“Roar of the Grain” Receives Finlandia Foundation National Grant; HCLAB to Present Workshop in Los Angeles in Fall 2026
Finlandia Foundation National has recognized the impact of Satu’s new play, Roar of the Grain, naming the original drama as a recipient of its annual grant supporting projects that elevate Finnish culture and history in America. The grant will help support a developmental workshop presented by the Stella Adler Studio of Acting’s Harold Clurman Laboratory Theater Company (HCLAB), to be held at the Art of Acting Studio in Los Angeles in fall 2026, with details to be announced.
In Roar of the Grain, an interrogation unfolds at a Helsinki hotel in 1945 after Captain Jari Rautainen — a stubborn Finnish farmer haunted by the death of an adolescent soldier — is captured by Communist Party Secretary Andrei Zhdanov, Stalin’s former right-hand man, who is determined to prosecute Jari for a suspected war crime.
The play is an unflinching, intricate portrait of a soldier and the crestfallen yet stoic family he left behind. 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?”
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Drawing on parallels with Putin’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, Satu began writing the story in 2023. HCLAB previously held the first stage reading of Roar of the Grain at the Art of Acting Studio in 2025 as a co-production with Satu’s company, Karakuva Productions.
Finlandia Foundation National awards up to $5,000 annually to exceptional projects uplifting Finnish-American arts, culture, and history. Its first patron was Jean Sibelius, the composer of “Finlandia, Op. 26,” in 1954.
“I’m deeply honored to receive this notable cultural prize,” Satu says of the award. “I hope to bring the lived experience of Finnish culture and history to the American stage in an evocative and powerful way.”
As a Canadian-American playwright of Finnish and Trinidadian descent, Satu enjoys writing character-driven stories about offbeat underdogs who changed the course of history. She is an alum of the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, New York. Previous works include her one-woman post-punk musical, King Nigel’s Nervous Breakdown. For more information about Satu, visit www.saturuna.com.
The initial workshop is directed by Johnny Patrick Yoder, Producer of the Harold Clurman Laboratory Theater in Los Angeles and Managing Artistic Director of the Art of Acting Studio. A native of Green Bay, Wisconsin, Yoder is also an alum of the Stella Adler Studio of Acting, New York. Select HCLAB works include Muckrakers, Long Way Go Down, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Marisol, Waiting for Lefty, and Democracy(sic).
The Finlandia Foundation National-supported workshop of Roar of the Grain will take place at the Art of Acting Studio in Hollywood in fall 2026. Dates, cast, and ticket information are to be announced. For more information on Roar of the Grain, visit www.saturuna.com/roar.
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About the Harold Clurman Laboratory Theater Company
The Harold Clurman Laboratory Theater Company has a long history of excellence in theater in both Los Angeles and New York, having been nominated for three Ovation Awards and three LA Drama Critics Circle Awards since 2011. HCLAB produces the spirit, voice, and theatrical sensibilities of the Stella Adler Studio on a professional level in New York and Los Angeles. For more information, visit https://artofactingstudio.com/center/hclab/.
About Finlandia Foundation National
As the premier Finnish-American cultural organization, Finlandia Foundation National champions a vibrant Finnish-American heritage and legacy, building bridges between modern Finland and the United States and enabling people of all backgrounds to share in the traditions, values, and spirit of Finland and Finnish America. For more information, visit https://finlandiafoundation.org/.
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