in kinderdance and continued to study ballet, tap and jazz up through both high school and college. At age 11, Rena began to spend her summers at STAGEDOOR MANOR, the now famous acting camp put on the big screen in the film CAMP. Rena spent five glorious summers there along with Zack Braff, Josh Charles, Danny Gerwin, Michelle Federer and many other wonderful performers.
Rena continued her studies of Drama and Music at Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, NY were she graduated Cum Laud with a Bachelors of Science in Drama. During her Junior year, she spent one semester at the National Theatre Institute at the Eugene O'Neil Theater in Connecticut. She then spent the second semester working for the Royal National Theatre of London.
After graduating from Skidmore, Rena moved to Los Angeles, where she was part of the original cast of Reefer Madness and can also be heard on the cast album. While in LA, Rena also worked on the film Coyote Ugly.
Rena left LA after almost two years to join the National Tour of Les Miserables playing the 'Hair Hag' and understudying the role of Cosette, which she performed over 30 times across the country. She left the tour after a year and a half and moved back to New York to join the Broadway company of Les Mis in the same role. Rena went on to cover Emily Skinner & Kelly O'Hara in My Life With Albertine at Playwrights Horizons. Regionally, she then performed as Billy Smith in Babes in Arms at the Goodspeed Opera House, Shelley in Bat Boy, and Jenny Lind in Barnum, opposite Peter Scolari.
Currently, Rena is appearing in her sold-out, one-woman show Spaghetti & Matzo Balls at the New York cabaret hot spot, Don't Tell Mama.
