The Rough Hewn Theatre Troupe, an initiative of Stella Maris College, Manly in late 2006, came from an aspiration of the school's then principal Kerry Stirling and teacher Ken Granneman to set up a theatre for young people based in Manly, serving the greater Manly area and northern beaches. The school had unique resources in a 300 seat lyric theatre, The Star of the Sea Theatre, a purpose built Drama Studio and a range of skilled theatre personnel and it wanted to share them and support young people with some theatre experience who aspired to make theatre feature in their future professional lives, either as actors, teachers, directors, writers, stage managers etc. It is a place where young people continue to practise their craft while working towards longer term theatre goals. Rough Hewn is not the beginning and it is not the end. The company was instituted to and maintains a commitment to providing such opportunities to young people aged roughly between 16 and 26. It also provides production costs and personnel. Rough Hewn's current vision is to tackle renowned classic works that challenge; for young people to cut their teeth on great works of dramatic literature while providing the opportunity for modern works to be explored.