EDINBURGH 2023: MANIFEST DESTINY'S CHILD Q&A

BWW catches up with Dennis Trainor Jr to chat about bringing Manifest Destiny's Child to the 2023 Edinburgh Festival Fringe.

Tell us a bit about Manifest Destiny's Child.

My play is about the toxic myth of American Exceptionalism and how America got lost and woke up in the nightmarish hellscape of Trumplandia. Wow—yikes—that sounds very serious and preachy, but I promise, the play is not. 

It's provocative, sure, but it's often intelligently hilarious. 

Listen: it's got sincere calls for political revolution mixed with equal parts self-deprecating humor and a look behind the scenes of one of the craziest U.S. Presidential campaigns ever. I was the original campaign manager for the very fringy, well-meaning, but flawed 2016 Green Party U.S. Presidential nominee, Jill Stein. And there are plenty of left-leaning voters in the U.S. who blame Jill Stein for Donald Trump's victory. Are they correct? Yes. No. Maybe. 

Why did you feel this was an important story to tell?

Like all great stories, the seeds of creation begin to sprout out of the ashes of destruction.

Who else is involved in the creative team?

David Esbjornson, whose long and storied directing career began when he directed the world premiere of Tony Kushner's Angels in America (Eureka Theater), is on board as director. David has directed a staggeringly impressive list and world premiers of plays by Susan-Lori Parks, Edward Albee, and Arthur Miller, among others.

Guy Masterson's Theater Tours International— an Olivier Award Winning, UK-based international touring theatre company—is presenting Manifest Destiny's Child. Theatre Tours International is one of the most highly visible independent theatre companies presenting at the Edinburgh Fringe. 

As you can see, the show is in great hands. 

Who would you like to come and see it?

Anti-capitalists with a sense of humor, capitalists looking for an off-ramp to a better world, and anyone who wants a behind-the-scenes view of U.S. politics from an American who takes a pickaxe to the toxic myth of American Exceptionalism, even as he takes a long—honest look into his privilege, as "child" of the concept of Manifest Destiny. 

And also: you, dear Fringe goer, trying to decide what to see. I've been you. I've been to the Fringe as an audience member several times but never as a performer. So I know the joy that can come from taking a risk on a show that sounds interesting. And if you are still reading this deep into the interview—admit it, you want to see this show. So do it!

What would you like audiences to take away from it?

Wow! I can't give away any spoilers, and I'd hate to prescribe what audiences will take away from the show. But I'm fond of the writer Arundhati Roy who said: "Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing." I hope audiences who come to the show will enjoy some laughs, and maybe, just maybe, we can hear her breathing together.

Tickets are available here: Manifest Destiny's Child | Theatre | Edinburgh Festival Fringe (edfringe.com)

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