While there, he realized he was better suited for directing, and during three summer breaks he ran the repertory Red Barn Theater in Pittsburgh.
The company included Julie Hagerty, Judith Ivey, Treat Williams, Mark Linn-Baker, and John Glover.
The two wrote a script incorporating songs that had been written for but discarded from Stephen Sondheim musicals, and René also directed.
In 1990, they joined forces for what would prove to be their biggest commercial and critical success, Prelude to a Kiss, for which René won the Obie Award for Best Director.
René directed an episode of American Playhouse in 1987, and made his feature film directorial debut with Longtime Companion, scripted by Lucas, in 1990.