UGA Theatre Kicks Off Spring Season with Soccer Dramedy “The Wolves”
Athens, GA – UGA Theatre presents “The Wolves,” written by Sarah DeLappe and directed by Sofía Ruiz and Fiona Schirmer. Performances will be held in the Cellar Theatre on February 16-18, 22-25 at 8 p.m. and February 26 at 2:30 p.m. Tickets are $16, $12 for students, and can be purchased at ugatheatre.com/thewolves, by phone at 706-542-4400, or in person at the Performing Arts Center or the Tate Center box office.
Sarah DeLappe’s “The Wolves” depicts a high school girls’ soccer team during their pregame warmups contending with life’s big (and small) questions - with topics ranging from international social conflicts to sex to their coach’s obvious hangovers. The aspiring athletes navigate the realities of their changing worlds - and the world at large - all while awaiting the rapidly-approaching uncertainty of a post-high school future.
"The Wolves" premiered Off-Broadway in 2016 to widespread critical acclaim, winning the American Playwriting Foundation's inaugural Relentless Award and eventually becoming a finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize for Drama. DeLappe’s play serves as a realistic portrait of adolescence which sees the young girls broaching topics that are at varying points vulgar, trivial, and heartfelt. Despite its high school setting, the play may not be for younger audiences. DeLappe’s focus on authentic depictions of contemporary youth has made “The Wolves” somewhat of a mainstay in college theatres across the country and even carried over into her screenplay for A24’s 2022 dark comedy “Bodies Bodies Bodies.”
In lieu of a traditional plot or narrative, “The Wolves” focuses primarily on the interpersonal relationships of its characters – a fact that excited MFA Performance students and directors Sofía Ruiz and Fiona Schirmer. With a cast consisting of department of theatre and film studies undergraduates, the directors found themselves working with many of their recent students.
“One of my favorite parts of this process has been seeing them bring things they’ve learned in class into practice,” says Schirmer. “We wanted them to feel like a real team so it was important to establish a trusting space where they were allowed them to find their characters for themselves and collaborate.”
“The rehearsal process has been full of wonderful little moments of laughter and amazing discoveries,” says codirector Ruíz. “A moment that stands out was playing soccer at Premier indoor field for our PR shoot because that’s when it all came together and they really felt like a soccer team.”