Theater at PW: The Wolves

 Marielle Burt ’19 is thrilled to present Sarah DeLappe’s The Wolves this weekend at the PW Downspace; the show runs through March 12th. The production focuses on the lives of nine high school soccer players, providing uncensored insight into their journeys into adulthood through their conversations as they stretch and talk before their games.At its core, Burt reveals that the story of the players is one of multiplicity. Although the players have been growing as a team for years, they each possess a distinct set of experiences that allows them come into their own in different ways. In watching The Wolves, it's clear that each of the players confronts what it means to be a young person differently, while still remaining deeply connected to each other as a team. The cast of The Wolves skillfully caters to the multiplicity of the players through their attention to detail in portraying them. With every facial expression and movement, the cast develops the complex mannerisms of each player, allowing their voices to be amplified against the backdrop of constant conversation. The cast also does an incredible job at embodying the powerful bond between the players, permitting a seamless dialogue that could only be expected from a group of friends that have been growing as a team for years.The multiplicity of The Wolves is as much reflected in the players as it is in the diversity of their discourse. The players engage in a wide range of conversations, from debates about politics, sex, race, feminism, and social sensitivity. They also discuss coping with loss and the transition to college. These exchanges often take place in different overlapping voices, but they are far from distracting. Rather, the layered dialogue provides the audience with snapshots of the different players and their personalities. Due to this, Burt argues The Wolves is almost a “choose your own adventure” experience that allows the audience to tune into different conversations and identify with different characters as the show progresses. Through her portrayal of raw adolescence in The Wolves, Burt provides a nuanced representation of what it means to be a young person in the contemporary. In tackling a diverse range of topics and emotions, the production strikes a balance between humor and seriousness, settling somewhere between orange peel smiles and the pain of loss. Within the space of a single soccer field, Burt’s production of The Wolves perfectly captures the intricacies of growing up and the many forms it can take. The players are as much unique individuals as they are members of a deeply connected group. On stage, they conclude their journey the same way they began, reminding themselves that "we are the wolves".***Content warnings: This show contains a number of topics that may be triggering for some audiences including discussions of race, immigration, sex, the r word, death, mental illness/eating disorders, sexual harassment, and abortionCast:  #00 Danielle Shmidt , #2 Anna Hunt, #7 Martha Epstien, #8 Mia Santomauro, #11 Becca Gever , #13 Bex Neuman-Hammond, #14 Haley Wong, #25 Elise Dadourian, #46 Tara Sharma, Natalie Berger Director: Marielle Burt '19Image credit: Julia Horwitz (design) and Thea Monje (photography)