The Wrestling Season

by Laurie Brooks

Copyright 1997

4 Men, 4 Women, 1 Man or Woman

The Wrestling Season tackles subject matter seldom addressed but vital to every young adult: the search for identity and the peer pressure that accompanies it. 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. Using images, movement, and sound, cast members function as a chorus and as individual characters whose stories are interwoven into the play to create a theatrical event that challenges and reveals their search for identity.

• Commissioned by The Coterie Theatre, Kansas City, MO., Premiere, 2000.
• Developed at The Kennedy Center's New Visions/New Voices, 1998.
• Developed at New York University Program in Educational Theatre's Provincetown Playhouse, 1999.
• Featured at New Visions 2000/One Theatre World Festival, The Kennedy Center, May, 2000.
• Published in American Theatre, Theatre Communications Group Nov. 2000.
• Published by Dramatic Publishing, 2000.
• Distinguished Play Award, American Alliance for Theatre and Edudation, 2001.
• Listed in ASSITEJ Outstanding Plays for Young Audiences, Vol. VII, 2002.