Top Girls

The creation of the world that Top Girls takes place in is one that I was rather impressed with. The interesting thing about Top Girls is the way it seems to have the majority of the first act takes place in a fictitious imaginary restaurant, while the rest of the play takes place in England around the 70’s. For me, there was very little confusion about where the play was set, as well as the “world” of the play and the difference between “real” (the second half) and the imaginary dream state of the first act. I think this was achieved because of the way the characters are presented, as well as the various reminders that were are in an office or a restaurant. For example, in the first act, the waiter kept coming on and off of the stage to clear dishes, take orders etc., this really helped remind me that the scene was a restaurant because otherwise I would have been so lost in the intense dialogue and other characters speech, that I would of hardly remembered where the scene was taking place.

The spacing and blocking for Top Girls was a bit iffy and confusing for me only at one time throughout the play. Because the way the theater was set up, I had trouble seeing some of the interactions with the characters because their backs were to me and their distance to the audience was a bit far. For example, when an interview is taking place between one of the employment agency ladies and a potential employee, the two chairs are set up at an angle that made it very difficult for me to see the actors faces and emotions. While the distance between the two chairs was fine, and I was able to hear them because they were in the foreground of the stage, I had trouble connecting with the actors in this scene because of the way they faced the audience at an awkward angle that wasn’t entirely towards the audience, nor completely turned away from them. It left my mind confused as to whether to focus on the interview, or the background set. Other than that scene, I had no qualms with the staging and positioning of the play. I was particularly impressed, however with the way each character in the first act would rise from the table and move to the corner of the stage to address the audience with a particularly charged monologue. This “area” that Ally Poole sets up allows the audience to know that each time a character starts walking toward that corner, an emotionally charged scene or confession is about to take place.

The casting was also very solid for the production of Top Girls. Because Stephens College is a fairly small liberal arts school, I was particularly impressed with how well each young actress was able to fit the role (or roles) they played. Knowing that the pool of actors is relatively small at Stephens, It was impressive to see each actress do their part or parts really well, especially the historical figures, as each character was from a different time or period. One particular casting choice I was impressed with was that of Dull Gret (Rachel Leyh). It was spectacular to see someone transform from a middle-aged warrior into a timid employment office worker. Other than that, I was nothing less than impressed with the ladies that participated in Top Girls as I was nothing short of captivated by the acting throughout the entire production.