Cast and Design Team Set For ROAR OF THE GRAIN Workshop at The Art Of Acting Studio
Josh Swezey, Art Manke and Jennifer Sorenson lead the ensemble under producer Johnny Patrick Yoder.
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The Harold Clurman Laboratory Theater Company (HCLAB), the professional wing of the Stella Adler Studio of Acting and the Art of Acting Studio, has announced the full company and design team for the first workshop of ROAR OF THE GRAIN: a new play by Satu, inspired by true events. Produced by Johnny Patrick Yoder, the workshop will be presented at the Art of Acting Studio in Los Angeles for three nights only, from September 24-26, 2026.
The six-person ensemble features Josh Swezey (as 'Captain Jari Rautainen'), Art Manke (as 'Colonel-General Andrei Zhdanov'), Viviane Angélique Ortega (as 'Kaisa'), Patrick Jon Rivers (as 'Sergeant Eelis Valonen'), Viktor Montez (as 'Officer Novokov/Seppo'), and Jennifer Sorenson (as 'Thérèse Bonney'). The workshop's design team includes Sound Designer Carter Dean, Lighting Designer Matt Richter, and Costume Designer Aja Morris-Smiley. The creative team is supported by Azucena Flores Pizaña as Stage Manager and Sean Renwick as Assistant Director.
ROAR OF THE GRAIN is an unflinching, intricate portrait of a Finnish soldier and the crestfallen yet stoic family that he left behind during the Winter War of 1939. Inspired by actual events, the play asks, 'Where are the moral boundaries of warfare when the personal cost of defending one's home is at odds with a nation's sense of honor?' For more information on ROAR OF THE GRAIN, visit saturuna.com/roar.
Rising Canadian-American playwright Satu is an alum of the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, New York. Previous works include her original post-punk musical, King Nigel's Nervous Breakdown. Johnny Patrick Yoder is the West Coast Producer of the Harold Clurman Lab Theater and the Managing Artistic Director of the Art of Acting Studio. A native of Green Bay, Wisconsin, Johnny is also an alum of the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, New York.
The workshop of ROAR OF THE GRAIN is supported by a grant from Finlandia Foundation National. It will take place from September 24-26, 2026 at the Art of Acting Studio located at 1017 N. Orange Drive, Los Angeles, CA.
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