Ronen was born in West Hartford, Connecticut to a Canadian mother and Israeli father, who, from birth, instilled within his heart a love for music, performing, and a wanderlust to be reckoned with. Not counting the many living room productions Ronen staged with the assistance of his unwitting younger brother and cousins, Ronen first graced the stage at age 5 in a production of The King and I (I know...), and there was no looking back from there.
Shortly after moving to Rockville, Maryland at age 7, Ronen began taking classes and performing in productions at the Musical Theater Center. It was there, under the instruction of world-class teachers and alongside a group of incredibly talented peers, that his passion for performing was nurtured. In addition to receiving the foundations of his training in voice, dance, and acting, he went on to become a member of MTC's highly-acclaimed performing groups, Upbeat Unlimited and Singular Sensations (formely Young Americans of Washington).
At 14, Ronen took a brief intermission from his American life and moved to Israel with his family. There, he spent half of his high school career at the American Internation School in Kfar Shmaryahu. Ronen continued to perform, both in and out of school, tackling roles such as Pippin in Pippin, Harold Hill in The Music Man, and Reverend Parris in The Crucible (some more appropriate than others). He also began to take an interest in international affairs, languages, and cultures, and became an active member of The Israel Middle East Model United Nations Conference.
Following the difficult task of leaving his newfound home and friends to move back to the US for his senior year of high school, Ronen began the formiddable task of deciding upon where to attend college and what to study. Being the good Jewish boy he was raised to be, Ronen was prepared to pursue a degree in international relations, law, or psychology (medicine was out of the question due to his blood phobia). Performing, though fine as a hobby or extracurricular activity, was not practical enough to pursue as a career. Luckily, at the behest of his acting coach, Ronen decided to check out Northwestern University. As he learned, it was one of the few schools with a theatre program (and a world-renowned one, at that) that allowed students to pursue another degree outside of the department. Ronen would still be able to please his parents while pursuing his passion. So, after his acceptance, and a campus visit to seal the deal, off to Northwestern he went!
At Northwestern, under the tutelage of a slew of illustrious professors such as David H. Bell, Melissa Foster, Gail Shapiro, Marie Michuda, and Amanda Dehnert, Ronen took upon himself a rigorous course-load of subjects ranging from voice, dance, acting, and textual analysis, to media coverage of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, queer cinema, Yiddish, and Czech history. All the while, Ronen became an active member of the Lambda Chi Alpha fraternity, serving as its Social Chair during his sophomore year. He also performed in numerous student- and department-run theatre productions that allowed him the opportunity to work with such incredible talent as Stephen Schwartz, Betty Garrett, Heather Headley, Brian D'Arcy James, and Kate Shindle.
After four years of frolicking along the (usually freezing) shores of Lake Michigan, countless all-night study sessions (sponsored by Ben & Jerry), and a one-year hiatus in which he lived and worked in Prague, Ronen graduated Summa Cum Laude from Northwestern in June 2010 with a B.A. in Theatre (Music Theatre Certificate) and International Studies.
Upon graduation, Ronen trained as an Acting Apprentice at the Williamstown Theatre Festival and subsequently moved to New York City, where he racked up numerous theatre, film, and television credits over 7 years before relocating to LA. Since then, Ronen has been touring the world with living legend Frankie Valli as one of The Four Seasons, performing at iconic venues such as Radio City Music Hall, London's 02 Arena, and various theaters throughout Japan. For more information, feel free to check out Ronen's resume, photos, and media above!