Mark Setlock

Background

Setlock was born on June 26, 1968, in Cleveland, Ohio, and grew up as the youngest of four children in an Italian-Polish family. Cleveland's long theatrical and industrial history provided the geographic setting for his early life before he pursued professional theater training and moved to New York.

He moved to New York shortly after completing his theatrical education in 1992. During his first years in the city, he performed in showcases and downtown theater projects while supporting himself through other employment, including work answering reservations at Bouley's restaurant in Manhattan.

Education

Setlock received a Bachelor of Fine Arts in acting from Kent State University. The university's School of Theatre and Dance maintains professional performance programs designed to prepare students for careers in theater, including intensive training in acting, singing, and dance.

He subsequently attended the Institute for Advanced Theater Training of the American Repertory Theater at Harvard University, completing graduate theater training. The institute is associated with the American Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a major American theater organization that combines professional production with conservatory education.

Career

Setlock began his professional career in New York theater, appearing in showcases, readings, and downtown productions while working at Bouley's restaurant. His experience handling demanding restaurant reservation calls later informed Fully Committed, the solo play created with Becky Mode.

He appeared in the 1994 workshop of Jonathan Larson's musical Rent and later joined the original Broadway company. In the Broadway production he understudied several roles and subsequently performed as Gordon and in the ensemble. Rent became a defining musical of the 1990s, combining rock-influenced theater with stories of artists, friendship, illness, and urban life.

Setlock and Becky Mode developed Fully Committed through readings and workshops. The play opened at the Vineyard Theatre in September 1999 and later moved to the Cherry Lane Theatre, where Setlock performed more than thirty characters in a one-person production. He subsequently brought the production to Los Angeles, Boston, Portland, Oregon, and London's West End. His performance earned the 2000 Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Solo Performance, shared in a tie with Olympia Dukakis, and he received a Drama Desk nomination.

His later stage work included David Ives's Don Juan in Chicago, Jonathan Tolins's The Last Sunday in June, Roulette, Tea and Sympathy, The Safety Net, and Never Tell. He also performed at venues and companies including the Old Globe Theatre in San Diego, the Huntington Theatre in Boston, and Portland Center Stage. His screen work included New Suit, Life in Flight, Gangster's Crib, Law & Order, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, and All My Children.

Setlock conceived This Wonderful Life with playwright Steve Murray, an adaptation of the film It's a Wonderful Life that premiered in Portland, Oregon, in 2005 and was later produced by regional theaters. With Matthew Wilkas, he co-authored Pageant Play, a satire about child beauty pageants that was produced at the Berkshire Theatre Festival in 2008.

Achievements

• Setlock won the 2000 Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Solo Performance for Fully Committed, sharing the award in a tie with Olympia Dukakis.

• He received a Drama Desk nomination for his performance in Fully Committed, a solo play he helped create with Becky Mode.

• He appeared in the 1994 workshop and the original Broadway company of Rent, performing as an understudy and later as Gordon and in the ensemble.

• He co-authored Pageant Play with Matthew Wilkas, a theatrical satire about child beauty pageants that was produced at the Berkshire Theatre Festival in 2008.

Works

• play

  • This Wonderful Life

    (A one-person theatrical adaptation by Steve Murray, conce...)

    2005
  • Fully Committed

    (A one-person play by Becky Mode based on characters creat...)

    1999

  • Pageant Play

    (A play co-authored by Mark Setlock and Matthew Wilkas. Th...)

    2008

Connections

Setlock collaborated with Becky Mode on Fully Committed, with Steve Murray on This Wonderful Life, and with Matthew Wilkas on Pageant Play. These partnerships connected his acting career with the creation and development of original theatrical works.

Collegue :

Becky Mode

Playwright and collaborator on Fully Committed.

Collegue :

Steve Murray

Playwright and collaborator on This Wonderful Life.

Collegue :

Matthew Wilkas

Actor and co-author of Pageant Play.

References

• American Repertory Theater biography of Mark Setlock Biographical account of Setlock's theater training, work in Rent, creation and performance of Fully Committed, and later stage and screen work.
• Playbill: Playbill On-Line's Brief Encounter with Mark Setlock Interview covering Setlock's work at Bouley's restaurant, the development of Fully Committed, his participation in Rent, and his early New York theater career.
  2000
• Concord Theatricals: Fully Committed Theatrical reference describing Fully Committed and identifying the characters created by Becky Mode and Mark Setlock.
• RepStl: This Wonderful Life Production reference identifying Setlock as the player and the work as conceived by him and written by Steve Murray.
  2008
• Berkshire Fine Arts: Pageant Play Debuts at Berkshire Theatre Festival Contemporary account of Pageant Play and its creation by Matthew Wilkas and Mark Setlock.
  2008