THE WOLVES
By Sarah DeLappe
Directed by Tonasia Jones
Left quad. Right quad. Lunge. 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.
SEPTEMBER 21-24, 2022
Jackie Liebergott Black Box
All performances open to the public
Tickets available August 2022
World premiere produced by The Playwrights Realm (Katherine Kovner, Artistic Director | Roberta Pereira, Producing Director) on September 8, 2016 and remounted on December 5, 2016 by special arrangement with Scott Rudin and Eli Bush.
Originally presented by New York Stage and Film and Vassar in the Powerhouse Season, Summer 2016.
Playwrights Horizons Theater School produced a workshop of The Wolves in 2015 in association with Clubbed Thumb, where the play had been developed previously.
Winner of the 2016 Sky Cooper New American Play Prize at Marin Theatre Company, Mill Valley, CA Jasson Minadakis, Artistic Director; Keri Kellerman, Managing Director
Produced by Lincoln Center Theater, New York City, 2017
The Wolves is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Samuel French, Inc. www.concordtheatricals.com
Content Advisory: This production includes flashing lights. This play also includes discussions of sexual assault, suicide, war and mass genocide, vehicular trauma, and fatal accident. Use of an ableist slur. Mention and display of an eating disorder. Explorations of periods, abortion, and Plan B.
A note on COVID safety: Please know that as an audience member for any of our performances, you will be required to wear a mask and present your vaccination card or a recent negative Covid test before entering the performance space. Additional safety requirements may be added at any time at the discretion of Emerson College, the City of Boston, and the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Any prospective ticket buyer with concerns about health safety protocols is encouraged to call our Box Office at 617-824-8400.
Special Thanks: Emerson Stage would like to thank the players and coaches of the Emerson College Women's Soccer team for all of their help and support.
This production of The Wolves is dedicated to the memory of Prof. Maureen Shea, PhD who was a long-time member of the Performing Arts Department and frequently directed for Emerson Stage. She taught many generations of students at Emerson College and beyond and leaves a lasting legacy of what it means to be a fierce, focused and passionate theatre-maker. She is deeply missed.
VIEW PRODUCTION MEDIA
Production Photos by Craig Bailey/Perspective Photo. View full album.
Meet the Director
Tonasia Jones
Regional Credits include BLKS (Speakeasy); 3Miles (Huntington); The Elephant in The Room (Central Square); Proclamation (A.R.T); Raza (Front Porch); Legends, Statements, and Stars (The Theater Offensive); The Tempest (Wittenberg University); It’s a Wonderful life (Greater Boston Stage); Pay No Worship (Flat Earth); Octavia & Kleopatra. Assistant Director credits include How I Learned What I Learned (Huntington); The Revolutionists (Central Square); and Saturday Night/Sunday Morning (Lyrics Stage). Tonasia has a BFA in from Emerson College, and trained at Shakespeare Theatre Company D.C. She is located primarily in Boston and travels for freelance opportunities.
A note from
the Dramaturg, Michael Pisaturo
While there is evidence of women playing field-like games akin to soccer as early as China’s Tsin Dynasty in 250 BCE, it was not until the first World War - a time where women began taking part in the industrial workforce - that the first organized women’s soccer matches took place. Just over a year after the first women’s international match between England and Scotland though - as attendance at games skyrocketed to nearly 53,000 - the Football Association issued what would be a decades long ban on women’s matches being held on professional grounds, claiming that “the game of football is quite unsuitable for females and ought not to be encouraged.”
In spite of this setback and the obvious patriarchal pettiness that fueled it, the ban led many rugby leagues to open up their fields to women’s soccer matches and soon prompted the formation of the English Ladies Football Association.
Flash forward almost a century, and we have a group of girls navigating an entirely new host of challenges all the while confronting the same kind of societal pressures faced by those women nearly one hundred years prior. Now with the advent of social media and the complete saturation of our daily feeds with seemingly innumerable issues plaguing every corner of the world, we find ourselves simultaneously closer to and further from said issues than ever before.
