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The ensemble cast of “Battle of the Books,” which opens Friday night at Andy’s Summer Playhouse in Wilton. -
A member of the crew creating a bookshelf for the set of “Battle of the Books.” -
The cast of “Battle of the Books” rehearses at Andy’s Summer Playhouse in Wilton. -
A scene from “Battle of the Books” at Andy’s Summer Playhouse in Wilton. -
The youth crew works on the sets of “Battle of the Books,” which opens Friday at Andy’s Summer Playhouse in Wilton. -
ABOVE: “Battle of the Books,” by playwright SMJ, opens Friday evening at Andy’s Summer Playhouse in Wilton. -
“Battle of the Books,” by playwright SMJ, opens Friday evening at Andy’s Summer Playhouse in Wilton. -
The cast of “Battle of the Books” at Andy’s Summer Playhouse in Wilton. -
A cast member takes center stage during rehearsal of “Battle of the Books” at Andy’s Summer Playhouse. -
The cast of “Battle of the Books” preparing for Friday’s opening night at Andy’s Summer Playhouse in Wilton. -
The crew at Andy’s Summer Playhouse creating the backdrop for “Battle of the Books.” -
Crew members confer as they create the set for “Battle of the Books.”
Monadnock Ledger Transcript
Playwright SMJ drew on childhood memories to write “Battle of the Books,” a main stage play which opens Friday, July 25, at Andy’s Summer Playhouse in Wilton.
“I grew up in Mount Vernon, Ohio, and I was on the ‘Battle of the Books’ team as a kid. I was telling Jess (Honovich) about it, and we realized it had all the elements that make a great story. It has competition, drama, suspense and it’s a great story for an ensemble cast,” SMJ said.
“Battle of the Books” is directed by Emily Bubeck, with dramaturgy by Jess Honovich.
SMJ said telling a story about books is especially poignant at a moment when book-banning is “one the rise again.”
“Hearing about what is happening in public schools with the book bans, when you think about what the kids have to deal with — they are living in more and more tumultuous times,” SMJ said. “How do you just be a kid?”
The play is based partly on SMJ’s real-life experiences competing.
“For Battle of the Books, the kids were on teams of five or six kids, and we had a list of 100 books we had to read. You would read as many books as you could, and then all the teams would compete in trivia about the books,” he said. “You just tried to remember a much detail as you could, and you would battle the other teams for who knew the most.”
SMJ says he came from a family that struggled financially, and that his teachers, particularly his choir teacher, changed the course of his life.
“Hearing about all the assaults on public schools now, about the book bans and attacks on teachers, it made me think about all the families like mine who really struggled, and how important books and school were for a kid like me,” he said. “With the book bans, what you have is adults who don’t actually live in the community trying to dictate what kids can and can’t handle. As educators, we try to help kids cope with what is already happening in their lives, about what they are already dealing with, the struggles they are trying to handle on their own. The books don’t create the issues; the issues are already there.”
SMJ’s first play at Andy’s, “Waffle House,” performed in 2023, was “a love letter to lower middle classes.”
“That play is about people’s daily struggles; how it has become harder and harder to make enough to money fund your life. It’s about the daily struggle, and how you just try to put your best foot forward,” he said.
“Battle of the Books,” which SMJ began writing in 2023, reflects some of the struggles SMJ had as a child as well as the issues he sees children facing today.
“It’s about kids trying to take their own destinies in hand, about making them feel empowered. It’s a coming-of-age story; it has heart, and it’s also a comedy,” SMJ said.
The play has a 22-member ensemble cast.
“Everyone has a role. For some of the kids, it is their first time having a speaking role. We have a wide range of skills to work with, including a lot of non-speaking roles,” SMJ said.
A former student and teacher of mime, SMJ has a passion for nonspeaking roles. As a teen, he attended the School of Youth Mime Theater, which operated for many years out of Kenyon College in Gambier, Ohio. Legendary mime Marcel Marceau taught at the school for three years.
“At the time, I was a football player, but I think my choir teacher, who was a huge influence in my life, could tell I was looking for something else,” SMJ said.
SMJ has now brought the mime school to Andy’s Summer Playhouse.
“For a long time, School for Youth Mime Theater was the only school for mime for kids under 18 in the country, and it ended in 2013,” he said. “I reached out to Jared (Mezzochi) last year and said I wanted to teach mime. No one else teaches mime to kids. So I came and taught mime for a week, and we’re revitalizing the School for Youth Mime Theater at Andy’s, and we’re super-excited about it.”
In addition to incorporating some mime skills into “Battle of the Books,” SMJ has written a mime play inspired by the music of Taylor Swift, which will be performed at Andy’s July 28 and 29.
“Some of these kids who are doing mime came back from last year, and we also have a new troupe this year, which is exciting. For kids who might be more reluctant to speak, mime bridges the gap for enabling them to perform. It is perfect theater for people who are not confident speaking, because you don’t really need to say a word to present the most fun and confident version of yourself. It’s a really important skill you don’t experience any where else,” SMJ said.
The School for Youth Mime Theater at Andy’s will present “Swift” at 7 p.m. on July 28 and 29.
“Battle of the Books” opens on Friday night, July 25. For a complete schedule of shows at Andy’s or to purchase tickets, go to andyssummerplayhouse.org/.