Courtney plays Tock in Logos School’s production “The Phantom Tollbooth,” which debuts Friday. His character is a watchdog with a large clock planted on his left side.

The name comes from the phrase “tick tock.” Courtney said Tock has a human personality, but he’s all dog — a dog that doesn’t like to waste time.

“Tock is a flawless character. You can’t find any fault in him,” Courtney said. “You can picture him in any way you want. If you have any acting ability and you play him the way you see him, others will see him in the same way, and if you mess it up then they’ll see it a completely different way.”

The play is directed by drama teacher Donna Grauke.

This particular play includes a very large cast, so many students can be involved. Twenty-six students have parts in the play with some playing multiple roles.

“It’s a favorite storybook that they read in the fifth grade,” Grauke said. “A lot of kids are familiar with it.”

The story begins with Milo, played by eighth-grader Gresham Schlect, a young boy who’s always bored and never knows what to do with his time.

“He’s not an outlandish character like everybody else,” Schlect said. “I really like interacting with the other characters.”

One day Milo receives an unusual package, a make-believe tollbooth — not like the ones you see on the freeway. This tollbooth serves as a porthole to magical lands.

Milo takes a trip in his toy car to Dictionopolis, a city known for its letters and words.

Before he gets there, his car gets stuck in the Doldrums, where the only thing to do is waste time.

It’s there he meets Tock. He’s a tad bit afraid of Tock because he’s never seen a talking dog before. Once Milo gets over the shock of seeing a talking dog, the two travel together to Dictionopolis.

“I like the character, he’s like the only normal one,” Schlect said. “Everybody else has to be kind of wacky.”

The cast of characters includes a talking dog, a talking insect named Humbug, a spelling bee and a noise doctor with rather large ears.

“The characters are so different, they have to act and get outside of themselves,” Grauke said. “Usually, junior high is a time when you start being self-conscious and so theatrically if they want to be involved in theater they have to learn to do that.”

Courtney said it’s difficult to pull off a fantasy like “The Phantom Tollbooth,” because the scenery is changing constantly and the small set restricts the actors’ movement on stage.

“I like the fantasy because the characters aren’t really that serious,” he said.

Courtney said it’s a challenge to portray such unusual characters, but he’s been in enough plays that nerves no longer bother him. He wouldn’t mind performing on Broadway someday.

“I usually don’t get nervous on stage, not anymore,” he said. “I’m over nervous.”

Courtney has played various roles in different plays in elementary school, including David Copperfield and Long John Silver.

Courtney said he prefers comedic roles.

“If I make a joke, I enjoy being laughed at,” Courtney said. “As Long John Silver I didn’t get laughed at.”

As Tock, Courtney gets plenty of laughs. The talking dog is funny, even when he’s being serious — something Courtney said he can relate to.

“I try to be funny in class, it doesn’t always work out that well because there’s a lot of other funny people in my class,” he said. “Usually, funniness gets outweighed by other funniness.”

Hillary Flowers is a student intern for the Daily News.

IF YOU GO

* WHAT: “The Phantom Tollbooth”

* WHEN: 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday, with a 2 p.m. Saturday matinee at the Logos School auditorium.

* ADMISSION: Tickets are $5 for adults, $3 for students and $15 for groups of four or more people.