Where are they now? Catching up with Charla Bocchicchio

For more than 15 years, Charla Bocchicchio (then Charla Cochran) starred in theater productions at Birmingham Festival Theatre and Theatre Downtown while also doing film work and teaching at Children’s Dance Foundation. Over the years, she’s moved to Utah, written a book and continued to work steadily in TV and film. Bocchicchio took the time to catch us up with what she’s doing.

Tell me a bit about yourself.

Born in Illinois, I grew up in Idaho and Utah, the youngest of five children. As a child, I loved make-believe and playing dress-up, as many kids do. I was always the center of attention and soaked it up! It wasn’t until high school that I did a real production, and it was always musical theater. I had a tendency to underestimate my ability, so I rarely auditioned for leading roles. I was happy to be involved in any way and quickly learned the meaning of “theater family.” Finally, when I got to college at the University of Utah, I fell in love with acting even more and decided to major in theater. I graduated with a BFA in theater with an education emphasis and since then, teaching and acting have remained a huge part of my life.

I married Birmingham native Chris Cochran in 1993, after meeting at the Salt Lake Ciry restaurant where we both worked. A year after that we had our first and only child, Cassidy, and then moved to Birmingham with our 1-year-old in 1995 so Chris could attend law school at Cumberland. In Birmingham, I was busy being a mom and nannying for a little boy the same age so I could stay home with Cassidy. I loved it AND I was also going a bit crazy with no creative outlet except reenacting Disney movies with my 2-and-a-half-year-old. One evening Chris said to me, “You need to do some theater. If you don’t find something to audition for, you’re going to go nuts.” So, I looked in the paper and found an audition notice for a Birmingham Festival Theatre production called “Ladies of Tennessee.” It was an evening of one-act plays by Tennessee Williams. I auditioned. I booked it! Somehow, we made the rehearsal schedule work, which often meant bringing Cassidy to rehearsal until Chris could pick her up after law school. It was intoxicating being back on stage. Like coming home.

During that show I met Jill Balch, who happened to be teaching creative movement at Children’s Dance Foundation. She was looking for her own replacement and put me in touch with them. I went in for an interview and they hired me right away. This was the beginning of a 15-year relationship with CDF as both an instructor and program director. While leading programs at CDF I created my own youth theater program, StageDoor Youth Theatre, after directing shows for a few years with Magic City Performing Arts for Children (McPAC).

It wasn’t until 2008 that I found myself on stage once again, acting in my second play at BFT, “Rabbit Hole.” This started the performance ball rolling for me once more, and since then I haven’t taken another acting break!

Tell me more about your Birmingham theater work.

As an actor in Birmingham, I had the pleasure of performing on stage primarily at Birmingham Festival Theatre and Theatre Downtown. I loved these venues and the people involved in both theater companies.

One of my favorite theater experiences in Birmingham was playing the lead role of Becca in “Rabbit Hole” at BFT. It was directed by Janelle Cochrane and also featured Howard Green, Leslie Brown, Carole Armistead and Michael Walters. A powerhouse cast that became such dear friends. It had a huge impact on me as a human and as an actor, not only because of the subject matter but also due to just falling in love with my fellow actors. But honestly, performing a Pulitzer Prize-winning script is a privilege.

Another favorite theater memory in Birmingham was my first play at Theatre Downtown. I remember well the first and only time I auditioned for Billy Ray Brewton (after that I direct-booked his shows). It was for the play “From Up Here” by Liz Flahive. I auditioned with my daughter, Cassidy, and we both got cast (playing mother and daughter, go figure). What a fun show that was to work on. And once again I got to play opposite some other amazing local actors that became wonderful friends! Namely, JJ Mars, Kenny Morris, Kelsey Sherrer, Reagan Dickey and Michael Walters (once again).

After that, I felt like one of the cool kids. Haha. I did several other shows at TDT and always felt like these people I got to work with were part of my family. Some other highlights at TDT include starring in the stage adaptation of “Ordinary People,” sharing the stage once again with Michael Walters as my son, and finally working with Brad Reigel for the first time, as my onstage husband. Then, of course, the infamous “Skanks in a One Horse Town,” an original musical by Billy Ray Brewton with music by Flannery Miles. Playing Anita Bryant in this was a wild ride on many levels. Not to mention the fact that we were being followed by a documentary film crew from the first table-read through closing night.

Birmingham also brought me my first film opportunities. I had a few friends involved in both theater and filmmaking who would ask me to be in their projects. Namely Bernadette Chapman, Billy Ray Brewton and Bert Payne. I learned a lot about acting for the camera in those early projects.

