Steps To The Stage
Steps To The Stage
'The Wolves': The Intersection of Sports and Theater with Director Marlee Lane
What happens when the worlds of sports and theater collide? Discover the vibrant interplay of these two disciplines in our latest episode as we sit down with Marlee Lane, the brilliant director behind "The Wolves." Marlee opens up about her personal connection to the play's theme, drawing from her own experiences as a former teenage soccer player. We explore the adrenaline-pumping pace of indoor soccer and its stark contrast to traditional soccer, emphasizing how this difference fuels the energy of the production. Marlee also shares the unique challenges she faced in transforming a theater-oriented cast into convincing athletes, creating a performance that's as authentic as it is captivating.
Immerse yourself in the fascinating design choices that set "The Wolves" apart, starting with an AstroTurf-covered stage that brings the soccer field to life. Marlee reveals the deeper metaphor behind this endless field, symbolizing the transitional phases of the characters' lives and their refuge in the sport. With gravity-defying set elements and a small, tightly knit cast, the bonds formed among the actors mirror the play's themes of camaraderie and growth. This episode is a treasure trove for anyone curious about how real-world issues are explored through the eyes of teenage characters, blending youthful exuberance with profound adult themes. Tune in to hear how Marlee Lane masterfully intertwines sports and theater to create an unforgettable stage experience.
Contains mature language and themes.
June 6-15 $12 general admission -- $10 seniors and students
Tickets available at: https://chinocommunitytheatre.seatyourself.biz -- chinochildrenstheatre.org -- or contact the box office at (909) 590-1149
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Of the team the team.
Speaker 2:But that's cute though. Our team right. I like that.
Speaker 1:Wow, they came out so easily.
Speaker 2:The lights are on the curtain's up. This is Steps to the Stage. Hello and welcome to Steps to the Stage, the 7th Street Theatre podcast, where I talk to the community theatre professionals you know and love. I'm your host, colin Pinedo, and today I am talking with Marlee Lane about their new show, the. About their new show, the Wolves. Welcome back, hello, hi. So for those of us who aren't familiar with the Wolves as a show, why don't you talk about a brief sort of synopsis of what it is?
Speaker 1:Sure, of course, Basically we get to follow a girls' indoor soccer team through a couple weeks and we just kind of get to see them warming up before the game and kind of we get an insight of what's going on with their lives. So we're just seeing like their day-to-day and it's kind of it's just a little peek into girlhood, as I like to call it. We've been lots of saying that you know that little buzzword on tiktok, but it really is just a little insight on girlhood, and it's it's a play in the sense that it's.
Speaker 1:It's definitely a play. It's not like a movie where we're following this exact perfect plot structure. It's more like just a view in on human life.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:So yeah, so we're just following this indoor soccer team who they are going through all those things, but it's just a view of kind of how it is to be a teenage girl. Yeah.
Speaker 2:So what drew you to the show in the first place, as a director?
Speaker 1:Yeah, Well, obviously I have. I've just recently not been a teenage girl and it's a crazy little experience, so it's the play really spoke to me Also, I grew up doing soccer.
Speaker 2:Oh okay.
Speaker 1:So that probably really really does it too. So that probably really really does it too, and I just the structure of it is so interesting and it really felt like real people talking, so that drew me in and then I really think obviously musicals are wonderful and entertaining and beautiful, but I do think we miss out on some really good theater just because it's like a little hard to understand or it's a little.
Speaker 1:It's just it's not as comfortable right away I think we I wanted our theater specifically to kind of like get in, get a taste of something like that. So it was like a combination of I just liked the play in general and then I think I just wanted to present something new for our theater and different very yeah I always think people should do more plays and see more plays.
Speaker 2:Yeah, just in general. Yeah, yeah, so let's talk about. You said that this is about a soccer team playing on a.
Speaker 1:You said an indoor soccer yeah, so it's an indoor soccer team which there's indoor soccer. Everyone who doesn't know we're learning about sports today. It's, you know, it's soccer on a in a field. So it's there's no out of bounds in like you know it's soccer in a field. There's no out of bounds in like normal soccer.