In discussing her inspiration behind the play, Sarah DeLappe writes about an experience she had at an exhibit in the New Museum in New York featuring contemporary art from the Middle East and North Africa. “I was walking around and watching all of these metropolitan New Yorkers look at their iPhones in the middle of this incredibly affecting art about suicide bombings, and Syria, and the civil war in Lebanon, and then go back to drinking cold brew or talking about what they were doing that weekend.” The first scene she wrote in fact was “just two simultaneous conversations - one about the Khmer Rouge and one about the efficacy of tampons."
On one end, the Cambodian Genocide of 1975 initiated by the totalitarian Khmer Rouge and its leader - former school-teacher turned tyrant, Pol Pot - slaughtered nearly 2 million civilians through starvation, work exhaustion, and government-led execution and had lasting, traumatic, and destabilizing repercussions felt throughout the globe. On the other, conversations surrounding menstrual products and feminine hygiene - specifically with those whose lives it most directly affects - are shunned from public forums and dismissed as taboo, adding further obstacles to an already mine-filled path young women are forced to traverse when coming of age while having their rights systematically stripped away from them.
These girls exist in a society where they are just as looked down upon for expressing opinions about the world as they are for expressing opinions about their world. Taking place “somewhere in suburban America” as DeLappe puts it, this play adds yet another layer to the aforementioned conflict by situating the team between the epicenters of blue, metropolis and the rural red, where political ambiguity and social repression reign supreme, leaving few opportunities for these incredibly important and deeply intimate conversations to be had anywhere but the closed practices of a recreational soccer team.
With little room for error, the Wolves are forced to pivot between topics of wildly different magnitudes (depending on who you ask) with equal parts comical clumsiness, periodic dissonance, and youthful wisdom, all the while gnawing on an orange slice.
And for that, they deserve everything.
Meet the
Artistic and Production Staff
Assistant Director JAKE TOLENTINO
Assistant Director SOFIA LINDGREN GALLOWAY
Assistant Director EL LEVINSON
Fight/Intimacy Coordinator ELIJAH BROWN
Assistant Scenic Designer MARIEL RICHARDSON
Assistant Costume Designer AMAYA GONZALEZ-MOLLMANN
Wardrobe Supervisor DOM LETTERII
Assistant Lighting Designer ELIJAH GOLDBERG
Production Electrician NARISSA KELLIHER
Lead Electrician LAUREN HODGKINS
Assistant Sound Designer MERCY SUAREZ
Production Sound Engineer SUSAN EYRING
Assistant Production Sound Engineer JO WILLIAMS
Assistant Stage Manager GRACE DINATALE
2nd Assistant Stage Manager FIBY DICHTER
Production Supervisor CHARLIE BERRY
Associate Production Supervisor DELENE BEAUCHAMP
Assistant Production Supervisor SUSAN WEINHARDT
Company Manager BLAKE BERGGREN
Assistant Company Manager HALLE HART
Assistant Company Manager MINA-CLAIRE PAZ-LE DRAOULEC
Run Crew
EMILY BARNETT, ALEX BUNIS, KALSEY CASAS, MATTHEW DANDINO, JOSIE DRING, CORA GLAZER, HOLLY HESSNER, JULIE HYDEN, NATALIE KECKLER, HADYN KELLEY, ZOLA LOPES, ARTHUR MANSAVAGE, LAURA LUCENA MONTES, AVERY PIAZZA, CHIRON SPEIDEL, NINA TUROVSKIY
Cast Bios
LORELEI BARCELOS (she/her)—#00
BFA '24 Theatre and Performance. Emerson Stage debut! Emerson College credit: Compensation (Yogi's Voice). Thanks to my mom! Wouldn't be here without you.
