Social Worker Steps Into the Spotlight on Stage

HHSA social worker Eric Warner in a production of “Seussical the Musical”

He’s gotten to play several roles of a lifetime – a roll call of some of the most iconic characters in theater. But it’s hard to top his very first role.

Eric Warner’s first role was as Jesus in a production of “Godspell” for his church in Temecula.

“Since playing the Son of God, my career has been all downhill,” joked Warner, a Health and Human Services Agency social worker.

He had only acted in a single play during high school, but remembers enjoying it. So when his pastor asked if he’d be interested in playing the role of Jesus, he jumped at the chance.

“I thought, ‘wow, sure!’” said Warner. “The acting and directing really came together and it was a remarkable experience.”

That was all it took for the acting bug to bite him and never let go.

He’s since appeared in productions of “Fiddler on the Roof,” “The Sound of Music,” “The Music Man,” “Little Women” and “Seussical the Musical” among others.

He’s performed in productions at Hope Lutheran Church and Act One Theater, both in Temecula, as well as taking on adult roles in high school productions.

“I’ve gotten to be in some good shows and I’m definitely hooked,” he said.

He appears in two to three shows a year. Any more wouldn’t be feasible because of big time commitments.

“Rehearsal time is the main factor in my decision about what roles to take,” he said.

Each play involves between 60 and 70 hours of rehearsal time.

“It’s a solid two months where you have rehearsals two to three nights a week and then every night in the theater for two weeks before the production,” he said.

 A couple of the projects have been very close to his heart.

“My daughter is a theater major in college, and during her high school years her teacher asked me to perform in a few shows where they needed an older adult for roles,” Warner said.

They acted together in “Fiddler in the Roof” when she was in seventh grade.

“She was the daughter in the play and we got to sing together in the ensemble and interact a little,” he said. “I could see her budding talent.”

The following year they appeared together in the eighth grade production of “Seussical the Musical” and later were onstage together in “Little Women.”

Another role that hit close to home was in “The Boys Next Door.”  The main plot of the play involves a social worker getting burned out and leaving the profession to become a travel agent. Warner played the verbally abusive father of one of four men with mental disabilities who live in a group home.

“I didn’t like my role and nobody liked me,” he said. “They told me they wanted me to be mean and nasty and my son in the play ends up in a psychiatric hospital after encountering me.

“It was very emotional.”

Warner’s job as a social worker gave him the gravitas to play the role.

Warner in "Oliver Twist"