Speaker 1:So it's a much more fast paced game. And so this group of teenage girls they're all from, they're all either 16 or 17. And basically this is kind of like what they do when they don't play high school soccer. So it's their little like how do I keep up being a good soccer player? And it's also where, like, a lot of college scouts come and see them. Okay. So that's kind of like the difference between, like why they're not on like their high school soccer team versus like an indoor soccer team. And then also because of that, they're kind of some of them are from different schools.
Speaker 2:Okay. So yeah it's like an, like an extra.
Speaker 1:Exactly.
Speaker 2:Yeah, okay, cool, cool, cool. And then did you do indoor soccer? I never have actually.
Speaker 1:Oh okay. Whoa, whoa. I've seen an indoor soccer game and I've played soccer a lot, but yeah, I've never played indoor soccer. But yeah, watching it is great. It's very different because it doesn't go out of bounds.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:It's just like're, it's running, running. You're slamming into each other more like how hockey like it doesn't go out of bounds, so it's like a more fast place. Love that we're talking about sports.
Speaker 2:I know I thought that's like the funny thing about this show to me yeah, it's a colliding of worlds yeah definitely, and I've as a I because I loved.
Speaker 1:I think most people sometimes who started off in sports and then go into theater have a little bit of more disdain. Yeah, because they're like it was terrible and that's why I do theater, but that wasn't really the case for me. I very much enjoyed my time doing soccer. And then, all of a sudden, I'm like a play Soccer. Hello, I love you, so yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah Well, everyone thinks that those worlds are really separate, but even when I was doing theater in high school, there were all sorts of people who were there and also had water polo or all sorts of other sports and other activities that they were doing. I don't get why some people think they're two completely different worlds. It's time for sports and theater to be friends, let's do sports era let's do it.
Speaker 1:This is theater sports era. Yeah, this is theater sports era, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:So was that with the cast of the show, who are predominantly actors and theater people, was it sort of difficult to get them into a more sporty jockey mindset in terms of like?
Speaker 1:characters and stuff. Very true, yeah, we had to go through a lot of stuff, a lot of the team, the team.
Speaker 2:But that's cute though. That's sweet.
Speaker 1:I like that like that how they came out so easily. A lot of them played soccer growing up, okay, or at least like played some sport, some have sports experience. Yeah, but a lot of them actually did, and then for the ones that didn't, because we do actually like pass the soccer ball during the show, basically like parts of our rehearsals like every rehearsal we would pass the soccer ball during the show, basically like parts of our rehearsals.
Speaker 1:Like every rehearsal we would pass the soccer ball okay so even the people that didn't like no soccer athletic straight away, like got to practice, and they all like I mean to me, they all like, look, I'm like, okay, I believe this.
Speaker 2:That's, that's the important part they have to look at instead of yeah yeah, so it wasn't interesting.
Speaker 1:And then you just like how theater has a culture, almost like the people in it. Soccer, and specifically like women's soccer, has its own culture too, like it has its own like style and like look, because I also like something like, if you think about like, like a group of girls who have school uniforms, like even then, like they'll do little things to show their style like shoes or like how to do their hair. So on a sports team like especially women's soccer, like there's a culture of like how you do your hair.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:Different hairstyles have different personalities, so like we went over that and kind of like why people play sports? Because for some people it's just to get into college.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:And then for some people it's like they connected to it growing up. Some people play it for their parents, so like there's a whole lot to dive into. So, yeah, we went over that.
Speaker 2:So you mentioned that you're actually passing the ball around on stage, that's correct yeah. That's wild. Yep, that's crazy.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:That's wild. Yep, that's crazy.
Speaker 1:It's a crazy one. Yeah, I think most of the time in rehearsals I kept being like remember, there's an audience.
Speaker 2:Yes. We can't kill the audience. That's exactly, and as I was researching the show, it's like oh, it's all before game, warmups'd end up kicking an audience member or a cast member in the head and then, oh no, so yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so it's just the warmest. Yeah, there definitely will be times when they probably miss the ball, but I was like real soccer players miss the ball Live theater magic. Just go get the ball. Yeah, so yeah, front rowers.
Speaker 2:Splash zone.
Speaker 1:Be prepared Wear knee pads Wear knee pads Wear chingars? Yes, exactly, bring a shield.
