CSUDH Theatre play tackles tough topics on and off the pitch
The CSUDH Theatre is getting ready to run with The Wolves. The department’s latest production kicks off a six-day showcase at the Edison Theatre starting Nov. 30.
Written by 2017 Pulitzer Prize finalist Sarah DeLappe, The Wolves is a coming-of-age story about a high school girls’ soccer team. Featuring an all-female cast, the play explores the bond between nine teammates as they prepare to take the pitch. Over the course of several games, the teammates share their thoughts on several hard-hitting topics, including substance abuse, racism, bullying, and genocide.
The play is directed by Theatre Arts faculty member Kelly Herman, who said the play’s themes of self-worth and identity are young womanhood, acceptance, inclusion, and finding one’s voice.
“I think we lose track of who we are sometimes when we get wrapped up in groups,” Herman said. “But yet, we’re still an individual within a group and I think that’s the point that we’ve been working on.”
During the play, the nine teammates are only referred to by their jersey numbers. Herman said although the characters are focused on succeeding as a group, each of them demonstrates their own unique voice.
“This is a really lovely group of women,” she said. “It’s been really lovely to work with them and play with them and watch them individually grow.”
To help them prepare for their roles and better understand their characters, the cast practiced soccer drills.
Lesli Lopez, who plays Player #46, said that “We treat it like a real soccer team.” The cast has been using the language soccer teams use to immerse themselves in character.
Other cast members said they are eager to “take the field,” but there are still a few issues to resolve before opening night. Freshman Makenna Riley, who plays Player #7, said “I’m very excited to say I think we’re all very much so in a spot where we’re almost there and it’s just the little things that we need to really work out.”
