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About Us

Maureen Miko

Welcome.

In 1996, Maureen Miko wanted to start a small, neighborhood-oriented professional theatre. She found a defunct pet grooming shop standing empty on Stone Way, walked in and saw possibilities. The street name reminded her of a favorite story from her childhood about hungry, tired soldiers limping into an impoverished village where the villagers are none-too-interested in sharing their meager stores of food. One enterprising soldier fills a pot with water and tosses in a stone, saying how delicious the soup would be if someone had an onion. An onion is produced, then a carrot...eventually, each villager brings something to the broth and soon villagers and soldiers alike sit down to a wonderful meal made all the better because everyone contributed to its creation. Bringing together the street name and this old fable, Stone Soup Theatre was born. Here at Stone Soup, it is our philosophy that everyone - actor, author and audience - bring an essential ingredient to the creation of theatre and the sum is always greater than the parts. We are proud to be entering our twelfth year here on Stone Way and wish to extend our profound thanks to the devoted students, friends and patrons who have supported us.

In 1999 Stone Soup Theatre began entertaining Seattle audiences with professional productions of one-act plays. The works of Tennessee Williams, Eugene Ionesco, John Guare, A.A. Milne, Harold Pinter, Thornton Wilder, Anton Chekhov, Neil Simon, Edward Albee, Tom Stoppard and Athol Fugard have been featured.

Bill Higham in 'Finding the Sun'

"Stanislavski once wrote that you should ‘play well or badly, but play truly.’ It is not up to you whether your performance will be brilliant - all that is under control is your intention. It is not under your control whether your career will be brilliant - all that is under control is your intention.

"If you intend to manipulate, to show, to impress, you may experience mild suffering and pleasant triumphs. If you intend to follow the truth you feel in yourself - to follow your common sense and force your will to serve you in the quest for discipline and simplicity - you will subject yourself to profound despair, loneliness and constant self-doubt. And if you persevere, the Theatre, which you are learning to serve, will grace you, now and then, with the greatest exhilaration it is possible to know."

— David Mamet – 1985

There are many versions of the Stone Soup fable. The one we like best tells the story of a group of hungry soldiers tramping home from battle. At nightfall they arrive at a small village. The ravages of war have embittered the villagers who are reluctant to share what meager food they have with the wandering soldiers. Faced with unwelcoming hosts and empty stomachs one imaginative soldier fills a pot with water and tosses in a stone. Then he says, “This soup would be quite good if only we had an onion.” Begrudgingly one villager contributes an onion, then someone fetches a potato, someone else a bone, and so it goes. Ultimately, the entire village and the hungry soldiers sit down to a wonderful meal made all the better because everyone contributed to its creation, and as one villager says “it all began with a simple stone.” There is a strong correlation between this story and the creation of a piece of theatre. Everyone: actor, author, audience, brings an essential ingredient, and the sum is always greater than the parts. Stone Soup Theatre artists come together to create in a process that nurtures the individuality in student, performer, and audience. Our mission is to help you express your humanity; artistically, personally, and spiritually.