Elinor Renfield had a lengthy career as a stage director on Broadway and Off-Broadway and in Regional Theatre. Some of her Off-Broadway directing credits include: THE SORROWS OF FREDERICK (1976), S.W.A.K. (1977),  SHAY  (1978), BAG LADY (1979), SCENES FROM THE EVERYDAY LIFE (1980), CHUCKY’S HUNCH (1982), JOHNNY GOT HIS GUN (1982),  YOUNG  PLAYWRIGHTS FESTIVAL (1982), BUCK (1983), THE SEAGULL(1983), OPEN ADMISSIONS (1984), FAYEBIRD (1991),  PASSION PLAY (2001), ROSMERSHOLM  (2010), and A TREE GROWS IN BROOKLYN (2011). She has worked with numerous Off-Broadway theater companies in New York City such as Playwrights Horizons, Harold Clurman Theater, NYSF/The Public Theater, Circle Repertory Theatre, American Place Theatre, American Jewish Theatre, and more.

Born and raised in Manhattan, Elinor was one of three daughters of two educators. Near the end of elementary school she started taking dance classes with Martha Graham, a resident artist at the 92^nd Street Y. She continued training with Graham through high school where she was accepted into  both the dance and theater programs,  and quickly realized she was not  fond of acting. She attended Emerson College in Boston as a drama major, later participating in a scholarship program for future directors and educators. She spent her junior year abroad in London where she fell in love with script analysis. A relative of her husband, Alan Schneider, was producing A Sign in Sidney Brustein’s Window on Broadway. Seeing Alan ‘s work sparked her interest in directing as a profession. In addition to her numerous Off-Broadway and Regional credits, she has directed two plays on Broadway: Open Admissions (1984) and The 24 Hour Plays 2006 (2006). Three shows she directed received Obie Awards: BAG LADY, CHUCKY’S HUNCH,JOHNNY GOT HIS GUN. In 1994, she was nominated for the Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Director of a Resident Production for her work on PASSION PLAY (2001). She also received two NEA Grants for Development, one while she worked at The Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis and the other during her time at The American Place Theatre.