Speaker 2:Immerse yourself into the world of the show.
Speaker 1:Exactly.
Speaker 2:So was it? Well, we've already talked about sort of learning, about the athleticism of the sport, but with the actual soccer balls, was it sort of difficult having to figure that out, and sort of choreograph?
Speaker 1:Yes. Yes, yeah there was some weird like blocking situations because at one point they do a passing drill called the spider web.
Speaker 2:Oh, okay.
Speaker 1:We had to figure that out. There's one point where basically A bunch of different like groups of two are passing the ball back and forth and then we kind of get sneak peeks of each person's conversation. But to have that work they are like passing a ball back and forth. And then another pair will like go and replace them.
Speaker 2:Oh.
Speaker 1:So that was difficult.
Speaker 2:Yeah, a lot of like handoffs, yeah, handoffs.
Speaker 1:And just like, basically, this cast has to be so paying attention to everything, because you have to remember your lines, you have to remember your character, you have to play soccer while that's all happening. And the dialogue is. It's like fast. There's literally in the script multiple conversations happening at once, so they are. The mind game Everyone is playing is crazy.
Speaker 2:It's another thing. It's a lot of overlapping dialogue, right? Absolutely, yeah. Yeah, the juggling act of this show sounds insane, so let's talk about the again a soccer team. So let's talk about the costumes.
Speaker 1:Oh yes. So yeah, they're in their uniforms because it's the warm-up right before their game. So yeah, I basically designed a little uniform. Oh, that's fun, and we had to order them from literally like a soccer uniform website. So yeah, that was fun, that's cool though, yeah. Yeah, and also like the uniforms are also important, because I mean obviously uniforms. So we get that they're a team, but the characters' names aren't really a big part of the play Like it's their numbers.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Like how they're listed in, like the cast list is their numbers?
Speaker 2:Yeah, like number 12 number. Yeah.
Speaker 1:Exactly, and they don't ever say their numbers out loud. Okay, so the only way the audience kind of knows who's who is through.
Speaker 2:literally it's through the visual signifier.
Speaker 1:Yeah, literally Whoa.
Speaker 2:Oh, okay.
Speaker 1:So there's a couple of the characters that we kind of get their names but like at the very end.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:So it's very like their numbers are an important part of who they are and then also, along with like soccer culture, there's numbers that have different personalities. So I always notice that in soccer and then I noticed that the playwright, it's like the correct personality.
Speaker 2:Took notice of that, okay.
Speaker 1:Yeah, so like not even. Just some things are just logistical. Like most goalies are either like number one or our goalie is number zero. That's just like a thing they do in soccer and like not any other sport, yeah Weird. I don't know. It's like it's just kind of like a goalie is an important position, so it's like they kind of get these important numbers as like a signifier, but not every goalie is but it's just like a normal thing they do, and then, like there's always number, seven is like obviously seven is like most people's, like lucky numbers.
Speaker 1:And we have like a number seven. That's one of the characters and like that definitely was a personality trope in soccer. Like if someone was number seven, you're like, okay, she's going to be a crazy one, yeah, so like, and then it fits with the personality of the character. So that was kind of an interesting thing too, and like only people who really play sports are going to like. I don't understand that reference, but it's there, yeah, so yeah, there's interesting things like that with the uniform and just the connection of sports and theater.
Speaker 2:I like that, that the player actually took notice of real things in the sport and in the culture of the sport. Yes, yeah, yes.
Speaker 1:We definitely get immersed in soccer culture, which is kind of interesting for people who aren't used to it.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's crazy. It's a crazy little world.
Speaker 2:Because, again, the players are the only characters in this show. Basically, right, yep, like on stage, yes, one at the very end. No spoilers Because yeah, and then we only see them during this specific moment, like each day or each week.
Speaker 1:Right, Only the warm-up.
Speaker 2:Okay, not them at school or at home or anything, it is just.
Speaker 1:Just the warm-up every Saturday.
Speaker 2:Every Saturday, all right, all just Just the warmup every Saturday, every Saturday, all right, all right. So the set let's talk about that, yes, of course, you know I love, I love missed sets.
