The play “The Wolves” was a student directed and designed show that premiered Thursday, Oct. 24 in the Preus-Brandt Forum. This year, senior Hailey Schaffner took lead as director, continuing a yearly tradition for the California Lutheran University Theatre and Dance Department which has a student-driven show every fall.

Schaffner said all young women can relate to the story of a high school girls soccer club that the play conveys. There was an all female cast, a reoccurring theme in the theatre department as they performed the female-led “The Pirate Queen” in spring 2019 and “She Kills Monsters” fall 2018.

“I am very proud to be a female director, directing an all female cast. We also have two female [assistant stage managers] and our stage manager is a part of the LGBT community. So we have a very really underrepresented group of people putting together a production. I think that’s really powerful,” Schaffner said.

Schaffner said bold statements regarding politics, gender and harassment were important to include in the play.

Megan Rackley, a senior theatre department assistant and an actor in the show, said she loved working with an all female cast and female dominated crew.

“I think to just hear about these young women’s experiences together as a group collectively, and how strong they are and how we stand together and how can get through anything, especially during such a crazy time for our country. It is really good to hear from women and hear their stories, from all different backgrounds, and see what we bring to it,” Rackley said.

Pernille Klemetsen, Cal Lutheran junior, played the newcomer on the soccer team.

“I think that aspect of friendship and life in general is something the girls learn throughout this play, and might therefore be something to take away from it,” Klemetsen said.

Each of the players on the team represented a stereotype about women. The characters reflected a stoner, an airhead, a religious person, a follower, a “know it all”, the team captain and a new girl. They each had their own stigma to fill.

“It can remind adults who are 20 years out of their teens to come back to their teenage years and their adolescence and remember that we need to take care of our youth. We need to make sure that even though people are saying we are too soft, we still need to look out and to be sensitive,” Schaffner said.

The play closed on Sunday, Oct. 27 during the matinee showing at 2 p.m.