I don’t believe there was a more viscerally tempestuous and discombobulated time in my young life than when I was fully immersed in team sports. Questionably coordinated and ravaged by hormones, every all-girls team I played on–whether it was my lacrosse team, basketball team, field hockey team, or, of course, soccer team–I was acting out every anxiety, confusion and frustration I experienced as tween and teen through meticulously coordinated drills and furiously paced practices and games. The violence I possessed and that I felt routinely acted out on me as a girl and young woman had a home on the field or court alongside my peers and friends who felt the same ineffable sentiments.
Even more critically, being a girl playing team sports was something profoundly unique and monumental all on its own. The desires, the antipathy, the pettiness, the countless social intricacies, the alienation, and the voyeurism of parents and even the patriarchy at large was magnified, intensified and deeply complicated the minute we entered the sports realm as girls.
So to have a play as prescient and deftly written as Sarah DeLappe’s The Wolves in an era where the stories and voices of girls and women–in their infinite complexities–are being more and more prioritized and uplifted is a remarkable boon for all the girls who forged part of their identity on the field or court. The Wolves, which premiered in 2016 at The Duke and was nominated for a Pulitzer in 2017, is all at once a celebration of the athleticism and devotion of teenage female athletes and an exploration of the myriad challenges, relationships, social eruptions, and more experienced on a regular basis by these young women.
Carrying on a tradition of producing exhilarating and meaningful theatre, Point Park Conservatory will take to the field to face-off with DeLappe’s dynamic play. Point Park alumna and creative powerhouse Rachel M. Stevens returns to Pittsburgh to direct the young women of The Wolves in an electric and unforgettable show. Pittsburgh in the Round spoke with Rachel about her artistic journey and thoughts on bringing such impactful material to life.
Rachel M. Stevens
What has your artistic journey leading up to this production looked like?
It’s really exciting to be working in the new Playhouse. As a student at Point Park, I of course studied at the playhouse in Oakland and loved that experience. However, it’s exhilarating to see the new technology and great professional spaces at the students’ disposal. The emphasis on craft is just as rich and thoughtful as it’s ever been, now there’s a new space to boot, which is fantastic. I have loved every second of working with the student community at Point Park. From the very start, the students have shown incredible professionalism, grit, heart and courage. It’s been a deeply fulfilling experience to revisit a community I love with a new generation of artists.
How is working in PGH a unique experience for you, particularly at a school and in a theatrical community that you have a deep connection to?
Prior to this Conservatory season at the University, I was in conversations with former Artistic Director Ron Lindblom about projects that might bring me back to Point Park. We talked about The Wolves as a great vehicle for working with the students, and I was pleased to get the offer for this season. I’m very excited to be returning to my Alma Mater to work with the student community. I’ve had the pleasure of working in Pittsburgh a few times already with Front Porch Theatricals, Quantum Theatre and City Theatre and am always very excited to work with my colleagues in Pittsburgh and expand my relationships with the Pittsburgh artist community. I am currently based in New York, working as a director, teaching artist and coach and treasure every opportunity I have to get back to my roots where I first studied and honed my love of theater making.
In relation to The Wolves, what specifically draws you to a play like this, and what do you bring to such a show?
What draws me to this play is its unfiltered exploration of teenage self discovery–all at once
The fiercely talented cast of “The Wolves”
chaotic, painful, raw and thrilling. The play honors a young person’s experience of navigating their individual identity while being part of a team. The structure alone is really challenging and meaty for a director, in that the dialogue overlaps almost constantly, creating an orchestra of voices where the audience must sift out conversations to piece together relationships and events. As a director who cherishes ensemble driven stories, it’s my responsibility to facilitate a space where the company has the room and the safety to discover the complexities of their characters and their relationships as a team – I think that’s one of the most important things I hoped to bring to this process, a sense of openness and safety to explore.
Why The Wolves? What is the significance of this play, and what elements of the show are most striking and impactful?
It’s a unique opportunity to share a story where young women are the sole focus. The play unabashedly depicts all that is wonderful and terrifying about growing up a young woman today, without being eclipsed by the presence of adults or their male counterparts. It’s a special opportunity to see young women defined not by their sex but by their spirit and that’s probably what is most impactful–that and it’s pretty exciting to see actors actually play soccer on stage.
(L to R) Jordan Marie McMillan as #25; Elise Dorsey as #00
What relationship did you have with The Wolves prior to working on this production? How has your relationship evolved throughout rehearsals and pre-production?
I was fortunate enough to see a beautiful production of The Wolves at Lincoln Center Theater in New York and fell in love with the play after that. Once I’d seen the play, I immediately got copy and read it over and over. When I saw it, I just remembered the feeling of the play and how it touched me but I needed to live with the characters more to really get a grasp on the story in more detail. This was even before I knew I’d be working on it in the future. I was enamored by the characters and wanted to know more, so I studied the play and that’s when I really got to understand it more completely.
I’ve fallen even more deeply in love with the play because of the actors I’ve had the great fortune to be working with on this production. Like most pieces, I started the process with a road map for the play, but the ensemble we put together brings it to life from their unique perspective and interpretation, and now we are truly a wolf pack. Working with the acting ensemble at Point Park in collaboration with the Point Park Pioneers Women’s Soccer Team
Ashlyn Prieto as #13
who choreographed the show, has been such a powerful experience. I can no longer read the play without thinking about our bond and the world we’ve created together.
If you had to summarize the “what to expect” of this production for unfamiliar audiences in one sentence, what would you say?
Contained by the walls of a suburban sports dome, a female soccer team openly explores the great challenges involved in forging an individual identity while being a part of a team- expect a slice of life roller coaster ride as a team of young women work out the challenges growing up together on the field.
The Wolves runs Feb. 21-March 8 at the Highmark Theatre at the Pittsburgh Playhouse. A talk-back with the cast, Stevens and Point Park University’s Women’s Soccer Team will be held Feb. 22. For tickets and more information, visit the production site.
Pre-production Photography Credit: John Altdorfer
Categories: Feature