Speaker 1:So yeah, this, this set is interesting because there's AstroTurf all over the stage.
Speaker 2:Okay, so Like an actual pitch.
Speaker 1:Yes, like an actual pitch. So that's kind of called for in the script and most of the sets have that, and obviously I wanted to do that too. So I just finished the set and we literally have grass on the floor, that's so cool though. Yeah, so I'm sorry for other people who have to rehearse on the stage, but yeah, and then there's also some.
Speaker 1:basically the kind of idea behind the set is that this field kind of let me just I personally am someone who likes like a metaphorical set and like it doesn't have to be like fully like we're in a house yeah, fully realized, yeah so I like to kind of go up in the air.
Speaker 2:Imagination yeah.
Speaker 1:So basically the whole kind of idea behind it is that this field kind of goes on forever.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:Because these girls are like in this moment in their lives where, like everything's happening to them and you're in this like weird in-between stage and it's like you kind of they kind of find like solace and like and stress and anxiety in soccer, so like where we see them it's just kind of always just on the field.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:And I also think it kind of plays back to soccer and even like theater imitates life. So like what's happening in their games and what's happening on their team like imitates how humans are in real life. So it's like the field also goes on forever. Yeah, like we're also still all playing a game and like whoa crazy, insane. But also there's just grass everywhere. Basically, that's also what I love grass.
Speaker 2:The set for the show is just really cool in the way that it's meant to be designed. I saw at FJC when they did it in a black box theater and so they had the risers around it that just were the bleachers around the field. I'm like that's so.
Speaker 1:There's a bunch of cool stuff you can do. That's so cool.
Speaker 2:That's so big brain to me. Yeah, that's so like big brain to me.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I also have some gravity defying moments.
Speaker 2:What Wait really?
Speaker 1:That's dramatic, but you'll see.
Speaker 2:Okay. Come see, it Come see gravity defying moments at the walls, that's right, yeah. This is a very small cast, Ten characters, I think. Total there's ten characters and we have 12 in our cast.
Speaker 1:Okay, yeah, total there's 10 characters and we have 12 in our cast Okay, yeah, yeah, it's a crazy, it's very, it's different. Yeah, we usually have like some pretty big cast, so we get a very like close-in view.
Speaker 2:Yeah far more like intimate.
Speaker 1:Yeah.
Speaker 2:Have you all become sort of a close group? Yeah, whoa, it's crazy out here.
Speaker 1:Yeah, crazy yeah I definitely think we've become close and also pretty much everyone like we're all similar ages and like obviously I'm like a younger director, so I'm closer in age to them to like anything else, and I think we definitely have like formed a little, a little pack you can also say, oh, yeah, it, yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, because I'm sure you're all very close. Yeah, you said you're very close in age to these characters and somewhat recently out of high school into or out of college in your experience now, crazy, crazy, so yeah, very similar to you guys. Yeah, absolutely. And then this is a one act.
Speaker 1:Yes, it is. Or was written as a one act. We will have a little baby, little intermission.
Speaker 2:Okay, fun. Yeah so you can get snacks, love that Go to the bathroom. How long would each act be then in this case?
Speaker 1:It's the whole. Okay, the whole show is an hour and a half, so it's like 45 minutes each.
Speaker 2:Okay.
Speaker 1:Maybe the first one's like a little bit longer, but just about that.
Speaker 2:Yeah, somewhere around there. And then you were talking about sort of how these players in this team have different sort of modes of expression, sort of how they dress and how their hair is done. Am I correct in? One of these characters has a shaved head or just cut very, very close to the Well, yeah. Is that? Yeah, okay, that's a problem. Yeah, would you? Yeah, is that something that? Because?
Speaker 1:yeah, that's 20, that's 25 and yeah, basically, yeah, some some hair cutting happened really actually no that's the magic of theater. No, there's no actual.
Speaker 2:There's no actual there's no actual Dang it, no, no, but we'll see it on stage and we'll believe it. We will. We talk about the only characters on stage. For the most part are these kids. There are no adults anywhere. It is just from these characters' perspectives that we see sort of their whole lives and experiences, and we only hear about other people through their lenses.
Speaker 1:Their conversations.
