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The Wolves

A play about growing up, growing apart, and the heartbreaking confusion of adolescence.  As a team of nine teenage girls warm up each week before their indoor soccer game, their identities emerge, their struggles are revealed, and their lives are forever changed.

I wanted my contribution to be upbeat and youthful--but with an edge. 

 

In the first scene, the girls discuss their school assignment on the Khmer Rouge and Cambodian Genocide.  They are just beginning to form their ideas about the world, other cultures, privilege, and how to contribute to society.  It clicked--"Holiday in Cambodia" by Dead Kennedys. 

 

And so, old school punk/post-punk became my motif because of its spirit of youth, rebellion, identity, and discovery.  My pre-show playlist (below) was carefully selected to mirror the energy and themes of the play.

The script calls for whistles to punctuate the scenes.  I manipulated electric guitar chords, blending them into the whistle sounds and weaving them through slices of instrumental music by Dead Kennedys and Siouxsie and the Banshees.

The girls talk rapidly--gossiping, teasing, arguing, and joking in carefully choreographed overlapping dialogue.  So as not to detract from the language, I limited most of my design to the transitions between scenes.  These cues worked with the moods of the scenes, allowing the audience to breathe while reflecting the passage of time. 

Throughout the production, a subtle air dome soundscape hummed, ever present but barely noticeable.  The primary purpose of the ambient sound was to remove it for the emotionally devastating "time out" scene.  Its absence amplified the scene's silence and isolation.

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The production designs all add strongly to the impact of the piece, with...Clare Marie Nemanich's evocative sound design. 

-Theodore P. Mahne, NOLA.com | The Times-Picayune

 The production relies heavily on the effective lighting by Joan Long and sound by Clare Marie Nemanich.

-Katherine Hart | Mid-City Messenger

The Wolves Pre-Show Playlist

The Wolves
Written by Sarah DeLappe


Produced at Southern Rep Theatre, New Orleans, LA, January, 2019


 

Director: Aimée Hayes
Scenic Designer: Leonard Harman
Lighting Designer: Joan Long
Sound Designer: Clare Marie Nemanich
Props Designer: Kara Borasch
Stage Manager: Hannah Alexandra Jacuzzi
Asst. Stage Manager: Bari James Ballard

#46 Sarah Durn
#00 Lauren Erwin
#11 Helen Jaksch
#7 Grace Kennedy    
Soccer Mom: Wendy Miklovic
#8 Keyara Milliner
#14 Tirol Palmer
#13 Haley Reimer
#2 Emily Russell
#25 Constance Thompson

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