Legendary St. Charles theater director, educator dead at age 76

Ron Koeppl's name was synonymous with performing arts in St. Charles. He spent more than 50 years as an educator and director. The black box theater at St. Charles East High School bears his name in recognition of those efforts. But in the final curtain call of his life, his greatest credit may be the confidence and inspiration he instilled in his actors to explore the depths of their creativity.

Koeppl died Thursday at his residence in Geneva. He was 76.

Koeppl spent most of his life in theater, but he never took an actual theater class. He was a history major at Elmhurst College when he met his wife, Gretchen, a theater major. The only directing instruction he ever received was watching her rehearsals at the college.

Koeppl stared his own directing career in 1961 as a teacher at Schaumburg Junior High School. The principal gave him the choice between bus duty or directing school theater. A couple years later, he brought that little bit of experience to Haines Middle School in St. Charles. After mentioning to the principal that the school's stage was never used, he began a teaching partnership with his wife in the district that would last for decades. The pair crafted plays at Haines, which quickly became hits throughout the community. Koeppl then began directing high school productions, opening the Norris theater in 1978 with "Fiddler on the Roof."

He went on to direct more than 100 productions at the school and various community theater outlets. Koeppl co-founded the now-defunct No Center Aisle theater company in St. Charles. And he continued to be involved in productions at St. Charles East High School long after his official retirement in 1994.

That nonstop dedication to the performing arts resulted in many of the actors he worked with moving on to bigger stages, including off-Broadway performances, television shows and global opera tours. But when reflecting on Koeppl's influence, many of his former students talk about his impact on them outside the spotlights.

"Twenty years ago, I was a miserable and sad teen at St. Charles High School," said Jessica Glaser on a memorial website for Koeppl. "A bright spot was Mr. Koeppl, his even-keeled demeanor and intelligence. He recognized and rewarded my talents at a time I felt totally worthless. I am very grateful to him."

Other former students credit Koeppl for opening a world they may not have discovered without him.

"Mr. Koeppl took a chance on me back in freshman year at East when he cast me as Mr. Kirby in 'You Can't Take it With You,' " wrote Mitch Karmis on Facebook. "It was because of him that my entire high school experience turned out the way it did. Without him, I would have never been part of the drama community that I came to love and continue to keep in touch with. As I'm looking through all of those notes and cards he wrote for me each time a show was finished, I realize how much he enriched my time in theater and how many lives he must have touched as a director and mentor."

St. Charles Mayor Ray Rogina was a former teaching colleague of Koeppl. Rogina's son, Matt, was one of Koeppl's pupils.

"To all of his former colleagues, yours truly included, we had the opportunity to work with brilliance that was personified with gentleness," Rogina wrote on Facebook. "His persona as part of the greater arts community loomed large; he was a mighty ambassador for the stage."

Visitation for Koeppl is noon to 8 p.m. Sunday at Yurs Funeral Home, 1771 W. State St., Geneva. Funeral services are 7 p.m. Monday at the Norris Cultural Arts Center, 1040 Dunham Road, at St. Charles East High School. Burial will be private.