SAMANTHA BOUTUREIRA (she/they)—#8
BFA '24 Acting. Emerson Stage debut! Emerson College credits: All Night: at a party in the suburbs (Riley), When Her Art is No Longer Her Own (C/The Woman), and A Hanukkah Story (Ruth). Thank you to everyone involved for being so supportive and fun to play with. Also, thanks mami and papi; it’s all for you.
ELIJAH BROWN (they/he)—Understudy, #13/#00
BFA '23 Acting. Emerson Stage credits: Men on Boats (Sumner), Marisol (Angel), This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, This Girl Does Nothing (Narrator), and As You Like It (Duke Senior). Emerson College credits: Flawless Brown’s LOUD (Ensemble), and Stop Kiss (Mrs. Winsley/Nurse); Musical Theatre Society’s Pippin (Berthe); and Musical Theatre Against the Grain’s Musical Match Game (Audra McDonald). Much love to this beautiful cast who has spread such an immense amount of love throughout this process. Go Wolves!
GRACE CAMERON (she/her)—Understudy, #11
BFA '23 Theatre and Performance. Emerson Stage debut! Emerson College credits: The Girlie Project, The Banshee of Hawthorne, Jinx, and Darko. Thanks to Sue, Rollie and my friends for all of their support.
ABBY GRIFFITH (she/her)—#11
BFA '24 Theatre and Performance. Emerson Stage credit: RAGE (Ensemble/Understudy, ASSY-MCGEE/WITCH III/CUSTOMER 1). Emerson College credits: National Broadcasting Society's Time of Death (Laura) and Finding Bigfoot (Cordelia). Shout out to her improv troupe SWOMO and her amazing wolves without which soccer would've sucked.
ROSE HANISH—#46
BFA '24 Theatre and Performance. Emerson Stage debut! Emerson College credits: Emerson Independent Video’s Shoot The Messenger (Carter), Lipslide (Izzy), EMTV (Rose), and I Think We Should Break Up (Mar). Thank you to the amazing cast and crew of The Wolves.
GENEVIEVE HOWLEY (she/her)—#2
BFA '24 Theatre and Performance. Emerson Stage credit: The Funeral (Anna). Emerson College credit: Full Fathom's Bethel Park Falls (Lily). Thank you to Mom and Dad, Remy, Lola, Earl, and all my amazing friends and family for all the love and support.
HANNAH NILSSON—Soccer Mom
BFA '24 Theatre Education and Performance. Emerson Stage credits: This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, This Girl Does Nothing (Albienne). Emerson College credits: Dragged (Dawn), Storm Clouds for Lonely Hearts (Claire), and selections from Fatchley (Ensemble). Thank you to all my friends and family for their endless support, and a special thank you to Val Madden and Melissa Healey for being incredible teachers and mentors.
AMARÍS RIOS (she/they)—#13
BFA '24 Musical Theatre. Emerson Stage credit: The Late Wedding (Narrator). Emerson College credits: Rock of Ages (Assistant Director) and Equity Fights AIDS Cabaret (Assistant Director). She's enjoyed working with such a lovely cast and epic director, Tonasia Jones. She wants to thank her mother, grandparents, and Bad Bunny for always encouraging her to be the best version of herself. As el conejo malo would say "que viva la nueva religion."
SARAH SCHMIDT (she/her)—#14 (Understudy, #8)
BFA '24 Theatre and Performance. Emerson Stage debut! Recent credits: Song of the Marsh Wren (Sarah); 1716 Digital's Days of August (Vera); and Emerson Independent Video's Cupid-In-Training (Val) and Floor 13 (Ari). Thanks to Mom, Dad and all my friends for all the support.
MAGGIE SHERIDAN (she/they)—#25
BFA '23 Theatre & Performance. Emerson Stage credit: As You Like It (Orlando). Emerson College credits: Kidding Around’s She Kills Monsters (Tilly); and Musical Theatre Society’s La Cage Aux Folles (Music Director), and Ordinary Days (Music Director). I’d like to thank my dear family and friends for their support, and the genius people who worked to create The Wolves. I am eternally grateful to have found such a generous and wonderful team to experience this work with.
