It occurs to me, while enjoying “Scone Tuesdays” at the Clement & Pekoe café (the interviewee’s choice, not mine), that Michael Stone is to heads of societies what Ed Sheeran is to the music industry – the kind of man your mother would melt over. From his impeccable choice of café for our interview, to a beard that is better groomed than a dozen boy bands, Stone is high-quality husband material. He’s also good with children, at least the kind of children who run around playing pretend in Players Theatre. I sat down with the 2015/16 Chairperson and self-professed “Dad” of DU Players for a good long chat.
Stone’s involvement in theatre began in secondary school with roles in several productions directed by the legendary Belvedere music teacher, Gerry Hall. He got his start playing the dragon in Hall’s adaptation of The Hobbit. The papier-mache dragon apparently looked like a lobster, and, judging from Stone’s soft-spoken tenor, was probably about as terrifying as Justin Timberlake playing Batman.
He subsequently appeared in the chorus of West Side Story and in an epic six-hour production of The Lord of the Rings (he was onstage for all of ten minutes and wore a mask the entire time). Stone’s big break finally came in fifth-year, starring as Mr Perker in an adaptation of Charles Dickens’ Pickwick Papers. To the delight of Stone, the part meant that he was onstage, had lines, and that his face could be visible. Having “paid his dues” for many years in the O’Reilly Theatre, Stone was finally poised to have his A Star Is Born moment. Unfortunately, around this time, Gerry Hall died.
Arriving in Trinity as an economics and psychology student and, like most arts students, Stone decided to branch out and try new things. Like kayaking. And the Triathlon Society. So, through a combination of ignorance, misfortune and a dearth of members, Stone became the Public Relations Officer of the Triathlon Society in his third week in college. Meanwhile, his friend Ellen Kirk, fresh from her experience in the Fresher’s Co-op, convinced him to participate in the 24-Hour Musical that year – The Muppets Christmas Carol. On a side note, Stone’s history with off-stage and masked roles should leave no one under the impression that Stone has a face for radio. Stone has a face for everywhere. More particularly, a face for that empty frame on your parent’s mantelpiece waiting to be filled with an engagement picture by that nice photographer who took your baby pictures.
Eager to continue his involvement with Players, Stone worked as producer on a show in Hilary term of his first year. However, despite enjoying the experience, Stone says that by then he still didn’t feel fully integrated into the society. He admits to having felt adrift in his first year, which only adds to the element of mystery surrounding him.
He left the Triathlon Society at the end of his first year, and decided to return to his two passions – drama and debating. And so it was that he entered the maidens competition in the Phil and was cast in a Fresher’s show, Chatroom, at the start of his second year. Following Chatroom, he and Kirk decided, on a whim, to submit a show for the Michaelmas season. Unsure of what to submit, they ultimately settled on adapting Kirk’s father’s favourite book – Peckoon. Stone claims that it was Spike Milligan’s bizarre, satirical work that set him firmly within the Players family. The submission was prepared in a day but, according to Stone, was “pretty water-tight”. The book features 50 characters in its 54 pages, a cast that he and Kirk managed to whittle down to twelve actors with multiple costume changes. Stone says that they first two shows were absolutely horrific, but that the show eventually progressed to become hilariously horrific. He credits the cult popularity of Peckoon to the platform it created for older students to watch their friends act poorly. Yes, he’s the kind of man who says “poorly” in a thrillingly Anglo-Irish manner. He probably calls jam a “preserve” as well.
At the end of second year, Stone ran successfully for Treasurer of Players. He attributes his success in this race to the intimidation factor of telling a group of drama, english, art, theology and history students (colloquially known as the DEATH subjects, for their lack of job opportunities after graduation) that he studied economics. He says that what he liked most about the position was the opportunity it afforded him to interact with everybody in the society. The first major event that he had the responsibility of organising was the 2014 Irish Student Drama Awards in Belfast. Travel arrangements were obviously a major concern, both for the crew and the equipment. To the surprise of no one more so than himself, he ended up driving a van all the way to Belfast and back. Stone is undoubtedly the only bearded man I would allow to drive me away in a van.
Stone says that his decision to run for Chair was prompted by the insistence of his friends, rather than his own interest. He ran unopposed for the position of Chair, and enthuses about how much he has enjoyed working with this year’s committee. Having been on committee for 24 consecutive months, he says that it was nice to be buoyed by the enthusiasm of his eleven committee members, none of whom had held previous positions on committee.
When I ask him how he feels about stepping down from his position three weeks ago, he admits that it will be a considerable responsibility lifted. He originally thought, in a fit of what must have been delusion, that the role of Chairperson would mean a greater amount of delegation. It did not turn out that way. It is at this point that he describes himself as the “Dad” of the society – constantly worrying and hoping that shows and events will succeed. He describes a recent committee trip to County Clare in which he was the only person to drive. In order to travel to the beach, two people had to be put in the boot and five squashed into the back, while himself and “Mom” Molly Jermyn tried to control the shouting from the front.
In terms of stand-out productions during his time in Players, Stone credits A Woman of No Importance , directed by Darren Sinnott, as the first Players show that really grabbed his imagination as to the possibility of theatre in Trinity. Life in Our Blood by Paul Testar, designed by Molly O’Cathain, was also singled out, as was Made Up. He confesses to shedding a tear at Bepo & Co. directed by Catherine Murphy, a story about a travelling circus during the twentieth century. He also praised last year’s “bombastic” Irish Student Drama Association offering, East, directed by Claire O’Reilly, as well as God of Carnage, directed by Matthew Malone, and mentions the team behind Love+ (last seen as part of the 2015 Dublin Fringe Festival) as “ones to watch”. Of the graduating drama class, he mentions the talent behind the upcoming productions of Camgirls and Half-Light as being of a very high quality.
In terms of aspirations for Players, Stone hopes that the society will continue to become more inclusive. Stone says that the buzzword for his committee was “inclusivity,” and mentions the small changes the committee made in an attempt to make the society less intimidating. This includes opening the door to “front of house” to avoid the terrifying collective head turn which accompanies any entry into the room. The Players Introductory Programme also gave an opportunity to non-actors to get involved in the society. Concerning his own future in theatre, Stone tells me that he will be going to the Edinburgh Fringe this summer, his first time at the festival, as a producer of Made Up. He says he’s currently talking to people about producing work in Dublin, and beyond that, he plans to work next year and possibly pursue a postgraduate at a later date.
As we leave, Stone describes a recent Players event at which he felt slightly nervous as a result of the number of new members in attendance. For him, the society is really for “the younger people”. It seems, however, he’s reconciled to this: “It comes full circle. The young people inherit”. It would appear as if twenty-one year old Stone is settling into his middle-age rather nicely.
Correction: March 4th, 2016
An earlier version of this article said that Stone is an economics and philosophy student. In fact, he is an economics and psychology student.
