‘The Wolves’: USU’s first theatre production of the semester
Theater pushes on despite the pandemic. With numerous safety measures in place, Utah State University’s Department of Theatre Arts invites you to experience the drama of the award-winning play “The Wolves.”
Cleats tied, whistles’ blown. The nine players of a high school girl’s soccer team, the Wolves, stretch out before their indoor soccer matches. Many of the girls have known each other for years as a team as well as school mates, leading to both friendship and feuds. In the mix is a cast of high school archetypes: the mouthy bully, the dumb one, the quiet one, the new girl, the jokester and the one who always has to be right. Each of their unique personalities shines throughout to form a spunky exhibit of adolescence.
Over the course of several Saturdays, the girls’ natural conversations slowly reveal inner insecurities, unique quirks, personal struggle, jealousy and ignorance. They unintentionally learn womanhood’s cruel reality and life’s ups and down from personal and second-hand experiences shared in-between high knees drills. Though many of these interactions lead to the players at each other’s throats, they’re still a team.
“The Wolves” was written by Sarah Delappe and first premiered off-Broadway in 2016, being nominated for a Pulitzer Prize for drama the following year. In 2016, it won the Sky Cooper New American Play Prize.
Modern in pacing, language and subject matter, the show is driven by its dialogue. Sets, props and movements are limited, placing the brunt of the story on the character’s organic banter, which is masterfully stylized.
“As often happens with energetic girls,” director Michael Shipley explained, “the conversations happen at the same time, overlapping and intertwined. You probably won’t catch everything that’s said … and that’s part of the point. The stories of these young women are woven together like a symphony, where we sometimes catch individual instruments and sometimes feel the entire orchestration wash over us.”
As a creative work, “The Wolves” is fresh, upbeat and personal. USU’s stellar theatre program enhances it to perfection under the direction of Michael Shipley, assistant professor of acting, voice and speech.
“The Wolves” is USU’s theater’s first production of the semester and the first since the start of the pandemic.
“And I just want to reiterate how unique it is that we are able to perform live and in person,” Michael Shipley said, “As I’m sure you know, universities across the country have canceled their productions or moved them online. The Caine College of the Arts and the Department of Theatre Arts has worked very hard to make this happen.”
To make these live performances possible, all audience members are required to wear masks. Social distancing is enforced through online seating selection and limited seating capacity. Going a step beyond to ensure the actor’s safety, masks are incorporated into the costumes as part of the girls’ uniforms.
Acting is an art expressed from every body part and most typically the face, but the show’s actresses rise to the challenge of face masks and prove there is no restriction on skilled acting. The masks do not take away from the show and make it feel even more natural and intimate, once again showing the performers’ talents. Their line delivery will have you feeling like one of the girls stretching out your quads and eating orange slices.
Performances opened on Tuesday, Oct. 6, and will run every night through Oct. 10 at 7:30 p.m. in the Morgan Theatre. Saturday, Oct. 10 will have a 1 p.m. matinee showing as well as a regular evening show. Tickets are free for students and $10 for faculty and staff. Be sure to reserve your tickets online beforehand and don’t forget your masks.
Be advised the show uses strong language and touches on mature themes that may be offensive or unsettling to some audiences.
For more information or to reserve tickets, visit https://theatre.usu.edu/performances/wolves.
Dara Lusk was born and raised in northern Virginia outside of Washington, DC. She is majoring in English with an emphasis in Technical/Professional Writing and a minor in Anthropology. When not writing she loves reading and annotating classic literature.
@dara_marie_