Rod Caspers
Creative Director, Stage Director, Producer, Writer, Teacher, Speaker Coach and Event Specialist
BA, Illinois State University, 1976; MFA, The University of Texas at Austin, 1984. Most recently Rod served as the Director of University Events at The University of Texas at Austin – creating and producing large-scale, special events. Prior to that he served as the Executive Director of Creative Services for The University of Texas System where he and his colleagues received five Lone Star Emmy Awards for creating and producing the PBS series, State of Tomorrow. He has taught and directed at the University of Wisconsin and The University of Texas at Austin. He has also worked in The University of Texas’ Office of University Relations where he received UT’s Margaret C. Berry Award for Outstanding Contribution to Student Life. Rod conducts directing and curriculum development workshops throughout the nation and on repeated occasions served as a guest artist/instructor for the Facing History and Ourselves Program in Switzerland, as well as in the Czech Republic. He has adjudicated the University of Texas Interscholastic League’s One-Act Play Contest for over twenty years, including the State Contests in Class 6-A, 4-A, 3-A and 1-A.
Rod has directed numerous productions, receiving a variety of nominations and awards (including directing awards for Big River, The Secret Garden and Honk!). While living in New York, Rod served as Associate Director for GreenPlays, creating and directing several new musicals and cabarets. For three seasons he stage managed the Radio City Christmas Spectacular Arena Tour starring the Rockettes. In 2011 he stage managed the Rockettes’ Shine production. In Texas he produced and directed the Texas Performing Arts Center’s 20th Anniversary Gala starring Tommy Tune, Linda Eder and The Broadway Tenors, as well as the We’re Texas Milestone Celebration featuring Judy Collins. Recently he staged Conspirare’s Considering Matthew Shepard. Additional productions that Rod has directed include Slammer for New York’s Fringe Festival, Assassins for The University of Texas, The Bat, Austin Lyric Opera’s new adaptation of Die Fledermaus, The Music Man for Zilker Theatre Productions and Into the Woods at Southwestern University. Rod also stage managed Jim Henson’s Musical World, a concert at Carnegie Hall with The New York Pops, The Muppets and the cast of Sesame Street as well as the cast of Avenue Q. For the UT Dept. of Theatre and Dance Rod has produced and stage managed two new musicals: the first workshop of a new Larry Gatlin musical, Rosie – based on the life of Rosie the Riveter and Giant Steps, a new musical directed by Billy Porter. Rod wrote and staged Dear Donna, adapting the archive of letters Donna Reed received from service men during WWII, as well as a new adaptation of Truman Capote’s A Christmas Memory. He also directed a new audience sing-along production of The Music Man at the Orpheum Theatre Center in Iowa.
Rod is a proud alumnus of the Madison Scouts Drum and Bugle Corps.
Chan Chandler
Producer, Stage Manager, Writer, Teacher and Event Specialist
Chan’s work in theatre, show business and corporate events spans 4 decades. He has worked as a producer, stage manager and writer all across America, Europe, Africa and Asia. The client list of his Renaissance Bubba Productions reads like a who’s who of Fortune 500 companies, CEOs, celebrities and world leaders.
As a stage manager, Chan has worked on Broadway, and has spent over 30 seasons at Carnegie Hall, including 23 years with the NY Pops Orchestra. He spent 9 seasons with the Radio City Rockettes, both at Radio City Music Hall and on the road. He has produced, tour managed, designed lights, and/or stage managed for many artists including Skitch Henderson, Shel Silverstein, Marvin Hamlisch, The New York Pops, Tony Bennett, Cy Coleman and Duran Duran.
Chan worked as a staff songwriter/producer for albums, songs, jingles and film scores in NYC. He worked at several studios and the music house Elias Associates with a wide range of artists including Duran Duran, Michael Bolton, John Barry, Grace Jones, Jonathan Elias and Yes.
Chan has produced over 30 new recordings of classic songs from the Paramount Pictures film library as part of a long-term project with the studio including the music for Paramount’s video games of GREASE and SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER. Along with Chris Gage he recently produced an album of Lennon/McCartney songs that featured Austin artists including Kevin Ahart, SPEAK, and Albert & Gage.
A member of the Writers Guild of America since 1985, Chan has written screenplays, including Red Draw for Rob Lowe, and taught screenwriting at NYU. He has written, produced and/or directed award-winning short films and music videos for artists as diverse as Prince ("Cream", and "Diamond & Pearls"), Grace Jones, Brave Combo, Duran Duran and KISS. Chan was a co-founder of Studio Eyebeam making award-winning animation with Austin-based artist, cartoonist and animator Sam Hurt.
The Twilight Theatre in Aurora, KY premiered his musical Living News 2.0. Twilight Theatre also staged Chan’s adaptation of Hemingway’s Hills Like White Elephants and the premiere of his musical Swan Song, which was adapted from the Chekhov play.
Other musicals Chan has written include Slammer! (a women-in-prison musical), which premiered in the FringeNYC, co-written with Steve Adams and directed by Rod Caspers. A life time member of the BMI Musical Theater Workshop, Chan’s musicals have been produced all over America and include: An Upper West Side Story, La Triviata and Stars In My Eyes. Branson Or Bust premiered at the UT Austin where Chan was a guest artist.
While getting his MFA at the Yale School of Drama, Chan wrote and presented the musicals Oh, Cloris!, A Part Of Me and Simply Weill, which he also directed at the Yale Cabaret.
Since 1995 Chan has produced and stage managed events at the University of Texas with Rod Caspers for the President's Office, the Development Office and the Office of Special Events, including the Fortune 500 Forum and the UT Billion Dollar Capital Campaign. Chan stage managed the Summit For Civil Rights at the LBJ Presidential Library with President Obama and former presidents Bush, Clinton and Carter. Chan has stage managed events and galas for Harvard, U.S. Naval Academy, University of Michigan, and UMBC.
A graduate of the University of Texas and the Yale School of Drama, Chan spent 15 years on the faculty of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts. Chan has also taught at Yale, SUNY Purchase, and The University of Texas.
