ALUMNI IN FOCUS
Making Kids’ Faces Light Up
BY VERA CARLEY
It wasn’t an art or business class that helped Glenn Orsher ’73 in his career as an entertainment producer.
“It was an introductory class in logic,”
Glenn Orsher ’73 launched Rogar Studios to produce the children’s program
“Sheira & Loli’s Dittydoodle Works.”
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says Orsher, an English graduate who focused on literature. “I’ve gotten more mileage out of that class than any other. It was just something that enabled me to develop a clear approach to thinking.”
Orsher says the philosophy class, taught by John P. Losee, helped provide him with an “organized mindset,” which has been essential in his job. Orsher also points to Robert Weiner, now Jones Professor of History, as having a positive impact even though he never took a class with him. Orsher says Weiner was well-known for being supportive of students.
These influences helped Orsher turn his passion for music and film into a reality.
“The idea of combining the things I love in life—music and
film—was very appealing,” he says.
Soon after graduating from Seton Hall University School of Law, Orsher began living out his dream. This included working as a tour production manager under legendary talent mentor Tommy Mottola, starting his own production company that produced music videos for performers like Cyndi Lauper, heading up the licensing and merchandising division for Universal Pictures in London for celebrity powerhouse brands such as Madonna and U2, and serving as executive vice president for an entertainment merchandising company, BandMerch, for acts like Snoop Dog and OutKast.
Now he finds himself catering
to an audience of preschoolers.
“It was kind of an epiphany,”
says Orsher, who made the leap
into children’s entertainment after taking his oldest son to a Power Rangers stage show. “I love seeing little kids’ faces light up.”
He is general manager/vice president of Rogar Studios, an entertainment and marketing production company. He and his partner, Cory Rosenberg, started the company to produce “Sheira & Loli’s Dittydoodle Works,” a children’s program that airs nationally.
The show debuted in 2000 and quickly found a following. That year it was nominated for an Emmy for original youth/children’s programming. After a hiatus, the show returned to public television in September 2005. Last year it won a Silver Telly Award, given
for outstanding local, regional,
or cable productions.
The program features live-action rag-doll twins who learn life lessons along with their friends. “In a post-9/11 world, we are not trying to paint a rosy world picture,” Orsher says. “We are trying to show children how to deal with issues.”
New episodes will be packaged as DVDs with additional music, interactive educational games,
and sing-a-longs. There also are live-action touring shows.
“The live shows allow me to use my experience as a producer,” Orsher says. He also gets involved in the writing to ensure that children are actively engaged.
More information is available at www.dittydoodleworks.com.
Rogar also develops other projects. For example, it recently sold DreamWorks Animation the rights to “It Came From Earth,” a reverse alien invasion story told from the perspective of Martians.
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