MAYA WEST—#7
BFA '25 Theater & Performance. Emerson Stage debut! Emerson College credits: Mercutio Troupe’s Snatch (Alex), and Emerson Independent Video's Incoherence (Aliyah). Thanks to mom, dad, grandma and grandpa for all the love and support through everything.
Creative Team Bios
ARIANA DOOKHRAN (she/her)—Scenic Designer
BFA '24 Theater Design/Technology. Emerson Stage credits: Everybody (2nd Assistant Scenic Designer), Next to Normal (1st Assistant Scenic Designer, Into the Woods (2nd Assistant Costume Designer), and Old Jake's Skirts (1st Assistant Costume Designer). Upcoming credits: emShake's A Midsummer Night's Dream (Scenic Designer), and EVVY42 (Scenic Designer) Thank you to my family for their support. Thank you to Luciana, my mentor, and thanks to Emma, my best friend, for always being there.
RYAN BATES—Props Lead
Emerson Stage credits: This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, This Girl Does Nothing, Corduroy, and Everybody. Ryan is the Props Director for Emerson Stage and has worked as a props lead and scenic designer throughout New England, including productions at New Repertory Theatre, Bridge Repertory Theatre, The Umbrella, Gloucester Stage Company, InMotion Theatre, Middlebury College, Longwood Players, Off the Grid, Fresh Ink, and many more. Ryan teaches Stagecraft at Emerson and has served on the faculty at Boston University. MFA: Boston University. www.ryanbatesdesign.com
TRIXIE WARD (she/her)—Costume Designer
BFA '23 Theater Design/Technology. Emerson Stage credits: Into the Woods (Assistant Costume Designer), As You Like It (Costume Designer), Baltimore (Assistant Costume Designer), Interior of the Artist Without Her Sister (Costume Designer), Marisol (Wardrobe Supervisor), This Golden Day (Assistant Costume Designer), and The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Assistant Wardrobe Supervisor). Emerson College credits: Full Fathon's Fefu and Her Friends (Costume Designer); Mercutio Troupe's The Room In The Attic (Costume Designer), and Hush Hush (Costume Designer); EVVY40 (Co-Wardrobe Stylist); and EVVY39 (Assistant Wardrobe Stylist).
MILLER KOPPANG (any pronouns)—Lighting Designer
BFA '22 Theatre and Performance and Theatre Design/Technology. Emerson Stage credits: Into the Woods (Assistant Lighting Designer), RAGE (Co-Production Electrician), and This Girl Laughs... (Assistant Sound Designer). Emerson College credit: Mercutio Troupe's When Her Art is No Longer Her Own (Lighting Designer). Other credit: Central Square Theatre's The Half Life of Marie Curie (Assistant Sound Designer). An incredibly special thank you to their family: Judy, Josh, Brook, Ethan, Nicole, Avery, Calvin Ray, Baz and Lisa for their continued support and unconditional love. Go Wolves!
SARAH MILLER—Sound Designer
BFA '24 Theatre Design/Technology. Emerson Stage credits: RAGE (Sound Designer), Next to Normal (Production Sound Engineer), Marie Antoinette (Assistant Scenic Designer), Baltimore (Assistant Production Sound Engineer), The Late Wedding (Assistant Sound Designer), Spring Awakening (Assistant Production Sound Engineer), and Marisol (Assistant Sound Designer). Emerson College credit: RareWorks Theatre Company's sub (Associate Sound Designer). Thank you to my momma, my dad, and all my lovely friends for everything they do to support me.
