Girl Power: Maryville College APO’s production of ‘The Wolves’ hits Clayton Center stage Oct. 16-19
Oct. 10, 2025
The indoor field lights illuminate a familiar Saturday morning ritual for anyone who’s played, parented or coached youth soccer: The thump of cleats against soccer balls while a dozen voices overlap — jokes, half-finished stories, nervous laughter — before falling into the rhythm of counted stretches and shouted drills as the girls of “The Wolves” run through warm-ups, their banter as fierce as their footwork.
That’s the world audiences will step into when Maryville College’s chapter of Alpha Psi Omega, the national theater honor society, stages Sarah DeLappe’s acclaimed play “The Wolves” Oct. 16–19 in the Clayton Center for the Arts. The one-act play follows a high school girls’ soccer team through pre-game rituals, conversations and conflicts, revealing the raw, funny and tender moments of adolescence while teammates fight for goals both on and off the field.
Praised by critics for its sharp ear and emotional honesty, “The Wolves” was a finalist for the 2017 Pulitzer Prize in Drama and has been hailed as one of the most important American plays of the past decade. Its rapid-fire dialogue, overlapping voices and nuanced portrayal of girlhood make it a distinctive and celebrated work in contemporary theater.
“It is an extremely honest and real look at girlhood,” said director Meredith Wynn ’26. “Sarah DeLappe really builds a world that shows girls being openly themselves. Whether that’s ill-informed philosophical debates or friendship fallouts, the show deals with grief, rivalry, jealousy — but above all, friendship and camaraderie among a group of girls striving for the same goal: to win that soccer game.”
That ensemble spirit extends to the Maryville cast as well. “The Wolves” features performances by Sasha Hoenie ’26, Kathryn Bornhoeft ’28, Payton Fetner ’29, Maddie Yalove ’29, Megan Cooper ’26, Sarah Christy ’26, Reagan Holden ’29, Kat Wilson ’28, community member Kyndal Wolfenbarger and Maryville High School theater teacher Clarissa Feldt. Together, they bring to life the overlapping voices and constant motion that make the play feel like a match unfolding in real time.
“One of the strengths of this play is its ensemble cast,” Wynn added. “There is really no main character. The team is the main character. Every single one of these actors is so strong in their understanding of the role that it’s impossible to focus on just one.”
Bringing the players’ movements to life required some coaching help, too. Thanks to a creative collaboration with members of the Maryville College Women’s Soccer Team — particularly Ellie Schuld ’27 — the production’s stretches, drills, and soccer choreography ring true.
“That connection between theater and athletics has been one of my favorite parts of the process,” Wynn said.
For Assistant Professor of Theatre Andy Vaught, the student-led production is a chance for Maryville’s Theatre Studies majors to play offense rather than sit on the sidelines.
“One thing we try to instill in our students is a sense of agency,” Vaught said. “The students working on this show — from the director to the designers to the performers — exemplify that quality. It’s thrilling to see the confidence they have in themselves, and even more thrilling to see they have the skills to back it up.”
The play also represents an important milestone for Hoenie, who is incorporating their performance in “The Wolves” into their Senior Study — a capstone of the Maryville College academic experience in which students take part in extensive scholarship in their major field with the guidance of a faculty member. Hoenie, a Theatre Studies major with a performance focus, is using their senior project to examine gender in theater, drawing on experiences in past productions such as “Romeo and Juliet,” which featured Hoenie and Wynn as the leads.
“Because I wanted my thesis to revolve around ideas of gender, I wanted the APO show to allow for strong female characters whose stories are independent and compelling,” Hoenie said. “I think ‘The Wolves’ perfectly suits what I was hoping to portray as a part of my thesis. The show revolves around the dynamics of female friendship as well as societal and sexual pressures commonly placed upon young women.”
As they enter their senior year, Hoenie is already looking ahead to spring productions of “Clue” and “Grease” to wrap up their Senior Study, while building on the experience Maryville College Theatre has given them to stretch beyond a straightforward academic education.
“Maryville College has given me the opportunity to play a wide range of roles, which has pushed me out of my comfort zone and helped me grow,” Hoenie said. “I haven’t just acted — I’ve built sets, choreographed dances, even managed promotions. Those experiences make me confident about stepping into professional theater.”
For Wynn — whose professional theater pairing with Hoenie dates back to their first year, the chance to take the director’s chair for a full-length show — especially one that stars one of her closest friends and is part of that friend’s Senior Study — is equally significant.
“At bigger schools, this is something reserved for graduate students,” she said. “Here, we’re encouraged to lead, create, and own our work as undergraduates. Directing ‘The Wolves’ has been challenging, yes, but it’s also been the most rewarding thing I’ve ever done.”
“The Wolves” will be staged at 8 p.m. Thursday–Saturday, Oct. 16–18, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 19, in the Haslam Family Flexible Theatre of the Clayton Center for the Arts. Tickets are $12.50 for general admission and free for MC faculty, staff, and students, though a printed ticket from the box office is required. For more information, call 865-981-8590.