October 9, 2023
By Avery Saad
Pictured: Bella Woody (14), Corrinthea Washington (08), Nola Patrick (46), Julia Wolff (11), Anna Riley (25), Gillian Dubroff (13), Riley Suzuki (Goalie), Abby Thompson (02), and Elena Salzberg (07)
Ithaca College’s production of The Wolves by Sarah DeLappe was not something to have been missed. The play centers around a girl’s soccer team during their warm-ups each week. We get to see a true representation of the way teen girls speak to one another, and how a close-knit community lets new people in, and loses ones they never thought they would.
Wendy Dann’s direction of the play showcased the dynamics of young women, and the unspoken rules created after years of knowing one another. She places the audience in the round, allowing us to see all sides of the girls at all times, giving us just a small peek into their world that we have become privy to.
Set Designer Daniel Zimmerman created a field that seemed to stretch on forever, giving the impression that these girls lived and breathed soccer. Soccer was where it all started, but also where it could end too. The lighting design by Sage Smith was impeccable. The fluorescent lights helped to build the bright and invasive atmosphere of the indoor soccer dome, while also creating the secluded space that the Wolves had claimed on their own. Alina Gorney created such an interesting costume design. The light blue seemed to almost meld with the turf, but it was different enough that the girls were able to be distinguished. The design of Seven’s injury outfit felt right at home with something girls would wear every day, contrasting with Forty-Six’s home outfit, helping to show the difference between Forty-Six and the rest of the team.
The stand-out moment of the show was Becca Blacksten’s Soccer Mom. It’s very uncommon to introduce a new character, let alone a new actor, into a space in the final twenty minutes of the play. Blacksten, after tragedy struck the team, entered into the space and monologues for twelve minutes straight. Regardless of the fact that there were seven other actresses on the stage, Blacksten had the entire audience captivated from the moment she walked through the door. The role is exceptionally challenging since the entire speech is the breakdown of a mother who has lost her daughter and is now entering the space where her daughter used to be. The audience tears up as Blacksten recalls moments with her lost daughter, as well as commenting on the eating disorder of one of the other players. I think what struck me the most was the embodiment of Becca Blacksten’s performance. As someone who grew up on a sports team, with a mother who actively knew and cared for everyone on my team, I could see traits of my mother in Blacksten–the way that even in her grief, she cared about the other girls. It was this layer of Blacksten’s performance that had the audience in tears, and alongside her for the rest of the show.
Julia Wolff, who played Eleven, was also a star of the show. Her ease of kindness to the other girls, while also being a voice of reason made her stand out amongst the rest of the ensemble. She is the second one to enter the space during Week Six, after the team has lost one of their own, and Wolff, much like in the vein of Blacksten, has to have her own version of a breakdown to the audience, while immediately becoming the comfort to others as they trickle into the space. Her steadiness and assurance of her character created a solid foundation for the audience to believe what we were watching.
Overall, this production was incredible to watch. I went and saw it from Sections 2 and 4, giving me opposite perspectives on the action occurring. Both times I saw this production, I was in tears when it finished. I would watch this production over and over if I could.
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