"The Wolves:" Interview with Cast Member Jo Yanko

Kicking off our 2025–26 season is Sarah DeLappe’s acclaimed play "The Wolves," running October 3–5 at the UB Center for the Arts. This dynamic production explores the lives of a suburban high school girls’ soccer team as they navigate six weeks of practices, games, and growing up. Tickets range from $10–$25 and are available here.

Set entirely on the turf, the play captures the raw energy and candid conversations of teenage girls as they tackle everything from global politics to personal insecurities, friendships, and the pressures of adolescence. It’s a powerful, fast-paced portrait of young women coming into their own. Junior theatre major Jo Yanko takes on the role of “#25,” one of the team’s compelling voices.

What made you want to be an actor? What do you love about it?

When I was little, my grandmother would take me to the musicals at the middle school she taught at. I was always deeply engrossed in the shows, and, while I don't remember this, I'm told that I would shout at the actors not to trust the villains, or to not make certain choices that spelled disaster. What I do remember is that the shows were incredibly real to me, and how easy it was for me to believe that what I was seeing was real.

You play a character referred to as “#25” in the script, and all the female soccer players in the play are known only by their numbers. Why do you think the playwright Sarah Delappe decided to present the characters this way?

I think that by stripping away an identifier like a traditional name, Delappe forces the audience to identify the characters by their actions and their personalities. While it might feel initially dehumanizing, it actually proves that the characters are infinitely more than just their number.

Without divulging too much plot, what are the main challenges and / or triumphs for your character? What is her journey and / or how does it tie in with what the other characters experience?

#25, who is also the team's captain, struggles with being in a position of authority over her peers, especially since the team's coach isn't always the most reliable, and she often has to take over the responsibilities typically delegated to an adult. She has a lot of pressure on her to be excellent, not only on the field, but off as well. I think that she struggles with feeling unable to fully be a teenage girl because of her position as Captain and feels slightly isolated from her teammates because of it.

What’s been the most important thing you’ve learned, either about yourself, or about acting, (or both), from participating in this production?

The most important thing I learned from this production was how to tackle a difficult script. The script is written exactly how teenage girls speak to each other, with overlapping dialogue, "likes" and "ums", upspeak, and casual cruelty. While it's similar to how I grew up speaking, seeing language like this being used in a script was an exciting challenge, and I've loved every minute with it. 

I understand the cast recently accompanied Professor Sugarman in attending a UB Bulls Womens Soccer Club game as a ‘field trip’ and research. What did you learn from attending the game, and how familiar were you with soccer before joining the cast?

First of all, the obligatory, "Go Bulls!" Second of all, I was slightly familiar with soccer before this show through watching the occasional women's soccer game, but I had never played soccer before this show. It was so interesting to watch the UB Women's team's game because it was my first time at an actual soccer game, and my castmates who had played soccer before got deeply into the game, and it was a very contagious energy.

It seems like women’s sports are more popular on a national level than even five or 10 years ago. If you agree, why do you think this is so?

I definitely think that women's sports have gotten more popular in recent years. I think a big turning point was the recent success of the U.S. women's soccer team at the Olympics. I also believe that women's teams are held to a higher standard than men's teams—they have to be just as, if not more talented, more willing to get back up after injuries, more graceful in defeat. That high standard makes the games more entertaining and makes women's teams more successful overall.

What do you like to do or not do on show performance days to prepare to be onstage?

I have made (music) playlists for most characters or shows I've been in, and I typically listen to them to help me get into character. Some songs I listen to for #25 are "Carry On My Wayward Son" by Kansas, "The Family Jewels" by MARINA, "Creep" by Radiohead, and "Rebel Girl" by Bikini Kill.

What makes “The Wolves” unique and / or important, in your opinion, if this is how you feel about it.

So many things make this show unique, but the dialogue really stands out to me. The dialogue in this show is so different to any play I've ever read or been in, and it's so close to my lived experience as someone who grew up as a teenage girl. The team discusses everything under the sun, and the dialogue sounds how passing drills look—jumping from person to person, seemingly disjointed until you realize the pattern. It's also just so important and beautiful to have a show that confronts girlhood so head on and expresses it so truthfully. There are no pretenses of a coquette aesthetic here; it's raw, and rude, and vulgar, and loving, and bloody, and devastating, and cathartic.

What else might potential patrons like to know about the show?

I personally would like patrons to know that they should be ready to listen—we talk very quickly, but everything we say is important.