The Wrestling Season

Using only the setting of a wrestling mat, eight young people struggle with the destructive power of rumors and how others see them

This is Matt's year to excel on his high-school wrestling team, but innuendo about his friendship with Luke causes Matt to question himself and his priorities

Kori wants to be accepted for who she is, not the way she looks

Melanie copes with a reputation she cannot grow beyond

Jolt and Heather ultimately regret having too much too soon

And Nicole has so little self-esteem that she agrees with everyone

The action is overseen by The Referee, who comments on the action from inside and outside the drama with hand signals and commands

Using images, movement and sound, cast members function as a chorus and as individual characters whose stories are interwoven to create a theatrical event that challenges and reveals their search for identity

The Wrestling Season was commissioned by the Coterie Theatre and developed at The Kennedy Center's New Visions/New Voices and New York University's Program in Educational Theatre

"A metaphor for the conflicts, pressures, betrayals, and complex friendships experienced by most teenagers inventive theatre that has a way of touching raw nerve endings" ~ Robert Trussell, Kansas City Star

A.A.T.E. Distinguished Play Award Winner!

"From the first moment ... when the theatre space is plunged into darkness,the students were gripped by the play" ~ The Examiner, Cork, Ireland

"... a writer with a true sense of how young people speak and handle confrontation. Never before has the mantra of 'sticks and stones' seemed so trite. Names can indeed hurt, break, and destroy" ~ Ron Simonian, Pitch Weekly, Kansas City