Watch out for “The Wolves” and “Mean Girls” this Year!

Theatre lovers are in for a treat as Upper School thespians continue with preparations for this year’s performances.

Drama Department Chair and teacher Cassie Slater took the initiative to orchestrate a student gathering at the end of last year, where seniors shared that the shows selected for the 2023–24 Fall Play and Spring Musical would be The Wolves and Mean Girls. Following the announcement, the students watched video excepts from Broadway and off-Broadway productions to help familiarize them with both shows.

Slater shared, “The Wolves is a gorgeous play about what it means to be a young woman—told through their experience on an indoor soccer team. I’m excited that we’ll be working with professional actors/mentors again with this fall’s production and giving our students as professional an experience as possible.”

For the Spring Musical, Upper School students selected Mean Girls, which depicts female high school social cliques, school bullying and the damaging effect they can have on teenagers in a lighthearted and comical way.

In organizing this gathering last year, Slater wanted to foster the idea of an ensemble for a full school year—so students felt buy-in for both productions and to ensure that those interested in participating could use the time between the gathering and each opening night to prepare for the productions ahead.

Slater grew up as the child of theatre founders from Sioux City, Iowa. She attended rehearsals with her parents at two weeks old. For her first role, Slater was in the ensemble of Wiley and the Hairyman playing a tree/swamp monster. After obtaining her BFA in acting from The Theatre School at DePaul University, Slater began her career as an actor in Chicago, winning a Jeff Award (Chicago’s counterpart to the Tony Awards) for her work in Merrily We Roll Along. She then worked in New York at myriad venues, including Lincoln Center, Joe’s Pub, Merkin Concert Hall and Don’t Tell Mama, among others. Slater even won the New York Music Theatre Festival’s Next Broadway Sensation Competition (Broadway Idol)!

Parker looks forward to a great pair of shows this year for Upper School theatre artists!