BWW Interviews: New York Actor Revisits Role in Pioneer Theatre Company’s LAUGHING STOCK

When Pioneer Theatre Company premiered Charles Morey's "Laughing Stock" in 2001, New York actor Craig Bockhorn was cast as one of the leads. And now Bockhorn revisits the role with Charles Morey, the play's director and author, for Morey's second staging, which will open Friday, March 23.

Bockhorn plays Craig Conlin, a penny-pinching theater operations manager - the cast "overuses" pencils. Performing summer stock in an old barn in New England, the third-rate company is faced with eccentric directors, a limited budget, and a challenging schedule, but the troupe valiantly tries to keep the theater afloat.

Morey, the playwright of "Laughing Stock," drew upon on his experiences as the acclaimed director of Salt Lake's Pioneer Theatre Company for the hilarious farce that has played across the country. Morey is the longest-tenured sitting artistic director in any major American regional theater, and after 28 years at the helm of Pioneer Theatre Company, he is about to retire to devote more time to playwriting.

Tell me about working with Charles Morey for the second time - and working the director who is also the playwright.

I love working with Chuck Morey! This is my 11th show working with him and I feel we have a very good working relationship. The first time we worked on "Laughing Stock" he was still finding the play both as a playwright and a director. There were cuts to the original script and new material added throughout the rehearsal process. This time around Chuck knows what works. And so we spend our rehearsals finessing what works rather than trying to find what works. 

Please describe your character.

Craig Conlin is just one of the many unsung heroes who toil away anonymously in theaters all across this country. He is the Producing Executive Administrative Director of The Playhouse and his work allows the creative people at The Playhouse, the directors, designers and actors to do their work. And he does it with very little money. I suppose some people might think he goes overboard in his attempts to keep the theater on budget, but his heart is in the right place and his intentions are good. He seems to thrive around creative people while at the same time not understanding anything about them at all. I love that he stays at the theatre all winter while it is closed.

How is your approach to the character of Craig Conlin different the second time around?

I always love coming back to Pioneer Theatre whether it's to create a role or to reprise a rolE. Craig will be fundamentally the same as last time. The character hasn't changed since the last time I played him.

You've worked with a wide range of theater titans. A partial list includes James Earl Jones, Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman and Bill Irwin. Give me an example of a colleague who taught you about the craft of stage performing.

Hopefully everyone I've worked with has taught me something about the craft of acting (even if it's what not to do.) Since each actor is different I think their approach to the craft is different. I think one of the people I've learned the most from about an approach to acting is Joyce Cohen. I love her work on stage, and I love to watch her in rehearsal. She is fully committed 100 percent of the time. She is the model for me of how to be an actor both on- and off-stage.

For more information on Pioneer Theatre's "Laughing Stock," visit PioneerTheatre.org.

CAPTION: Craig Bockhorn as Craig Conlin, a penny-pinching theater operations manager, in Pioneer Theatre Company's "Laughing Stock." (Photo by Alexander Weisman) 

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