Neno Russell is a professional pattern maker and costume designer. Neno’s academic career includes teaching at Virginia Commonwealth University for 11 years and 8 summers of teaching at The Tennessee Governor’s School for the Arts before coming to The University of Tennessee in the fall of 2021. His Broadway Credits include Paradise Square, Flying over Sunset, Amazing Grace, Finian’s Rainbow, Chita Rivera: The Dancer’s Life, Footloose, Bring in da’ Noise Bring in da’ Funk, and The Rose Tattoo. National and International Tours: Footloose, 5 companies of Come from Away. Film, TV, and Commercials: Wildcat, The Black Phone, Tomb of Joseph, Good Lord Bird, Loving, 2 seasons of Mercy Street, 4 seasons of Turn: Washington’s Spies, more than 70 national commercials for brands such as MTV, VH1, Journeys, Thomasville, Petsmart, NFL Films, The History Channel and Old Navy, and designing 7 documentaries for the History Channel.

During Neno’s 12 years in New York he worked at many Off-Broadway theatres including The Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival, Lincoln Center Theatre and Playwrights Horizons. Regional Work includes Arena Stage- Catch Me if You Can Ford’s Theatre- Guys and Dolls, Christmas Carol, and Into the Woods. Cleveland Playhouse- The Royale.

He received an MFA in costume technology from Florida State University, and a BS in speech and theatre from Middle Tennessee State University.