Wolfplay
Wolfplay
Wolfplay by Hansol Jung is a story about found families, marriage, abandonment and the depths of a child’s detachment to go through life and grieve his old family as he embraces the new. By using the identity he calls “Wolf’ young Jeenu is able to come to terms with his new pack, his own resilience, and what it means to be loved.
Design Process
Wolfplay was my first production working with a student director and was produced by Southern Methodist University. After discussions with the director, she made it clear she wanted it as contemporary as possible. By making this decision, this enabled us to blend the reality with Jeenu’s Wolf persona, which manifested in a puppet he took with him. The characters’ clothing was meant to be as lived in and as ordinary as possible.
For this show, there is two entities as one person. Jeenu is the puppet, the child everyone speaks to and sees. He is quiet, vulnerable, and a muted version of who he is on the inside. I wanted his clothes to reflect that, khaki shorts, a muted grey tee, his outside is all bare necessity, because everything he reflects is on the inside which is the puppeteer-Wolf.
Wolf is the actress, the puppeteer, the one who is scrappy, loud, and self-identified as a lone wolf or animal in the wild as they navigate being adopted, abandoned, and adopted again. They are more vibrant, but still resiliently rugged.
Ash is the non binary partner who had no desire to be a parent. They devote all their time to their training, as their goal is to be a pro female presenting boxer in male boxing. Their style, while androgynous, is more athletic based and frugal. All their resources are devoted to their boxing career.
Ash in the ring, the script described them as gold, so naturally we went that route in their boxing attire. But while their day to day outfit is more low key and thrifted, all their money goes into the best boxing gear, such as gloves, boxing shoes, uniform, bra, etc.
Robin, Ash's partner, is soft but fierce. She is determined to keep her marriage intact and be the exact mother that Jeenu and Wolf needs. Wolf sees her as a robin, which is why I wanted to lean into the autumn colors.
Peter is rugged, a father to a newborn, with a failing marriage and a son he now has to give up, he is rugged. Most likely wearing day old clothes which are already stained, Peter is supposed to look like he rolled out of bed and threw on whatever he could find.
Ryan, Ash's coach and Robin's brother, owns a gym and is determined in making Ash a pro in the boxing world. As such, he views everything outside of Ash's training as a distraction. He lives and breathes his career as a trainer, and his outfit should reflect such.