Our Values:

Stone Soup Theatre Company is a 501(c) 3 non-profit community serving theatre.  To that end, we hold the following essential values:

  • We believe that the performing arts should be accessible to everyone in our community. SSTC will provide blocks of tickets and class scholarships each year for distribution to young people and their families in underserved communities.
  • We believe that professional (and semi-professional) artists deserve to be compensated for their work. We will never require artists to pay in order to perform.
  • We believe that every artist deserves to work in a safe environment. To this end, SSTC has adopted the Chicago Theatre Standards as a road map guiding operational policies and procedures.
  • We fully support non-traditional casting.
  • We are committed to running a fiscally responsible organization focused on long term growth.

Stone Soup Founders

SSTC is only possible due to the combined contributions of friends and community members.  We sincerely thank the following  founding supporters: Marian Anders, Amber Boaz, Ada Brow, Carl Baumann, Barbara Cameron, Colleen, Rich and Kaitlin Case, Chapel Hill School of Musical Arts, Nadia Charguia, Christopher Cook, Ken and Gloria Craib, Steven Dobbins, Patrick and Melissa Dombrowski, Jeanne Fischer, Natasha Gore, Webster Grimes, Ken and Judi Hoisington, Janelle Krasovich, Ryan Madanick, Red Morgan, North Carolina Museum of Art, William Purvis, Joanna and Jos Sisk-Purvis, Pat Roos, Mike and Pat Sisk, Triangle Youth Ballet, Mark Welker, Susan White, Urban Durham Realty/Kelley Keats, Broker.

Board of Directors

Melissa S. Craib Dombrowski

Melissa is a theatre director, educator, arts administrator, and stage manager based in Durham, NC. She received her BA (Hons) Degree in Drama and Theatre Studies from Middlesex University (London, UK). Melissa’s work has been recognized in regional awards including Best Director, Best Adapted Script, and Best Choreographer.  Her directing credits include Pirates of Penzance, Something Rotten!, Patience, Urinetown, Godspell, Romeo and Juliet, Oleanna, and All in the Timing.   She currently serves as the Artistic Director for the Durham Savoyards and as the Director of Operations for Chapel Hill School of Musical Arts (CHSMA).  Melissa is proud to be a member of the SDC, MTEA, and NCTAE.

Dr. Joanna Sisk-Purvis

Joanna has musically directed for youth and community theaters in Los Angeles and North Carolina, for shows including Cabaret, Fiddler on the Roof, Sound of Music, Narnia, Alice in Wonderland, Annie, Cats, Seussical Jr., and more. She is currently the music director of the Durham Savoyards.  She has performed as flutist with orchestras and chamber ensembles, and for theatrical productions in Los Angeles, Chicago, and the Triangle. A champion of living composers, Joanna ran a new music ensemble in Los Angeles and commissioned and performed music from several now well-known composers, including Andrew Norman, Vincent Ho, and Bear McCreary. Joanna holds performance degrees from UNC-Chapel Hill, Northwestern, and the University of Southern California. She has taught music at Carolina Friends School since 2008.

Carl Johnson

I am so honored to join the board. As a trained singer/actor along with running several successful business, I am excited to be apart of Stone Soup’s growth over the next few years. I live in North Durham with my wife Anna (a singer, we met in a Durham Savoyards show) and my 16 year old daughter, Olivia with our dog Ben. I currently own CarlJohnsonRealEstate.com and 4REmarketing.com and have 35+ year experience in marketing along with running 5 companies in my professional career.

Brooke Rogerson

Brooke was born and raised in North Carolina and currently works for the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. She grew up in Chapel Hill participating in school musicals, choral groups, and playing violin for the Duke Youth Symphony. Brooke graduated with a BS from Appalachian State University. Although her violin is dusty, Brooke remains active in the community by volunteering and becoming involved with the various performances and sports teams that her children participate in throughout the Triangle.