Handbook of Civilian Defense (What Every Loyal American Can Do To Help The United States Win The War)

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JUVENILIA at Suffolk University, Boston will be introducing an original play with music by Wesley Savick to the 75th annual Edinburgh Festival Fringe this August.

About Handbook of Civilian Defense (What Every Loyal American Can Do To Help The United States Win The War)

JUVENILIA at Suffolk University will be introducing an original play with music by Wesley Savick to the 75th annual Edinburgh Festival Fringe in Scotland this August.

Handbook of Civilian Defense (What Every Loyal American Can Do To Help The United States Win The War: A word-for-word theatrical adaptation (with original music) of the 1942 government handbook published to prepare families for uncertainty and violence, then and now.

This world premiere production summons the anxiety, ignorance and hopefulness of an eighty-year-old public service announcement to awaken 21st century world citizenship. The show will be making its world premiere at Festival Fringe and will be remounted at Suffolk's Modern Theatre in September 2022.

A fortuitous discovery while visiting his mother led Savick to write Handbook. He elaborates, "The impetus for Handbook was entirely unexpected: While visiting home last summer, my mother unearthed a long forgotten 'Handbook of Civilian Defense' from her basement. I immediately saw in this artifact a theatrical opportunity to illuminate our current American moment, fraught as it is with anxiety, the threat of violence and the impulse for ordinary civilians to assert agency in the face of tumultuous change. The original 'Handbook' from 1942 was a preparation for catastrophe which tried to preempt panic. Our production of the 'Handbook' is a wake-up call meant to galvanize awareness of the dangers we currently face and still be very funny."

It was with this dutiful urgency that Savick adapted the 'Handbook'; recognizing that it was undoubtedly the production that JUVENILIA should debut at Festival Fringe. JUVENILIA is a special initiative at Suffolk University which serves as a bridge for our theatre majors to transition from academia to the professional world. Our aim is to create original work which challenges the status quo, both theatrically and politically.

Edinburgh Festival Fringe draws together artists, arts industry, media and audiences from over 150 countries. JUVENILIA's mission is to nurture, promote and produce adventurous work with a company of actors, directors, playwrights, stage managers and designers comprised of Suffolk University alumni. This will be the first time that JUVENILIA and The Suffolk University Theatre Department will be bringing a production to Festival Fringe.

A word-for-word theatrical adaptation (with original music) of the 1942 government handbook published to prepare families for uncertainty and violence, then and now.

This world premiere production written by Wesley Savick, summons the anxiety, ignorance and hopefulness of an eighty-year-old public service announcement to awaken 21st century world citizenship.

"Handbook's" traveling company is comprised of a cast of six Suffolk alumni: Adriana Alvarez [SU '19], Anastasia Taso Bolkwadze [SU '21], Andrew Bourque [SU '17], Liam Grimaldi [SU '20], Emma Hudd [SU '22], and Alex Pollock [SU '06] and includes additional Suffolk alumni Kevin J.P. Hanley [SU '17] (Production Supervisor), Kendyl Trott [SU '22] (Stage Manager) and Aisling Mehigan [SU '18] (Marketing/Promotions).

Suffolk Professor Wesley Savick (Playwright, Music and Lyrics) will be directing with MIT Assistant Professor Sara Brown as Design Collaborator: Costume/Set and Bozkurt Karasu, Design Collaborator: Sound/Lights. JUVENILIA was slated to participate in the 2020 Festival Fringe, but was sidelined due to the pandemic. Now that travel restrictions have eased, JUVENILIA is excited to be representing Suffolk University on the global stage and exposing international audiences to its company and original, theatrical work.

Tickets on sale at tinyurl.com/HandbookFringe

Venue 209: GREENSIDE at 25 Nicolson Square, EH8 9BX in the LIME STUDIO

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