Actor, director establish ‘Trust’ going into TheatreWorks production

William Thomas Hodgson bounces around the makeshift stage at the TheatreWorks Silicon Valley rehearsal studio in constant exploration. His playground is a tiki bar, the setting for the company’s production of 2024 Pulitzer-winning play “Primary Trust” by Eboni Booth.

Discoveries are a critical part of the rehearsal process, highly encouraged by director Jeffrey Lo, munching on a Girl Scout cookie while observing rehearsal. Lo sits casually, leaning back on a puffy office chair, watching Hodgson move around the vast space while trying different variations of line readings.

Lo gently interrupts to throw out an idea for the bar. “How about a tip jar?”

“I love that!” Hodgson replies with glee. A subsequent discussion of how much should go into the jar–a $1 or $5 bill–dominates the next five minutes, evidence of the minutiae that goes into creating truth in a fictional world.

About an hour before American currency became the dominant discussion, the two friends and collaborators chatted up their connection over hearty carnivorous dishes at the legendary Harry’s Hofbrau, around the corner from the Redwood City studio.

Lo takes the first question: Why do he and Hodgson work together so well? Lo admits that working with Hodgson affirms his own masochism. “It’s bad; I like to torture myself by casting this guy constantly,” Lo says with a hearty chuckle.

They’ve worked with each other in multiple venues and projects, whether it’s sharing creative team duties or Hodgson performing multiple lead roles under Lo’s tutelage. For Lo, Hodgson is his kind of actor.

“The actors I love work to find a real balance between being very intentional about language and trying things, actors who won’t default to the most standard or basic boring choices, which is really interesting to me,” Lo said. “I think William is so smart with text and his heart is so big. When the role really calls for it, he’s one of the most charismatic actors on stage, yet maybe not with Kenneth, who doesn’t necessarily lead with charisma.”

In “Primary Trust,” simpleton Kenneth is a man at a crossroads. He is 38 years old, facing a life change when his bookstore job ends, a job he held since he was a teenager. Being kicked out of his comfort zone forces Kenneth to confront his past and wrestle with his future. His best friend Bert, who has an odd little secret, assists Kenneth along the way.

The issues of grief, friendship and finding one’s inner courage move to the forefront while both Kenneth and Bert ritualistically sip on drinks and devour something called the Ooga Booga prime rib platter, which seems like it would be a dish at Harry’s.

Hodgson knew he wanted to play this role ever since the Pulitzer win was announced, believing productions would be popping up all over the country (it is the most produced straight play in the 2025-26 season, according to American Theatre Magazine’s annual list). For Hodgson, it’s an opportunity to further hone his craft.

“I don’t find myself doing a lot of characters like Kenneth,” said Hodgson, who spends much of his acting year performing at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in Ashland. “Kenneth masks in a way a lot of characters I’ve played haven’t. So I think the approach has been very psychological, trying to figure out what his subtext is. It’s a lot of the language of assumption, and there’s so much social grace in between words that isn’t picked up by all people.”

Performing a character in a play that houses so much literary capital is a joy for Hodgson, and having Lo as the play’s steward is an added bonus.

“I like rigor and I like people who have done their homework and are going to be tenacious,” Hodgson said. “I’ve been in many theater rooms where it took so much work to finally find the balance of rigor while caring for each other. Jeffrey is someone that makes community right away, which is why I do theater.”

Building community is a critical piece of any healthy rehearsal room. But audiences aren’t paying top dollar for kumbaya. Lo understands this better than anyone.

“I’ve been in rooms where everyone is having a good time, so caring,” Lo said. “And then, I’m like, are we getting any work done? It’s important to find the balance of both, and I think what works is that William and I do that while naturally ebbing and flowing with each other.”

“Primary Trust” runs March 4-29 at the Lucie Stern Theatre in Palo Alto. Tickets are $34-$115 at theatreworks.org or 877-662-8978.

David John Chávez is a former chair of the American Theatre Critics/Journalists Association, a two-time juror for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama (2022-23), and a 2020 O’Neill National Critics Institute fellow. @davidjchavez.bsky.social