Hello Beautiful People,
Eric William Morris is a man of many talents. On the big screen he’s been in 21 Shots (2006), Trust, Greed, Bullets & Bourbon (2013), and he’s been in the television series, Golden Boy and Blue Bloods. Eric’s Broadway credits include Mamma Mia! and Coram Boy, and his Off-Broadway and regional credits include Bloodsong of Love (the Musician) and The Last Goodbye (Paris), among others. Eric is an alumnus of Loyola College and Circle in the Square, and by far one of the kindest and most humble people I have ever met. He was gracious enough to meet me at Amy’s Bread to have quite the in-depth interview about theater, books, music, arts education, and of course, Joe Iconis.
Ladies + Gents, meet Eric William Morris…
MM: First things first, when you were growing up did you always want to be an actor and singer?
EWM: No, not at all. I wanted to be a professional baseball player, some sort of athlete. I was always very jock-ish all throughout high school and into college – I had to make a decision as to whether or not I was going to play soccer for the University of Richmond or study theater. At that point I didn’t want to study seriously, but I also didn’t want to play soccer professionally, either. I ended up going to Loyola College in Maryland, and studied theater via their BA program. So, it wasn’t as intense as if I would’ve been in a conservatory, but it was a wonderful college experience and by the time I graduated I knew I wanted to pursue theater professionally.
MM: When you look back over the trajectory of your career, what roles are most memorable? (Professionally speaking.)
EWM: The role of the musician in Joe Iconis’s Bloodsong of Love, which we did in 2010 at ArsNova. It’s one of the most rewarding experiences I’ve ever had working on something. It was everything I ever found exciting about theater rolled into one – it was a new project, it was a character that I loved, the music was unbelievable…and, I was able to do it with my friends. It was epic.
MM: What was your Broadway debut?
EWM: Coram Boy, it was a play that came out in 2007, and I was the understudy for three roles. This happened about sixth months after I graduated Circle in the Square, it was very exciting, but then it closed rather shortly thereafter.
MM: What was your experience doing Mamma Mia! like?
EWM: It was one of the most fun years of my life. It was never anything less than a blast every night. I loved the role I got to play, I ended up dating the girl I played opposite with (Alyse Alan Lousie) – it was an incredible time. It was a privilege to see so many people love the music and the show and be so into a performance.
MM: What made you jump right into attending Circle in the Square after you graduated Loyola?
EWM: I was doing Community Theater during the summers while I was at Loyola, I was doing Shakespeare at this winery in upstate New York – it was a wonderful and beautiful experience. I met a gentleman up there who had been a professional actor for many years but since retired, and he had asked me what I was doing after college. I told him that I was simply going to move to New York and try my hand at acting – and he advised me to go to Circle in the Square, which he himself had done. He ended up writing one of my recommendations, too. It was an amazing program that got me ready to pursue this. It made me refocus, and helped me find the passion and tenacity to keep on working in this field.
MM: Just for fun, if one were to talk into your apartment, what books would permanently be on your bookshelf?
EWM: On the Road, by Jack Kerouac. The complete works of William Shakespeare. Leaves of Grass, by Walt Whitman. Choke, by Chuck Palahniuk.
MM: Just for fun, if you were stranded on a desert island, (assuming you have a DVD player and a television), what TV shows would you want with you?
EWM: Friday Night Lights, Breaking Bad, Six Feet Under, Freaks and Geeks, The Newsroom, and Homeland.
MM: Just for fun, if you were stranded on a desert island, (assuming you have a DVD player and a television), what movies would you want with you?
EWM: Hedwig. I’ve also always loved Cool Hand Luke and Fargo. And, let’s be honest, Dumb and Dumber and Happy Gilmore will always have a special place in my heart. And, you know what I just saw that blew my mind? Temple Grandin.
MM: Just for fun, if you were stranded on a desert island, (assuming you had some sort of iPod dock, or CD player, etc), what albums would you want with you?
EWM: Abbey Road, (The Beatles). OK Computer (Radiohead), Pinkerton (Weezer). And then I get fuzzy and can’t clearly deliberate between about 7 or 8 other albums. . So lets say those are my top three picks.
MM: What sound do you hate and what sound do you love?
EWM: I love the sound of the new subway cars when they pull out of the station, cause it’s the melody is “There’s A Place For Us” from West Side Story. It always makes smile, and I thought I was the only one, until my friend Caleb Hoyer mentioned it also! So, it’s not me. I hate the sound of a truck backing up, beeping outside my window. And I also hate the sound of a motorcycle being purposely obnoxious and driving really fast so they set off all the car alarms. It’s awful.
MM: You are part of the musical theater magic that is Joe Iconis and Family. What’s it like to work with Joe? And why do you think the group is able to be so supportive and endearing in a business that can be rather cutthroat?
EWM: We get along so well because it trickles down from the head, and Joe doesn’t have an insincere bone in his body. This may sound strange, but I feel like there’s people that are put here “to do” things. And the way that he communicates a moment or a feeling or an event through music makes me believe that he was put on this earth to do this. It’s not effortless because he works his ass off, but the way that he channels emotion and story through song makes you want to work your hardest for him, and for the work, because you want it to be the best it can possibly be. I will be there for anything that he wants me to do.
MM: What’s the best piece of advice that you could offer to students in high school and college who wish to pursue a career in theater?
EWM: There are many things that you can do to have a fulfilling and creative life and career. The best piece of advice I can offer is what was told to me – if you wake up everyday that you breathe this, if it’s all you can think about – then you owe it to yourself to never give up on it. Don’t ever let anybody tell you that you’re not good enough, don’t ever let anybody make you feel like what you have to say isn’t important, because it is. Also, if you see someone’s work that you like and love and respect – tell them. I promise you, more often than not, they will respond in a positive way. Be around the people who you admire, it’ll generate the type of career that you want.
EWM: Just got back into town after doing THE LAST GOODBYE. I’m about to start a workshop of Joe Iconis’ new musical called BE MORE CHILL. He wrote it with bookwriter, Joe Tracz, and Scott Ellis is directing. Very excited about it.
MM: In today’s economy, arts programs are being cut. What reasons would you give to a politician for preserving arts education programs in schools?
EWM: Yes, math and science are important. You can’t dispute that. But when you look at a piece of art and relate to it on a personal level, there’s nothing that can compare to that. You find out about yourself. You figure out what you want to do – what high school kid doesn’t need that? There were kids in my high school who were on the verge of a lot of problems, and the one safe place that they had was our high school drama class.
MM: Who is/was your greatest teacher?
EWM: I have two, Okey Chenoweth and Alan Langdon. Okey was my high school drama teacher. He is a crazy, brilliant artist, who happened to be teaching at Glen Rock High School while I was there. He was a playwright, actor, and a director, and then he started to teach. We did Hamlet when I was in high school, and I had five lines at the end of it. But Okey saw me very engaged in what was happening, and I started showing up for rehearsals that I wasn’t called for, and so he made me assistant sound designer so that I could be even more involved. We’re now good friends – but he helped me understand all the basic important fundamentals of what being an actor means. He taught me about objective and characterization, and when I went to college I felt like I had a step up – he was that clear. Alan was my teacher at Circle in the Square. I’ve never met someone who actually lives what he says. And what he says is completely, absurdly, outlandishly crazy if you don’t know what it means to be an actor yet. But everything he says is true, and he practices what he preaches. He teaches you how to personalize a role, reminds you of the necessity and importance of putting yourself in everything you do. Okey taught me how to express something, and Alan taught me how to feel it.
Thank you, Eric!
Live, Love, Learn,
Megan &