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Acknowledging acting as “a mercenary profession,” Dan Hodge has derived dollars and distinction for diligently delighting audiences. Through Sunday, the happy hire is captivating crowds through the Walnut Street Theatre’s presentation of “Private Lives,” portraying Victor Prynne, a honeymooner whose bride unbridles her fiery feelings for her ex-husband as the latter male and his new spouse celebrate their union at the same seaside resort.
“It’s a lovely experience that I feel very fortunate to have,” the 33-year-old resident of the 900 block of Sigel Street said of his role in the Noël Coward creation. “The work is tightly sprung and exquisitely built, so I’m having immense fun with it.”
In making his fourth appearance for the Walnut, with “Private Lives” marking his third mainstage show, the East Passyunk Crossing inhabitant has given Prynne clownish qualities that complement the serious sides of the role. The character’s duality has led Hodge to dub the piece, which is celebrating the 85th anniversary of its world premiere, “a wonderful tragedy couched in a wonderful comedy for Victor.” That Prynne must prompt himself to alter his perceptions of love appeals to the actor, who, especially through his Philadelphia Artists’ Collective co-founding artistic director duties, has always cherished challenging patrons to ponder the human condition.
“With something like ‘Private Lives,’ which Coward wrote to inspire laughs, the discoveries might not appear as tough to make as those within classical plays, but the lessons are no less vital to theatergoers,” Hodge, whose infatuation with William Shakespeare forms the foundation of his affinity for centuries-old compositions, said of situating oneself within a text. “The true discipline is getting to the root of a story, and that definitely relies on making the audience necessary. Otherwise, we’re just up there rehearsing.”
Hodge, who noted he gains inspirational satisfaction from empowering patrons, deeming that his ultimate vocation, is likewise feeling compelled, particularly since “Private Lives” is helping him to revisit and more intensely appreciate his comedic sensitivities. Due to deliver more laughs when the Collective stages the Broad Street Ministry-located “The Fair Maid of the West” come April, he rejoiced in being able to balance emotionally-heavy endeavors with lighter looks at the sublime gift of life.
“No matter the sort of work, it’s key to respect how playable all these scripts and texts are,” Hodge said, emphasizing the eternal pull that classical pieces will exert. “There’s always more meaning to obtain from taking on projects with devotion to the craft and the edification of the audience as our big goals. We are just parts of the chain that connects art with humanity.”
The erudite individual looked to become a link in the figurative binder as a Texas-reared youth. A voracious movie watcher, he experienced his “aha moment” at age 8, falling for the 1931 version of “Frankenstein.”
“I remember that my heart was breaking for the monster,” Hodge said, adding that when catching the credits, he decided “That’s what I want to do” upon seeing the name of fellow Walnut Street Theatre performer Boris Karloff as the titular behemoth. “The emotion he was able to convey stunned me, and I wanted to do just what he’d done in stirring up some reactions.”
Following community theater efforts in the Lone Star State, he matriculated at the University of Evansville, with the Indiana-situated institution’s renowned program enabling him to understand how to transform his enthusiasm into a bankable pursuit.
“I learned how to work hard and smart,” Hodge said of his undergraduate instruction. “I wanted to develop my comprehension of the theater as a craft, and it’s at Evansville that I really feel I came into my own as an actor.”
He also credits the school for his beatification of the Bard, touting the Shakespearean canon as matchless and timeless.
“There is nothing like it, and it definitely requires something different within us to grasp the range of human experience contained there,” Hodge remarked. “So many years in, I’m still finding myself reading the plays and reading about the plays to pick up and share lessons.”
He used his high estimation of the playwright to inspire master’s degree studies at the University of San Diego. Entranced with training to honor classical plays, which he lauds for their immediacy and intimacy in how overseers staged them as opposed to the darkened settings that often mark and even plague contemporary creations, he felt he could offer that interest in earnest to Philadelphia audiences, establishing the Collective in 2008.
“I knew that I could do work that I would be proud of here and that I could do it with very respectable artists,” Hodge, who has won two Barrymore Awards for his engrossing allegiance to excellence, said. “Through either classical or newer works, I’m always looking to evolve because complacency is death.”
The never-flagging figure finds the former sort of productions far more engaging, with the Collective, which staged its first full production in ’10 and often relies on South Philadelphians for its pieces, issuing comprehensive challenges whose solutions do not come easily but whose resolution leaves everyone, especially Hodge and his peers, feeling part of a grander plot. Desiring cross-pollination within the arts, he aspires for more than personal merit in acting and directing, the latter an endeavor that he is enjoying by helming “Othello” through March 14 for Curio Theatre Co., even asking an aspiring company creator to deliberate on what he wants to provide ticket purchasers.
“I feel more judicious when directing,” Hodge, who will mesh his two chief talents in April when the Collective and the Wilma Theater co-present “The Rape of Lucrece,” his ’14 FringeArts Festival entry, said. “As I’ll always contend, though, progression is key.”
Feeling extremely settled and confident in his abilities, the dual threat, who in late March will join wife Krista Apple-Hodge and others for the Wilma-based “Hamlet,” looks forward to connecting with more thespians to produce works that have stood the test of time and others that could age gracefully, too.
“Early on in life, I didn’t even know someone could major in theater,” Hodge said. “Now, I can’t imagine life without it.”
For tickets, call 215-574-3550, or visit walnutstreettheatre.org.
Contact Managing Editor Joseph Myers at jmyers@southphillyreview.com or ext. 124.
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