"I love doing many different things. That is a theme that dominates my life," David Neale said.
In childhood he began doing many different things by playacting. He and his brothers and friends assumed different characters doing different things, and put on plays in their backyard. Always encouraged by his parents, he played Chicken Little in kindergarten, and was on the dramatic speech team of his elementary school. By the time he was in high school in St. Louis, he said, "I developed an appreciation for diversity. There was never any doubt in my mind that as a university major I would pursue theater."
In 1987, David entered Northeast Missouri State University. "It was four hours from my hometown, and surrounded by four hours of corn," he said. "That turned out to be an advantage. There was nothing to do outside school, so we were forced to have a great time within. I met lots of people I might not have, had there been a scene off campus. Among them were some of my first Japanese friends. As a theater major, I was heavily involved both onstage and backstage with five annual school productions. I also worked as a DJ at the local FM radio station, sang in a band, sat on the board council for the Neumann Center, a Catholic youth group for college students, and volunteered as tutor for elementary school kids."