The Wolves Performance Review: A Mastery of Teamwork

I attended the second showing of The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe at 8 p.m. on Feb. 1, 2019 located in the David Thayer Theatre at the University of Iowa Theatre Building. Before attending the performance, I had no idea what the synopsis of the play was going to be about. I wanted to walk into the theatre ready for a surprise. Was this going to be a play about the wild wolves living in the country? Was this going to be a play about a boy or girl living in the wild being raised by wolves? I was wrong on my guesses. This performance is about an all-female indoor soccer team growing up in present-day America. This performance tackled the personal lives of the girls, life, current events happening around the world, gossip, genocide, pop culture, and their friendships and relationships with one another. Growing up from a girl to women and experiencing puberty is one of the most challenging features for a girl. In today’s society, it’s stereotypical to associate a strong animal like a wolf to a men’s soccer team. But with the #MeToo movement going on today, girls are more empowering than ever before. DeLappe could have easily called them “The Wolvettes” but that would deter from the message she wants to portray. The wolf is a symbol of guardianship, ritual, loyalty, and spirit. Wolves teach us to trust our hearts and take control over our own lives. Players on The Wolves portray these different characteristics in their own unique ways. The Wolves are breaking barriers.

There are many themes portrayed in DeLappe’s play, The Wolves. In my opinion, I think the overall umbrella theme is teamwork. The players on the team engage in stretching and drills before each game. As they warmed up, they were able to share ideas, secrets, events happing in their lives and the world, and the stress they experience from people they are in contact with on a daily basis. The girls learn to pick up their teammates and play the game of soccer for each other not themselves. There is no ‘I’ in team. Under the umbrella theme is two more smaller, focused themes that relate separately to the girls. Identity is a challenge that the girls face in this production by figuring out the best way to fit in with the rest of the girls. They all want to be good teammates as well as have their own identity on the team. Status is also portrayed by the girls. Every girl has their own job on the team and throughout the performance audience members see it fluctuate for each of the girls.

Before diving into how well the production succeed in communicating the theme of the play, it’s important to briefly introduce the members of The Wolves. #11 is very knowledgeable about the world and has an advantage in academics. #25 is the team captain and makes sure the girls stay focused. #13 is the loud mouth on the team and is in to drugs and alcohol. #46 is the new girl in town. #2 is caring, friendly, and has an eating disorder. #7 uses explicit language to show her emotions and feelings. #14 is good friends with #7. #8 uses stupidity to make her team like her. #00 suffers from anxiety and strives to be the best.

Teamwork can be seen in various ways during the performance. The first example that I noticed was that their warm ups provided a filter-free communication circle. They discussed current events like the Khmer Rouge, personal problems, and even their periods. This circle was where they could joke around and even dive deep into their lives. Every drill was done in unison with each other which shows good teamwork. The team also practices the “spider web” drill in perfect unison. #14 chases after #7 after she gets in trouble from #25, the captain, to make sure that was okay. #00 suffers from anxiety and throws up before each game. She works herself too hard to the point where she makes herself sick. One of her teammates sits by her side until she finished her episode. One of my favorite scenes was the orange slices and selfie scene. After their hard work in the game, they can goof around putting orange slices in their mouths and take selfies. Identity and status affect the girls physically and mentally. This team is full of judgement and gossip which is a flaw in the team. #46 makes pregnancy jokes about #7 who had an abortion. #8 makes racial remarks about Mexicans to #14 until #8 finds out that she is Armenian. The players on the team have the mentality that they have to be better than their teammates and this factor results in heated tension amongst the team.

The acting in the performance helped the communication of the theme. This production is about an all-female indoor soccer. I thought the stage was very creative having the AstroTurf field in the center and having the audience in the bleachers on opposite sides of the field. The girls acted very naturally without acknowledging there was an audience. The acting helped portray the theme of teamwork by showing unison while the girls stretched and practiced drills. There was so much action and movement in the play. I think it was necessary to constant action and movement because this is about a soccer team. A team doesn’t just sit around and shoot the breeze. They can actively and verbally be engaged with each other while playing soccer. The audience was able to be a part of the soccer huddle and experience what goes on with a female soccer team. I think DeLappe told the team’s upsides and downsides truthfully under imaginary circumstances.

All of the actors used their voices well. I could hear everything they were saying because the words were clearly articulated. The acoustics in the black box theatre also helped the performance. There were some instances where players forgot their lines and stumbled over some of their lines. This happened during some of the heated scenes where the intensity and amplification of their voices took control which caused a stumble over some lines. Another example is when the girls were stretching in the circle. There were many different conversations with the player next to them or the player across from them which made it hard to focus on their lines instead of the other conversations. Overall, the team’s voices resonated clearly with a few exceptions on the field.

The actors moved very well, and their bodies were connected to everything that was happening on the field. The physical expression matched their vocal expression in a few scenes that stood out to me. In the middle of the performance the girls formed 3 groups of 2 and 1 group of three to practice drills before the game. I call this scene the “spotlight scene” because as audience was drawn into the different conversations of the groups the spotlight shined on one group at a time. The rest of the groups were frozen. #2 and #13 talked about concussions and the reason why #2 is wearing the black head protector. #7 and #14 talk about vacation and throwing a party at #7’s house because her parents were going to be away. #8, #11, and #46 talk about a strange service found on the internet and joke around about how silly and disturbing it is. During these scenes where one group was in the spotlight, the audience was able to concentrate on the physical expression and vocal expression of the girls while they practiced. Another example is when #7 uses what is called an “external” specifically an “bodily adjustment” to physically and verbally express herself. #7 suffered an injury and was using crutches to support herself and walk to practice not realizing the team was gossiping about her. Her body was fuming with anger, and she had an unpleasant look on her face which resulted in her releasing a storm of explicit language to demean the team.

In conclusion, the actors listened to one another and were connected to each other which made this a successful cast for DeLappe’s production of The Wolves. This is a story about a broken soccer team dribbling and passing the challenges of growing up as a girl in America. From gossip to talking about their personal lives, the heat and intensity built up by the team slowly breaks them down to the point where they almost don’t have enough players to compete in the tournament. It is not until the end of the performance that we see the team reuniting and talking out their problems using a softer tone with their voices at school. They get the news that one of their teammates was tragically killed while out jogging at night. Death brings people together, especially when it was one their teammates. The girls come to the realization that change and forgiveness are needed to restore the pack together. They are friends. They are sisters. They are “The Wolves”.