From THE WOLVES’ Dramaturg, Michael Pisaturo
Wolves hunt in packs.
And in every pack, there is an order.
A system of intricate social dynamics.
A defined hierarchy of power.
In a pack, every member knows their place.
And they know that above all else… they must protect one another.
The Wolves follows a team of young women playing for a recreational soccer league digging their cleats in as they navigate the complex currents of modern-day adolescence, facing off against athletic opponents as well as their own inner demons.
Playwright Sarah DeLappe likens it to a war movie, with all the emotional magnitude and military-like precision of men preparing for battle dropped onto a field of AstroTurf. In DeLappe’s own words, what we have at the core of this play is “a portrait of teenage girls as human beings – as complicated, nuanced, very idiosyncratic people who weren’t just girlfriends or sex objects or manic pixie dream girls but who were athletes and daughters and students and scholars and people who were trying actively to figure out who they were in this changing world around them.”
In humanizing a faction of the population that is so often dismissed by mainstream society, The Wolves puts a stadium-sized spotlight on a host of issues that have never been more relevant and shows us what it looks like for a group of girls to confidently reclaim the space and time that they rightfully deserve yet are so rarely granted.
Be prepared to eavesdrop on conversations that we do not usually hear.
Be prepared to witness intimate rituals that we do not usually see.
Be prepared to experience the trials and tribulations of a community ruthlessly fending for themselves, but always remembering to protect the pack.
And don’t forget to grab an orange slice on the way.
