Mark Caspary
Sound Designer, Producer, Composer and Team Leader
Mark Caspary is a sound designer and composer with a diverse background in a variety of arts. From a young age, Mark has had a passion for music, theater, and technology.
Mark is co-owner of Ears Up Sound Design with Matt Glenn. Ears Up designs produces and mixes soundtracks for installations, attractions, and large-scale events across the country and abroad.
In addition to co-founding Ears Up Sound Design, Mark forayed into the world of academia with a two-year tenure as a Post MFA Fellow/instructor in Design at Pomona College. Mark also enjoys improvising and creating experimental theater as the resident composer and sound designer for CounterBalance Theater. He holds a Master of Fine Arts in Sound Design from the University of California, Irvine.
As a Co-Owner, sound designer, and composer at Ears Up, Mark produces and manages full soundtrack production for location-based entertainment working alongside a remarkable team including multiple Emmy and grammy-winning designers, and composers. Ears Up's Work includes music composition and production, custom sound effects design, dialogue production, mixing, and on-site integration/programming.
Theatrical Work
Mark compositions and sound designs have been heard at South Coast Repertory Theater, The Abraham Lincoln Presidential Museum, and The New Swan Shakespeare Festival. He remains the resident composer and sound designer for CounterBalance Theater.
 Velveteen RabbitSound Design and additional composition at South Coast Repertory Theater Directed By Beth Lopes. |  Mad MadgeComposition for a CounterBalance Theater production based on the novel "Margaret" by Danielle Dutton |  PinocchioDirected by Jeremy Aluma at South Coast Repertory Theater. This devised Clowning rendition of Pinocchio provided an opportunity to balance live music and foley sounds from the performers with a unique selection of playback sound effects and music. |
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 Reading FrankensteinComposition for a CounterBalance Theater production based on the horror classic "Frankenstein" Sound design by Vinnie Oliveri |  LongitudeComposition and sound design for the CounterBalance Theater production based on book "Longitude: The True Story of a Lone Genius Who solved the Greatest Scientific Problem of His Time" by Dava Sobel. |  The OdysseyDirected by Annie Loui, this adaptation of Homer’s epic poem was designed as a movement workshop. My role involved a sound design that featured original compositions with several original songs and over 150 sound cues. This adaptation of The Odyssey has been developed and performed both at UCI and the Accademia dell'Arte in Arezzo, Italy. |
 Angels in AmericaDirected by Gavin Cameron-Webb at the Robert Cohen Theater, my role was to develop integrated original compositions. Using a multitude of cinematic genres, compositions were fully meshed with the sound design, the onstage action, and the dialogue through close collaboration. |  Much AdoOriginal sound design and composition for this New Swan Production directed by Beth Lopes. |  After TroyDirected and written by Mihai Maniutiu for the Claire Trevor Theater, Mihai created a thought-provoking drama based on the play Hecuba by Euripides. After Troy examines the conflict between civilization and the barbarians who are intent on annihilating it. My role involved creation of original compositions fully integrated into the sound design, performed live on stage. The compositions ranged in style from hip-hop to a Philip Glass style underscore. |
 The Liquid PlainDirected by Jay Williams at UCI’s Robert Cohen Theater, my role in this Naomi Wallace’s play was to create a sonic environment for this piece, which was dynamically coupled to the tension and violence in the story. This was done using shifting sounds of the ocean and the environment as well as using original music to augment the sound design. |  A Christmas CarolDirected by Annie Loui at Winifred Smith hall, this was a movement based piece based on the Dickens classic novel. My role was to sound design and work with the composer to fully underscore this production, which used a 21 speaker sound playback and reinforcement system. |  The Woman of LockerbieDirected by Emily Gill, this play by Deborah Brevoort, produced at Illinois State University is about the plight of families of the victims of the Lockerbie Pam Am plane crash in 1988. Written in the style of classic Greek tragedy, my role was sound designer and composer to underscore the four odes, and naturalistic ambiance. |