On Thursday, February 15, I attended the Goodman Theatre’s third and final College Night of the 2017/2018 season.
The performance that was featured was playwright Sarah DeLappe’s The Wolves and it was directed by Vanessa Stalling. The Wolves is a story that follows a girls’ soccer team that goes through the ups and downs of life.
The event started at six o’clock and began how it usually does with a pre-show pizza party on the second floor of the theatre. This is a great time for the students from various colleges to mix and mingle with one another and share their love for the arts.
Students were then directed to the corner of the venue to listen to a panel discussion where some of the cast answered questions and discussed the play.
Following this pre-show event, it was time to head inside the theatre for the performance. This performance was held in Owen Theatre, one of the two theatres located inside the Goodman.
The setup this time around allowed a 360 view of the stage and as soon as you walked into the theatre, your eyes are immediately drawn to the stage.
It was setup to look like a soccer field, there was netting that surrounded the stage and “grass” covered the stage floor. Since I was a part of press, I was able to sit on the main floor.
Something a little bit different is that I also had the option of sitting in a small section of bleachers that was I guess you can say “on” the stage, so I thought I would give that area of seating a try.
I personally think if you are going to see the show to definitely sit in the bleacher section because it gives you a different perspective, you are able to see the actors more (a majority of the play their backs were to the audience across from me) and in general, it is a pretty cool place to sit.
The overall performance was great. The actors did a great job. They recited their lines with such passion and the messages that they were trying to get across were powerful.
The story wanted to convey the message that women can go through some tough trials and tribulations but they are still powerful. The story was interesting, and ultimately, I have never seen any kind of production quite like this one before.
Doing various soccer drills while trying to act sounds like a very difficult thing to accomplish but these actors made it look effortless. Another major aspect was that this play was performed by an all-female cast, something that you do not usually see.
This was the first time that I saw a production with just female roles so I thought that was refreshing and something pretty great. The show was very upbeat except for the more serious portions of the play.
The transitions between each scene brought high-energy music and an interesting light display.
Going back to the cast and the story, this obviously dealt with high school girls. They each had their own personality and that was very evident throughout the show.
Although they were classified as typical things like “the shy one”, the outgoing one”, etc., they talked about very prominent and adult-like issues that happen in the world.
One thing that they discussed was problems that people in foreign countries face and that is something that typical high school girls, and let alone the fact that they were at soccer practice, wouldn’t talk about.
While they discussed problems of the world, some of them had problems of their own. Some of them tried to hide their secrets and insecurities but some of those things did not remain a private matter when situations got heated.
Each actor gave it their all and you can see that with how much emotion they put into it. Luckily where I sat, I overlooked the entire audience on the other side of the theatre and I could see their reactions quite clearly.
While the play had its comical moments and made people laugh, I noticed a good number of people crying when the more emotional moments occurred. I thought that it was a pretty crazy thing how this play moved people in such a way.
The Goodman Theatre offers a free program called the College Club, which is a program for those students who really passionate about theater.
Those who join the program receive monthly e-newsletters with student discounts for shows, exclusive information about the Goodman’s current season, invitations to special events, and priority access to College Nights.
For those students who are unable to attend College Night, the Goodman offers a program called 10TIX. This program offers ten dollar tickets to students for plays in the Albert Theatre or the Owen Theatre, subject to availability. For more information regarding the 10TIX program, visit GoodmanTheatre.org/Tickets/Special-Discounts.
This play is one that I think people need to see because of its message and because it is a very well put together production. Be sure to get your tickets before the play ends its run on March 11.
For more information, be sure to visit https://www.goodmantheatre.org/thewolves.
The Goodman Theatre is located at 170 N. Dearborn Street in Downtown Chicago.
Elizabeth Granato
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