Rene Lewis Pfister

A multi-talented actor, musician, and composer, Rene Lewis Pfister’s performances have included over 200 original songs, 30 musicals, and 20 years of cabaret.  He was the violinist, keyboardist, and vocalist in the folk duo BROTHER BLISS and the quartet THE BROADWAY UNDERGROUND in New York City and currently is the front man/violinist for the band PARIS. As a solo artist and teacher he has worked throughout New England, India, and the Bahamas appearing at peace conferences, colleges, summer camps, and schools creating his unique brand of theatre.

A Berklee College of Music graduate, Rene has studied with master teachers from Stella Adler, Circle in the Square Playhouse, and Shakespeare & Company. His vocal training includes work with Paul Harman, Jean McLelland and Ellie Stone. He has acted, music directed, and directed regionally in Massachusetts, Connecticut, and New York and has appeared on stage in the 30th Anniversary European Tour of Hair and in Oh, Figaro! With The National Theater of the Deaf’s U.S. touring company.

Jan Mankowsky

With a decade of experience in technical direction and stage management, Technical Director Jan Mankowsky has worked closely with the Hampshire Shakespeare Theater as an actor, producer, stage manager and horse trainer. She has built sets for many shows and theater companies including the Worcester Foothills Theatre Company, Westfield Children’s Theater, and The Concord Youth Theater. In 1999 she created The Wendell Free Library Theatre project.

Jan starred as Pinocchio in the Guest Artist Series with Concord Youth Theater in 1994, and as the Therapist in We're Going to the Therapist with the A.P.E. Performance Project in Northampton and has worked as a dresser for Lily Tomlin's Search for Signs for Intelligent Life in the Universe.

Jan has studied acting technique and improvisation with Kate O'Connor, acting and movement with The Hampshire Shakespeare Theatre Company, and voice and diaphragmatic breath with Jeanne McLelland.

Rene Lewis Pfister & Jan Mankowksy

Rene Lewis Pfister and Jan Mankowsky first collaborated together in 1999 on A Little Mischief…a musical adaptation of A Midsummer’s Night Dream.  Since that time they have written and staged ten new works including Emperor’s New Clothes and The Pied Piper with The Concord Youth Theatre, Pinocchio with The Concord Youth Theatre, Impact Arts and the Hampshire County Library System, Haunted Opera House with the Northampton Council for the Arts and a private grant from The Academy of Music and We’re Going to the Therapist with A.P.E. Performance Project in Northampton, Massachusetts. 

Their production of Alice in Wonderland premiered with Riverside Theatre Works (voted Best Theatre in Boston in 2006) and with the Concord Youth Theatre in the spring of 2008.  They have written five musicals for the ReACT Theatre Project: The Tempest, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Twelfth Night, Much Ado About Nothing and Romeo and Juliet . In 2009 the Open Door Theater presented a 90 person cast of their hit musical The Pied Piper. 

An American Town is a musical celebration of life in the town of Lincoln. Sponsored by the Lincoln Cultural Arts Council, the Bemis Hall Lecture series, and the Lincoln Players, it premiered on October 24, 2009 at Codman Farm. To make a musical of your town or get a video of the show contact us.

Future Works

In 2011 the Concord Youth Theater will once again present one of their original musicals on their mainstage. The Emperor's New Clothes is coming your way with all new music and some exciting new characters as well. For more information please visit the Concord Youth Theater website.

Make Your Life a Musical in the Boston Globe

Denise Taylor of the Boston Globe wrote about us and our custom designed musicals. The photos are by Jon Chase.

The story was first published in the Boston Globe but you can also read the story here.