I grew up a soccer player – one wanting a scholarship to an American university pretty badly too. Eventually, the pull of being an actor overtook that goal and I went head first into an artistic life. So in this sense the idea of a show for the stage, about the intricacies of those turbulent teen years, set on the turf of the indoor soccer field I know so well, and working with young talent right in the pivotal age when they are primed to take risks and prove their artistry… well damn, it’s been a whole life time conspiring to help me get to this place and direct this show.

As an artist, I write down my major goals every year so that I stay on track and keep progressing my career in a way that feels honest and ultimately, just good to me. Near the beginning of 2019, I wrote pages and pages of thoughts trying to syphon down exactly what I would shoot for in the upcoming year. As always, I do this with the notion that I may have no idea how something is going to happen, but once it’s down on the paper – I trust that somehow it will.

I sat looking at the page, sifted down to three major milestones. I kind of half smiled,  and I added, 4) I want to direct.

No joke, not 2 days later, Don Fex, Artistic Director of Theatre Kraken, sent me a message, “Have you ever thought of directing?”

Faith.. right?

It’s the same flow that brought each of the girls and women in the cast through the door, that allowed them to open up, get pushed, explore, and set into their roles in unbelievable ways, that has allowed us to maneuver through a bracingly complicated script and intense physicality, and that has provided me a crew of true professionals to nurture me into my role and support me so that I can do what I do best, knowing the creative team around me is feverishly good at doing what they do best. 

Somehow, Sarah Delappe has written this beast of a show that constantly dances on the dichotomy of innocence and knowing – digging into news headlines and games won and lost to reveal just how much goes on in the minds and hearts of these 16 and 17 year old girls. But mostly, how that innocence gets beaten out by knowing – incrementally – in the simple moments of day to day. We can all think back to just how much ignorance truly was bliss, wasn’t it?

But jeez, have we laughed, definitely cried, done aerobics, got concussions, “become” soccer players, swapped Santa stories, swapped deeply personal stories, stared deep into each other to see both the ugly and the beauty, figured out a whole lot about what kind of artists (and humans!) we are, and trust me when I say this.. we had faith. Through all those moments of fear and overwhelm and uncertainty and massive imposter syndrome – we stepped up.

For you.

Because one thing the entire cast agreed on, was that you never see just a cast of 16-17 year old girls on stage in such a real way. I suppose I’m ok with being a part of that trailblazing, but I’m hoping that this experience, for the cast, the crew, and for you as the audience, proves the validity of the entertainment, the depth, and the unbridled faith for better things to come that can uniquely be found in these girls’ voices. That this flow I’m so grateful to be on, flows through you to a greater purpose.

We hope your bum hits the chair like a fan in the stands, that you play this game with us, and just maybe, you’ll get way more than you bargained for. … That’s game guys!