Profile: Dan Stone

There is never a dull moment, hustling back and forth from his tiny office, lined with masks and posters from wall to wall. During the day he can be found pacing around his classrooms full of mirrors, lights, chairs and make up boxes. The work of being a theater teacher is never a bore.

Dan Stone, a theater instructor at Linn-Benton Community College, always has something going on. When spotted Stone can always be talking with students or staff about some upcoming play he’s working on or explaining his schedule.

"I have taken multiple classes with him and he's really funny but very passionate about theater and everything that goes into it," said Kat DiFonzo, the stage manager for the LBCC theater department.

Stone can usually be found in one of three locations, his office, the green room checking in on actors and actress and then of course the stage.

Stone grew up in Texas with his mom and dad, his mom was a jockey and his dad trained horses. They moved from different places all the time to different race tracks. When Stone was in high school he and his family moved to Southern California and lived there for a while.

"I got my undergraduate in C.S.U. (California State University) in San Bernandino, California," said Stone. "

"Then I got my M.F.A. degree (Master of Fine Arts) at Humboldt State University in Northern California, after that I moved here to Oregon," said Stone.

On campus at LBCC, Stone is the theater director and teacher. He has always loved theater, he loves the fact that you get to create something new everyday. You can use your imagination and not have to be stuck behind a desk.

"[Dan] Stone is very much a theater person at heart, and also he can also be kind of a child," said DiFonzo.

At the moment Stone is directing a play at LBCC called, "Wiley and the Hairy Man." Its a shadow theater play and performances are to take place in the Russell Tripp Center on campus.

Shadow plays deal with myths and this particular play is a southern myth.

Emily Smith, a student at LBCC and also an actress in this place, has been working with Stone all term on this production with rehearsals.

"I love shadow theater," said Smith, "it's very different but really exciting to do something new like this, plus the other actors are great."

Aside from pouring his heart and soul into the performing arts, Stone has another hobby he enjoys very much.

"Theater takes up all of my time, but I love fishing, and I fish whenever I can," said Stone.

In a little slough off the Willamette River, there's a big pond across from a golf course in Corvallis called the, "Twisting Tree Golf Course." Stone likes to get into his canoe and paddle across the pond then get out on the other side, goes over a hill and wades through the bushes.

"Its like a jungle," said Stone, "it's like you're in the amazon, you can hear all these owls and little critters all over the place in the evening."

Q & A with Dan Stone

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• What did you decide to teach theater?

Stone: I decided to teach theater, because I have a great interest in the preservation of theater, the arts are going to be preserved in the youth who are going to be carrying this stuff forward, that's why I love teach.

• Would you rather act or direct?

Stone:I would rather direct, I am not an actor, although I am a ham, but that does not make me an actor.

• Have you ever wrote your own play?

Stone: Quite a bit actually, 80 percent of the plays I direct are all originals, they are either written by me or other people like friends of mine.

• Whose your favorite playwright?

Stone: I have three actually, Samuel Becket, Sam Shepard and Tennessee Williams.

• How old were you when you wrote your very first play?

Stone: I was probably about 12 years old at the time.

• What was the play about?

Stone: It was about my dog.

At a glance:

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Upcoming plays:

LBCC 37 Annual Childern's Theater Production

"Wiley and the Hairy Man"

Dates: Sat, Feb. 18 and Sat, Feb. 25 at 2 p.m.

Russell Tripp Center, LBCC campus

Tickets are $9 for adults and $7 for children and seniors over 60.