Robert Cooperman
Robert Cooperman spent the first 29 years of his life in Queens, New York. The theatre bug bit him in third grade when he attended a performance of “The Marriage of Figaro” at the Metropolitan Opera in New York City. Since then, he dreamed of participating in theatre as an actor and playwright (although it wasn’t until high school that he became truly active as a performer). While attending Queens College of the City University of New York, he majored in English and Theatre and began writing plays as well as acting. It was at Queens College that he met his wife, Sandra, and they have been married for 39 years. Robert earned both his BA and MA at Queens College.
Robert moved to Columbus, Ohio, in 1991 to pursue his Ph.D. in English at the Ohio State University, once again specializing in drama; he earned his Ph.D. in 1996. While in Ohio, Sandra and Robert had their two children: Matthew and Heather. While rearing his children and working, he hoped to get back into the theatre scene more heavily. In 2012, Robert decided to chase dreams that had eluded him: he started teaching English and Theatre at Ohio University, Lancaster, began to write for the theatre more earnestly (having his plays produced in Columbus and New York City), and started podcasting about conservatives in the arts. In 2016 he founded Stage Right Theatrics, today the country’s only conservative theatre company.
Now in its tenth year, Stage Right continues to provide a forum for truly marginalized voices in the arts: those of conservative/traditionally minded playwrights whose work is routinely dismissed or ignored altogether. Stage Right’s annual festival of original, short plays is now a staple of its annual offerings, as well as early plays by master American playwrights in a program entitled “Before They Were Gods.”
Aside from continuing to produce and write plays, Robert is an Adjunct Professor of English at Columbus State Community College, a freelance contributor for “The Epoch Times,” and a monthly guest on “Real and RAW! with Mindy and Boots” (98.9 FM The Answer). He is now also the host of the podcast “For the Rest of Us,” airing on Saturday mornings at 11 a.m. on 95.9 FM.
In addition to his interest in theatre, Robert is a connoisseur of parrots (he has three, along with two dogs) and an avid New York Yankees fan. He resides in Dublin, Ohio, with his wife and visits his children in warmer climates: Matthew in Orlando, FL and Heather in Valley Village, CA.
For the Rest of Us
Robert Cooperman hosts “For the Rest of Us,” which airs on 95.9 FM Saturdays at 11 AM. He is the founder and president of Stage Right Theatrics, the country’s only conservative theatre company. A playwright and theatre producer, Robert’s goal is to increase participation in the arts by conservative and traditionally minded people and to educate audiences on American theatre history and its connection to promoting Western values, which he fears are eroding rapidly in all aspects of our culture. “For the Rest of Us” is, as it suggests, a show that looks at the erosion of Western (and specifically American) values in our contemporary arts scene and—more importantly—what we can do about it!