Speaker 2:Yeah, their opinions yeah.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there's also a really interesting thing going on in every week. So basically every week kind of has a new topic that they're talking about and it's a lot of real world controversial topics.
Speaker 2:Heavy political. Lot of like real world.
Speaker 1:Yeah like controversial topics that they're talking, like political, exactly that they're like coinciding with, like um, a topic that you would it's more conducive of, like how a teenage girl would talk. So it's like we kind of have these like dualities going on, but, like as someone who actually is a teenage girl, I'm not a teenage girl well as a teenager recently, like that is more of like how we are, like it's duality of like you're a kid and you're an adult.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:So like you can see in their conversations that they're also kids and adults at the same time, Okay. So like the play also kind of works with that. And also what I really like is they are not perfect people.
Speaker 2:They are not politically correct.
Speaker 1:They are not nice all the time. They have like. It just feels like real people. You know like they're people they're not like these perfect. Like oh, I love them so much.
Speaker 2:Like they say the wrong thing sometimes, which we all do. Yeah, as all teenagers do. Yeah.
Speaker 1:When we're trying to figure ourselves out Exactly, yeah.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:When does does this take place? In a specific time period or is it meant to be sort of it's? It's meant to be like it's. It's like recent, but not like too recent.
Speaker 2:We're kind of in, like the 2016, to 2018 kind of situation we're recent enough where, like the clothes look the same, but yeah not so recent like we've dealt with, like the pandemic, yeah, okay, okay, for sure, for sure in that kind of gray area yeah, but even earlier then you mentioned that it is. You said it's more of a play than a movie, as in, there's not as much of a like.
Speaker 1:Yeah, there's not that much of a plot.
Speaker 2:Yeah.
Speaker 1:I like I don't know what playwright said this, but he said movies are focusing on a plot, tv shows are focusing on characters and plays focus in on ideas. So I always like was like, I was like, oh my.
Speaker 2:God, I just love that.
Speaker 1:And I think we are so comfortable with TV and movies and so when a play actually is very theater-like and it focuses on an idea, instead of I mean obviously, it focuses on character and plot. They all include all elements of that, but the real focus is just an idea and a lot of people kind of get wary from that. And I was like oof.
Speaker 2:You sort of latch onto that, I latch onto that I find that really interesting yeah.
Speaker 1:So, yeah, so that's something I always think about and I was like this is a perfect example.
Speaker 2:Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah yeah. So what are the show dates for the Wolves?
Speaker 1:Yeah, june 6th is our opening night, so 6, 7, 8, 9, and then 13, 14, 15, if I have that correctly. And then also, if you're coming to see the show, we trigger warning for bad language and some difficult topics. So just you know, obviously come see it, it's incredible. But yeah, just not children. Yes, not children, because we're cussing, we're cussing on stage, crazy cussing.
Speaker 2:We can't even cuss on this show. I can't imagine. No, I can't.
Speaker 1:But yeah, that's also been kind of fun. Yeah, Because it's very as teenagers speak, it's rough.
Speaker 2:So you're like wow, we're saying that yeah.
Speaker 1:And it's funny because it kind of gets desensitized in rehearsal. And I'm like I need to pull that back. Yeah, I'm saying that word a lot.
Speaker 2:Oh, no, really.
Speaker 1:Yeah, it's crazy out there.
Speaker 2:Dang yeah, yeah. So it's kind of edgy Engie teenagers. What are you talking about? That's crazy. What that's insane? No, that's crazy.
Speaker 1:Do you?
Speaker 2:know where people can find tickets if they want to.
Speaker 1:Of course. Obviously, the Chino Community Children's beautiful website always has our beautiful ticket link. And then I think that Instagram has tickets in the bio. I mean you buy them through the website but you can find it through Instagram, facebook, all the gorgeous things like that. Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you so much for talking to me today. Of course, and everyone listening, be sure to buy tickets to the Wolves and go see it. It sounds like it's going to be really cool.
Speaker 1:Thank you.
Speaker 2:Well, thank you for being here. Of course, yeah, thanks for listening to Steps to the Stage, and now it's time for the Curtain Call. Listening to Steps to the Stage and now it's time for the curtain call.
