Renaissance Theaterworks and First Stage Cast ‘The Wolves’ with Teens

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Photo by Ross Zentner

Renaissance Theaterworks ‘The Wolves’

Elena Marking and Lorelei Wesselowski in Renaissance Theaterworks' ‘The Wolves’

The Wolves is a coming-of-age story celebrating growing up and girlhood. A finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for drama, The Wolves is a production full of heart, energy and liveliness that stems from the show’s honest themes. Renaissance Theaterworks and First Stage’s Young Company have come together to produce a story full of big questions, soccer and the determination of young women. 

‘The Wolves’ will run at Renaissance Theaterworks through February 11. For tickets and more information, visit r-t-w.com/shows/the-wolves

The incorporation of young talent into this show gives the writing an extra layer of truth. “From my point of view, as a faculty member of Young Company and as an actor, I’ve enjoyed seeing the rest of the cast operate in a new theatrical environment. Renaissance Theaterworks and First Stage’s Young Company have been in talks for several years about partnering on this play and casting actors from First Stage’s Young Company,” says Marcella Kearns, who plays Soccer Mom in the show. “It was a natural and exciting fit that Sarah DeLappe’s play, which requires nine actors to play teenagers, should be cast with actual teenagers who already have formidable skills.”

The casting and the production work together to tell a story with central themes around the struggles and triumphs of young women. “I play a soccer mom, and I feel suspiciously close to a version of myself in the multiverse,” says Kearns. “The Wolves shines a light on the complexity, brilliance, and ferocity of young women, both as individuals and as a unit. Their fundamental value and natures are worth illuminating, and often, for the sake and health of our culture.”

Crafting the Story

The crafting of The Wolves’ story is one handled with the care that the story requires. In order to invoke feelings in a big way, the production emphasizes the story’s arc, focusing on each step of the journey. “Our director, Elyse Edelman, another faculty member of Young Company and an alumna of the program herself, speaks often in the rehearsal hall about the music of the structure and dialogue of the play. She compares it to a musical, from the level of choreographic precision necessary to the beats, rests, and rhythms of the text,” says Kearns. “We’ve had both a soccer coach and a movement designer in the room working closely with Elyse to craft the highly physical story alongside the arc of the inner stories we see. What’s lovely is that within the arc of that physicality, which is dictated by the playwright, there’s a lot of room to sculpt it uniquely for this production and to play with how relationships evolve throughout.”

The Wolves highlights an important, inspirational story of what it means to grow up a woman. “I treasure being directed by Elyse. I love being able to experience her process both with me and with the actors who are also our students. This play handles some of the most joyous and the toughest topics in the life of a teen, and the care she and Renaissance take with us is a model,” says Kearns. “Every day in that room, I’m reminded of the astonishing resilience of women.”