Chema Rodríguez-Calderón is a theater man. He holds a degree in Law from the Complutense University of Madrid (1992 – 1998). Trained as an actor at the Cristina Rota School (1997-2001), at 47 years old, he has worked in more than 60 theater productions, of which he has written and directed over 20. He made his acting debut in the play "Perdona a tu pueblo Señor" (1989) at the age of fifteen with the theater company La Intemperie. Later, he worked with the El Foro Theater Company, with which he premiered eight productions between 1992 and 1998. He balanced his law studies with his theater performances and classical guitar studies. He worked in "La Katarsis del tomatazo" (Compañía Nuevo Repertorio) between 1998 and 2001.
Among his other notable works are the production "El tormento de Dios" by Alain Bousquet (1993), "Así que pasen cinco años" by García Lorca (1994), the musical "A Chorus Line" (2000), "Beso a beso" by Paloma Pedrero (2005-06), "La señorita Julia" by August Strindberg (2012), "La Hostería de la posta" by Carlo Goldoni (2012), "Tomás Moro" directed by Tamzin Townsend (2014), and the leading role alongside Juan Gea in "El insólito caso de Martín Piché" directed by Juan Carlos Rubio (2020), among others. He made his film debut with Joaquín Oristrell in the movie "Sin vergüenza" (2001).
As a writer, he has been awarded the 2003 Award for Best Original Dramaturgy granted by the Fundación Centro Nuevos Creadores and Fundación Autor for the play "Hombres ineptos que caminan hacia nadie," the Francisco Nieva Award for Short Theater 2015 for his short play "No estoy de acuerdo con vos," and the Accésit of the "Monteluna" Award for Theatrical Texts 2011 for his work "Nubes frente a un espejo." He has also received the short theater awards: Rafael Guerrero and Francisco Nieva. In 2017, he was on the list of candidates for the MAX Award as a revelation author for "Clásicas envidiosas," which also won the III Irreverentes Comedy Award that same year.
His latest premieres as an author include "La gran travesía del Samurái Hasekura" at the Teatro Real on June 11, 2013, directed by the author himself, and "Clásicas envidiosas," which was part of the programming for the International Classical Theater Festival of Almagro and “Clásicos en Alcalá” in 2016, directed by Juanma Cifuentes. In the 2016/17 Madrid season, Chema co-signed with Tamzin Townsend the version and revision of the play "Héroes" by Gérald Sibleyras. Chema considers it a privilege that his texts have been premiered in Spain, Portugal, Argentina, Chile, Honduras, Nicaragua, Mexico, and El Salvador. He has published the books "Trilogía Idiota," "Nubes frente a un espejo," "Loco, loco cabaret," "Antología de comedia y humor," and "Clásicas envidiosas." "El insólito caso de Martín Piché," directed by Juan Carlos Rubio, is the second production of Txalo in which Chema participates as an actor. He previously toured for two years with Mariano Peña and Bernabé Fernández in "Obra de Dios," directed by Tamzin Townsend.
