Finland survived WWII in no small part to the resilient and courageous women of Lotta Svärd: the volunteer auxiliary paramilitary unit of Finland (now defunct). My grandmother was a member. She assembled gas masks in a secret location to prevent the Russians from bombing the factories. The character of “Kaisa” (played by Anja Racić @racicanja) in the upcoming stage reading of my new play, ROAR OF THE GRAIN, is inspired by her. ROAR OF THE GRAIN. @roarofthegrain A new play. Inspired by true events.  Written by Satu @saturuna Live Stage Reading Presented by HCLAB & Karakuva (@kara.kuva) Thursday, October 23, 2025 Art of Acting Studio @artofactingstudio Los Angeles, CA TICKETS: https://aoa.ludus.com/200500615 Directed by Johnny Patrick Yoder @johnnypatrickyoder ENSEMBLE: Josh Swezey @joshswezey Anja Racić @racicanja Steve J. Palmer @steve_j_palmer Patrick Jon Rivers @patrick_jon_rivers Victor Montez @viktoremontez Teodora Avramovic @teodora.avramovic and Mary Leveridge @mary_leveridge KICKSTARTER (ends 10/25): https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/satu/roar-of-the-grain-stage-reading/ Can you hear the Roar of the Grain? [Photos used with permission courtesy of the Thérèse Bonney archive in UC Berkeley] #LATheater #WWII #Finland #Suomi #Sisu #LATheatre #WomenofWWII