Like, I mean – really?
The word “like” peppers the dialogue of Sarah DeLappe’s play “The Wolves.” Last week, the Fort Lewis College Performing Arts Department mounted a vivid production of her new work.
Linguist John McWhorter claims that bits of current teen-speak are likely to remain in the American vernacular for some time. The irritating use of “like” leads the pack and is ubiquitous in “The Wolves.” It serves the playwright’s purpose as she creates a searingly realistic portrait of American teens in a competitive group setting.
The play opened Off Broadway in 2016 and garnered strong, positive reviews for its insight into contemporary adolescence. In London, reviewers championed DeLappe’s use of a sports team to focus on American group dynamics. Unearthed in turn by FLC associate professor of Drama Felicia Meyer, the play has been brought to Durango for an all-too-short run.
The 90-minute, one-act play captures the rhythm, texture and color of teenage language and concerns. It zeros in on a soccer team, the Wolves, as the players warm up to practice or compete. Noisy, jokey and cross-fertilized with interruptions, the dialogue of youthful banter structures each scene. The play brims with references to socio-political events of the time, the Cambodian War, Twitter, Prius, an unwanted pregnancy, etc. Given the speed of cultural change, “The Wolves” may become known as a period piece sooner than expected.
Last week, DeLappe’s play unfurled in nine tightly written and tautly performed scenes. Director Meyer and her players created an ensemble that brought teenage angst into sharp focus. Known only by their numbers, team members quickly emerged as individuals. Their quirks, fears, friendships and rivalries sparked the action mixing comedy and pathos. Because the ensemble functioned as an organic, nine-member unit, references to single performances won’t be made here.
As the Wolves sequenced through exercises, a certain rhythm emerged. The players assembled, stretched, jogged in place or skillfully executed passing drills – all the while engaging in complex conversation. Credit Haley Hollenga from FLC sports for bringing gym expertise to the production. Sports choreography consistently underscored rapid-fire dialogue. Gossip, adolescent riffs on world news, questions, mis-pronunciations and angry outbursts propelled the play forward.
James Padilla’s set and lighting design created a sparse, insular and claustrophobic atmosphere. Costumer Megan Sander’s uniforms have simple numbers. Occasional outerwear suggested seasonal change. Sound designer Logan Roybal delivered topical music and effects to support the passage of time.
At Sunday’s final performance, the audience seemed to expect light fare. Laughing vigorously at the comic bits, the audience got into a rhythm of lustily applauding after each scene. But when the play darkened, unease palpably registered. The pattern of rousing applause abruptly stopped. A single hand clap awkwardly broke a silence. Thereafter, the audience seemed to collectively understand that “The Wolves” had a more serious mission. One wordless scene signaled a transition from adolescence to adulthood. The world of DeLappe’s intelligent script left comedy behind and turned to serious, human drama.
Judith Reynolds is an arts journalist and member of the American Theatre Critics Association.
John McWhorter, who teaches at Columbia University and writes a column for The New York Times, says that the use of “like” will likely remain part of American speech for a long time to come. He says it has a connection to sociological openness to alternative opinions, a heightened awareness of the world at large, and more disheartening, an avoidance of clarity and assertiveness.
Judith Reynolds is an arts journalist and member of the American Theatre Critics Association.
