THEATER : The Many Faces of a Stage Actress : Odyssey’s Beth Hogan knew she wanted to act. But she didn’t know about all those other jobs.

If you’ve ever been to the Odyssey Theatre, chances are you’ve seen Beth Hogan. She might have been working at the box office, or ushering, or making coffee, or painting billboards, or even cleaning toilets. Or she might have been the star of the play.

Officially, Hogan’s job title is associate artistic director. Unofficially, she wears a dozen hats, from marketing manager to chauffeur to talent scout. She has also been admired by critics for her leading roles at the Odyssey, ranging from a medieval village girl in “Caucasian Chalk Circle” to a principled bride in “Ivona, Princess of Burgundia” to the gibberish-spewing Appalachian in “Idioglossia” (the play that became the Jodie Foster film “Nell”). In all, she has appeared in 27 plays at the theater. Currently, Hogan is preparing to take on the lead role in Elizabeth Egloff’s three-character fantasy-comedy-drama “The Swan,” opening Saturday at the Odyssey.

So what is she doing scrubbing bathrooms?

“I think Beth is a little humble about her ability,” says Odyssey founder and artistic director Ron Sossi, who first cast Hogan in “An Evening of Dirty Religious Plays” in 1977. “Part of it has to do with the way she thinks about theater--that artists should be able to pick up a broom. She’s also never been interested in money and doesn’t like to pound her own drum. Also, she’s from Iowa: She’s got that strong, farm work ethic. And she’s a very good person, so people take advantage of her; she’s got an open ear, so everyone comes to her.”

That includes him.

“I think of her as my right-hand person,” says Sossi. “If I’m directing, I’ll have her come to my previews, give me notes. She has a good nose for casting, so she’s involved in a lot of the choices. She also reads scripts, has her antennae out for special projects. But it’s been a natural progression. When Frank Condon left [the associate post in 1993], there was a vacuum. Beth was functioning there creatively, but never had the title. She also represents an aesthetic of mine that leans toward adventurous, experimental stuff. Whenever we veer toward the conventional, she’s there to nudge me.”

Several times, Sossi says, he has begun the season by looking over the play schedule and asking Hogan, 42, what part she feels like doing. The actress will have none of that; she cringes at the appearance of favoritism. She insists on auditioning for each role she plays. “I’m not being a goody- two-shoes,” stresses Hogan, who received a master of fine arts degree in theater from UC San Diego. “I have a lot of respect for the art form. The best person auditioning should get the part. If that’s not me, that’s not me.”

A nd yet she loves the applause, loves to get out on a stage and touch an audience. But she’s hardly a prima donna. “Part of it is that I’m shy,” acknowledges Hogan. “And I can’t depend on that [external] validation. It’s not that I don’t want it or don’t think that I’m entitled.” Does that mean she thinks she’s a good actress? Hogan answers slowly. “I think I’m good”--she bursts out laughing, as if amazed that she’s actually said the words aloud--”in certain plays. I don’t think I could do every role.”

The actress does, however, admit to a certain pride in her past performances in, among others, “White Marriage” (1979), “Mary Barnes” (1982), “Mother Courage” (1984, her personal favorite), “Edmond” (1984), “Voyage to Arcturus” (1986, “some of the most creative rehearsal moments I’ve ever experienced”) and “Idioglossia” (1989).

In “The Swan,” which originated at the Actors Theatre of Louisville and has had successful runs at La Jolla Playhouse and the New York Public Theatre, Hogan plays Dora, a Midwestern nurse stuck in an emotionally isolated existence and a non-threatening affair with a married man when a swan suddenly appears in her home.

“You can either say the swan comes to her or she invents him, wills him to be,” Hogan explains. “She humanizes him, teaches him manners, how to speak, how to dress, how to play games--molding him into this perfect mate. But it creates conflict because the swan wants something too. He develops an ego; he wants to be a man. It’s all about following your bliss, following your passion.”

Much like she has done.

“For me, acting is almost a religious devotion,” Hogan says simply. “A lot of actors who started off at the Odyssey have gone on to TV series. That’s fine. I happened to get off the train in a different place. For me, as a child, the moment when I knew I wanted to be an actress wasn’t watching a TV show or a movie; it was in the theater. I love theater. It’s always full of possibilities. I think of coming to theater in the Greek sense, as this event , the ability to move people, make them gasp or laugh. I have not chosen this as a hobby. I invest myself like a shoemaker or a carpenter: I do it every day.”

Lately, that means putting in 10 hours at the office, then crossing the lobby for four hours of rehearsal. Yet she has no complaints.

“I see it as a journeyman kind of thing,” Hogan says lightly. “When Ron is gone, I take on that role: I watch run-throughs, give notes, sit in with the director, try to get people into the theater whose work Ron may not know.”

Staff cutbacks have only increased her duties on the administrative end. When Hogan started the theater’s subscription campaign in 1978, there were 300 names on the list; last year, the figure was 4,300.

“That’s pretty impressive,” the actress says proudly. “We’ve worked hard to keep it going, to nurture our subscribers, because audiences are harder and harder to get.”

The challenges only make Hogan work harder. Yet she knows that her devotion often borders on the extreme.

“Sometimes I run out of steam,” she allows. “I have to learn to say ‘no,’ to step back, observe myself, create balance and boundaries, not be consumed. I tend to open up to people in terms of, ‘What do you need and what can I do to help?’ In a job like this, it’s a necessity. But it can be draining, exhausting. And Ron is single-minded. Some moments, he is going to push me as far as he can--if he needs me.”

That part seems to be a given.

“It’s been a gradual accumulation of power,” Hogan says of her position at the Odyssey. “There is no job definition, no delineation, no boundaries I can’t step over. Ron jokes about us: He calls it a ‘Ma and Pa operation.’ Out of necessity, I’ve learned to do so many things: marketing, subscriptions, personnel management, producing plays, helping directors who are older and have more experience than I do, representing the Odyssey--all of that isn’t easy for someone who never anticipated doing it. But it comes from wanting the theater to work, from believing in it.”

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“THE SWAN,”Odyssey Theatre, 2055 Sepulveda Blvd., West Los Angeles. Dates: Opens Saturday. Plays Wednesdays through Saturdays, 8 p.m.; Sundays, 7 p.m.; except Aug. 13 and 27, 2 p.m. Prices: $17.50-$21.50; opening night, $25. Phone: (310) 477-2055.