Ohio Northern University Prepares to Tackle Sarah Delappe's "The Wolves"

An extremely talented group of ladies at Ohio Northern University (ONU) are less than a week away from opening the show, "The Wolves," by Sarah DeLappe. The show premiered off-Broadway at The Playwright's Realm in 2016. It was met with rave reviews and received a finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in drama.

DeLappe's new play was found last year on a website called, "New Play Exchange," by ONU acting professor, Brian Sage. After contacting DeLappe's agents, Sage was able to put the play in the 2017-2018 season. ONU is one of the first places to put on this piece since the New York City premiere. The show is summarized by the New Play Exchange's website with the following: "A girls indoor soccer team warms up. From the safety of their suburban stretch circle, the team navigates big questions and wages tiny battles with all the vim and vigor of a pack of adolescent warriors. A portrait of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for nine American girls who just want to score some goals." The characters are known by their numbers and personality traits and the only other character in the play is a soccer mom.

Producing such a new work presented challenges for the cast. The dialogue in the play is set up so during warmups more than one conversation is going on at the same time. Cast members admitted to having trouble trying to figure out what was happening when they first started. Haley Ward, who plays the team's captain, recommends seeing the show more than once in order to focus in on one conversation at a time. I plan on following Ward's advice.

The technical aspects of the show were not tough to execute. The biggest requirement for the set is to use AstroTurf on the stage so the girls can execute their soccer drills without the balls flying everywhere. The costumes simply consist of soccer uniforms. The scene shop was also able to reuse the metal beams from the production of "Carrie: The Musical" which took place in the Stambuagh Studio Theatre in the fall 2017 semester.

Under the direction of Dr. Joan Robbins, the cast of "The Wolves," is ready to put up their work. After many long rehearsals and soccer practices they had to attend at the Bluffton Recreation Center's indoor soccer fields, the actresses in this show have gained soccer skills and really learned what it means to be a team.

The show is being staged in the Stambaugh Studio Theatre in the Freed Center for the Performing Arts at Ohio Northern University. Information about tickets can be found by clicking here. Find the time to go see this fierce new piece of theatre. You won't regret it!