MOLLY BERCUTT (she/her)—Stage Manager
BFA '22 Stage & Production Management. Emerson Stage credits: As You Like It (1st Assistant Stage Manager), Marie Antoinette (Production Supervisor), Interior of the Artist Without Her Sister (Assistant Production Supervisor), The Resistible Rise of Arturo Ui (2nd Assistant Stage Manager), Amanuensis, Or the Miltons (Production Assistant), and The Last Days of Judas Iscariot (Assistant Production Supervisor). Emerson College credits: EVVY41 (1st Assistant Stage Manager) and EVVY40 (Assistant Stage Manager). All of my love and my thanks to: my father, Lynn and Spider, Grace and Fiby, this lovely cast and production team, Keely and my dear Elena. Go Wolves!
MICHAEL PISATURO (he/him)—Dramaturg
MFA '23 Theatre Education & Applied Theatre. Emerson Stage credit: This Girl Laughs, This Girl Cries, This Girl Does Nothing (Education Coordinator). Dramaturgical credits: Berserker (Kennedy Center), Act Up & Vote! (Central Square Theater). Theatre Criticism credits: Fresh Ink Theatre Company (Script Evaluator), Campfire Theatre Festival (Semi-Finalist Script Evaluator), KCACTF (NAPAT Award Respondent). Other credits: Association for Theatre in Higher Education National Conference (New Play Development Fellow), 38th Annual William Inge Theatre Festival (New Play Lab Playwright), 44th Annual Samuel French Off-Off Broadway Festival (Top 30 Finalist), KCACTF Gary Garrison Ten Minute Play Award (National Finalist). https://newplayexchange.org/users/13534/michael-pisaturo
Meet the
Emerson Stage Staff
STAFF
Artistic Director—Annie G. Levy
General Manager—David Colfer
Assistant General Manager—Joshua M. Feder
Production Manager—Timothey Sullivan
Technical Director—Kristin Knutson
Props Director—Ryan Bates
Costume Shop Supervisor—Richelle Devereaux-Murray
Resident Sound Designer—Elizabeth Cahill
Head Carpenter—Connor Thompson
Scenic Painter—Joe Keener
Sound Technician—Steven Deptula
Assistant Costume Shop Supervisor—Becky Thorogood
Draper/Cutter—Laurie Bramhall
Assistant Properties Manager—Lauren Corcuera
ADVISORS
Stage and Production Management—Debra A. Acquavella
Interim Stage and Production Management—Cate Agis
Scenic Design—Luciana Stecconi
Scenic Painting—Joe Keener
Costume Design—Tristan Raines
Lighting Design—Scott Pinkney
Sound Design—Elizabeth Cahill
Fight/Intimacy—Ted Hewlett
Dramaturgy—Marissa Friedman
STUDENT STAFF
Emerson Stage Office Assistants— Alex Tawid Di Maggio, Jake Tolentino, Esther Chilson, Karli Fisher, Carly Mentis, Samantha Duggan
Production Management Assistants—Carleigh Allen and Olivia Tighe
Videographers—Xiao Chen and Juanes Serrano
Scenic Technicians—Casper Apodaca, Jonah Barricklo, Sean Dougherty, Marco Giacona, Emerson Hart, Davis Kranchalk, Dylan Norris, Mercy Suarez, Elise Tuckwood
Scenic Artists/Painters—Sofia Goldfarb, Fernando Rueda, Elizabeth Fuire, David Staats, Katherine Kendrick, Sarah Stevens, Alex Mollo
Paint Shop Assistant—Sophie Hartstein
Prop Shop Assistant—Delene Beauchamp, Amaya Gonzalez-Mollmann, Oliver Hawke, Mariel Richardson, Ava Scanlon, Mercy Suarez
Stitchers—Amaris Rios, Ava-Sofia Settoon, David Estabrooks, Dom Letterii, Greta Morgan, Lorence Jones-Perpich, Munroe Shearer, Tayla Dixon, Trixie Ward
Costume Shop Office Assistant—Zhiyan Jin
Laundry Assistants—Angelina Parillo
Stock Attendants—Lucile Lyon, Megan Decker, and Aleah Bloom