What made you leave Birmingham?

I left Birmingham in 2012 when Cassidy and I moved to Los Angeles, mainly for her to pursue on-camera acting and modeling work with her newly acquired LA manager, Lynne Marks. But after we got there, I realized that I really wanted to be doing work on-camera too, rather than on stage. So I got an agent, found a job teaching kids commercial classes and got myself into acting classes, too! I was fortunate to study with Anthony Meindl (of Anthony Meindl’s Acting Workshop), as well as studying improv at Upright Citizens Brigade in LA. I auditioned like crazy while in LA and learned very quickly the ins and outs of auditioning for film, TV and commercials. I booked a number of projects there and mostly learned that everyone is an “actor” in LA and the competition was overwhelming. I had the time of my life, even though there was a lot about our time there that was stressful and hard.

Where are you now and what are you doing?

Now I live in Salt Lake City, Utah. I am a full-time actor and acting coach. I moved back to Utah after meeting my late husband, John Bocchicchio, in an improv class in LA. He was facing an early retirement due to a disability so we needed to simplify life and finances. California was not conducive to either of those issues. So, we moved to Salt Lake City together. I wasn’t sure if my acting career could flourish here, but boy was I wrong!

Since moving back to Salt Lake City, I have added over 80 new IMDb credits and dozens and dozens of commercials to my resume. There is a booming film industry here with lots of major Hollywood productions choosing Utah landscapes and our tax incentives. People can look at my IMDb for more details on my film and TV credits, but I’ve been fortunate to work on such shows as “Yellowstone,” “The Chosen,” “Blood & Oil,” numerous Hallmark movies and many indie films. I’ve had the pleasure of working with directors Steven Soderberg, Vince Vaughn, Taylor Sheridan, Matt Sohn and many more.

My commercial work has been some of my favorite to work on, including hilarious ads for Poopourri, Cricket Wireless, MOOD Legal Cannabis, Real Genius and Kodiak Cakes. I have continued to teach in Utah, as well, with a variety of on-camera workshops, and now offering private coaching and audition taping for actors both locally and virtually all over the country. I am incredibly blessed and so grateful for all these opportunities that have come my way. I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon and can’t wait to see what’s still in store down the road for me as an actor. Keep an eye out for some of my new films hitting theaters and streaming very soon: “Alien Country,” “He Never Left,” “One Big Happy Family” and “Princess For a Day.”

Do you prefer film or stage acting, or does it just depend on the project?

I am doing on-camera acting exclusively now (and much prefer it). I still have a deep love of theater but realized that as an actor, my best medium is film. In theater, I always preferred black box spaces to large houses because performance-wise it felt more authentic and intimate to me. When I started having opportunities in film and commercials back in Birmingham, I had an epiphany! The camera could read my mind and all I had to do was be comfortable with baring my soul rather than “hiding” behind that fourth wall. So here I am! The last time I was on stage was in 2015, in “The Vagina Monologues” here in Salt Lake City. It was a beautiful show to go out on. I haven’t looked back.

Anything else you’d like the theater community here know about what you’re up to?

I am a published author. After losing my daughter Cassidy to a fentanyl overdose in 2016, I wrote and published a book, “My New Normal: A Mother’s Story of Love and Loss in the Opioid Epidemic.” It’s available on Amazon.

My husband, John, died last May, so I have been navigating life as a widow since then. He took his own life after battling health issues and a disability for several years, leaving all of us heartbroken while also having an empathetic understanding of why. But just two months before he died, his oldest child (Rachel) had a baby boy, making John a grandpa! So, I get to take on grandma-hood as well, which is a pretty wonderful role if you ask me.

In February of this year, I received a cancer diagnosis (high-risk multiple myeloma). I started treatment in March and since then got a second diagnosis of breast cancer (DCIS). I’m having a lumpectomy surgery to address that and many decisions still lie ahead on both fronts moving forward. I remain positive and optimistic. I have learned in life that I have no control over these tragedies and losses that happen in my life but I do have control over how I respond to them. Sometimes I kick and scream and cry myself to sleep, but in the long run, I pick myself up and look around at all the beautiful things and loving people around me. I find the things I can be grateful for and I choose to live there. Gratitude is a much better neighborhood than self-pity and despair. The loss, trauma and hardships I have endured have made me who I am every bit as much as my successes and joys have. So I feel like I need to express gratitude for all of it, the good and the bad. I’m certainly stronger than I was 30 years ago. And I’m also more full of love and joy, too. And that’s what life is all about isn’t it?