Featured Member: Stone Soup Theatre Arts

Founded in 2001, Stone Soup Theatre Arts creates collaborative work based on relevant social issues. Each season, the company chooses a theme and begins with a published work, usually by an international playwright.  The season culminates in a collaboratively-created piece based on research, workshops and travel.

Stone Soup gets its name from the Grimms Brothers’ tale about a town that comes together, with what little sustenance they have, to create a magical meal.  Managing director Leigh Goldenberg says, “Our company is always looking for contributors — artistic collaborators or audience members — to our pot!  This means anyone who wants to join in the conversation and bring a little something with them…”

Recently, we talked shop (soup?) with Leigh and artistic director Nadine Friedman…

Who or what are your biggest influences?

The founding members of Stone Soup Theatre Arts were moved by the work of the Group Theatre — its collaborative nature and socially significant work.  Now, our influences are less often particular styles of theatre; we focus more on what is inspiring in current events. If we can’t stop talking about something, and feel our audience shouldn’t either, then we know we have to find or create a play about it.

What has been your greatest success to date?

Our production of Elie Wiesel’s “The Trial of God” was a big turning point for the company, and probably our most significant success. The play was artistically challenging, both in the text and our approach to the casting. We were proud to receive our most substantial press for this piece, which brought in an incredibly diverse audience for us. Having Chasidic Jews in the audience watch a black woman onstage playing a rabbi was completely unforgettable. “The Trial of God” also furthered our company’s mission by uniting us with five other Off-Off Broadway companies to produce “The UnConvention,” an artistic protest to the Republican National Convention in NYC in 2004. The entire festival felt vital and relevant and we were lucky to work with our peers to create a cohesive, provocative statement.

Stone Soup has been a member of Fractured Atlas since 2003. How do you use your membership?

Primarily, we use Fractured Atlas (FA) as our fiscal sponsor, which has been invaluable. We use the donation history tool [that comes with fiscal sponsorship] as a fund-raising database. We have also gotten general liability insurance through Fractured Atlas, and special offers that are available to FA members, such as discounted publicity work from Wise Elephant. We regularly check the FA website to see what our peers are up to. We have found the events calendar to be an incredible resource to attract like-minded artists to our master classes and audition workshops. And our company members are also excited about taking courses on Fractured U!

Finish this sentence: “A world without art is …”

“…unrevealed!”

What’s ahead for Stone Soup?

We are currently in the planning stages for our 8th season — Diagnosing the Present — an exploration of healthcare. We plan to produce two plays in repertory in Spring 2009, one original and one previously published. We are also continuing our workshop series this November and hosting a gala in December.

How can we learn more about Stone Soup’s offerings?

We welcome everyone to join our artists in our Souped Up Sundays Master Class workshops this November, or to attend our annual benefit on December 6th. These are casual ways to meet company members and see how we operate.  We also throw unusual fundraisers ranging from bingo picnics to dog beauty pageants!

Our website, www.stonesoupkitchen.org, has background on the company, details about upcoming events, and our e-newsletter sign-up.