ARTS
THEO STOCKMAN ’03 plays many roles, but he seems to have abandoned the one as “struggling actor.” You may have seen him on TV in recent months, as a “hipster tech support dude” on NBC’s 30 Rock and a DJ on ABC’s Cupid. He performed in a revival of Hair in Central Park last summer, and opened in Hair on Broadway in March. Stockman spoke by email with Concord Academy magazine about Hair on Broadway, a bald version of Hair, and why Dionysus was the original hippie. Stockman had more to say than space allows; check out his full interview at concordacademy.org/stockman.
Q&A
Theo Stockman ’03 CONCORD ACADEMY MAGAZINE SPRING 2009
Tell us about some of the roles you’re most proud of. Dionysus in The Bacchae by Euripides — I got to play a Greek sex god; what more can one ask for? — and Claude in NYU’s production of Hair. It was a total reimagining of the show, with shaved heads and all-white costuming, but it was one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had on stage. Also, I studied for a summer at the International Theatre Workshop in Amsterdam, and I did a scene from The Pillowman by Martin McDonagh. I played Michael — he’s sort of a manchild, mentally very slow. Even though it was only a scene, losing myself in that character was incredible. How did you land your current role as a hippie in Hair? Hair was my first gig out of school — it originally started as a three-night staged concert in Central Park through the Public Theater, a celebration of the fortieth anniversary of the show. That was about two years ago. When I auditioned, I was pretty fresh from
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playing the lead role in Hair at NYU, and even though that production was totally different, I had a profound understanding of the play’s concepts and felt very confident. This is very rare as an actor, at least for me — I find that in order to truly conquer the terror of auditioning, I have to inhabit an almost inhuman confidence. I also went in there with my ripped jeans and mussed hair and put all my years of angst and anticonformity (most of which sprouted on Concord Academy’s campus) to good use. I think they saw something in me that aligned with the antiestablishment themes of the show. The nude scene was a very big deal when Hair debuted. Were you uncomfortable? I immediately knew I wanted to participate in the nude scene — it was a decision left up to the individual actor, even though an overwhelming majority of the cast chose to strip. It’s such an iconic and beautiful image: a group of young people singing “freedom” at the top of their lungs in the nude, defying the world to accept them in their most vulnerable and open state. Tim Curry, who was in the London production of Hair years ago, said the nude scene in the play is about putting complete trust in the purity of the audience’s gaze. There’s nothing erotic about the moment — it’s probably the most innocent and pure moment in the production. The first time we all did it, during a dress rehearsal in the park, my heart was furiously doing the jitterbug. But once we were there all together, it felt utterly safe and amazing. Standing naked in Central Park in front of close to 2,000 people, feeling the air and seeing the sky, made the Broadway nudity that much easier. Any funny Hair stories? One time in Central Park, during the dance party at the end where the audience comes on stage and dances with the cast, a woman got completely naked. I gave her a big hug. It was awesome. When you played the lead in Hair at NYU, the cast members shaved their heads. Is a bald Hair a good idea? Hair is the original nonconformist musical; I think any challenge or inversion of it is completely in the spirit of what the show set out to embrace. [Hair cowriter] Jim Rado actually came to see it twice; he loved it.
You were on 30 Rock recently. Yes! I made my TV debuts, on 30 Rock and Cupid. I played a character named Ephraim on 30 Rock, who is sort of a hipster tech support dude — I had a scene with Alec Baldwin! Who at CA is Tina Fey most like? I only met Tina briefly, but she’s probably most like Eve Fraser-Corp, the rock ‘n’ roll nurse of CA. They both have a sort of dry humor and humility, but care very deeply about their work. There’s a stereotype of actors enduring endless auditions before they get a break. Just how grueling has this process been? While I was lucky enough to find work right out of school, I went through a pretty harrowing journey finding representation. I did a few showcases in school, and ended up having meetings with pretty big-time agencies that were humiliating and scary. Lots of sitting at the end of long tables trying to “sell myself.” It took me a while to find people in the profession who I felt wanted to work with me for who I am. There are a lot of bullies out there. Also, having the writers’ strike right after graduation was inconvenient; there really weren’t any TV or film auditions. So there was a period, especially between Hair’s incarnations from three-day concert to the full run in Central Park, where I really wasn’t working. It’s hard; you have to remain hopeful and continue to pursue things that keep you fulfilled, even if you’re not getting acting gigs. You’ve played Dionysus (and won a Best Actor award for the role at an international festival of theatre schools). Now you’re playing a hippie. How do you prepare for such vastly different roles? Are both characters inside you? I think that Dionysus was, in a way, the original hippie. He was the Greek god of wine and sex and debauchery — he originated free love! The version of Dionysus that I played was kind of a Robert Plant-like rock ’n’ roll hero: very sexy and wild, but with an incredible fury and thirst for revenge that I really loved tapping into. I used to listen to “Raw Power” by Iggy & the Stooges before the show to get that ferocity. I think we all want to be rock stars in some way — that power of freedom and fearlessness. So I think Dionysus is definitely inside me in some ways; as far as the severing of limbs and bloodlust qualities are concerned, maybe not so much.