Production — Top Girls

Top Girls was the Seoul Players' 6th production, and the first time that a full set, with significant changes between acts, had been used.

Caryl Churchill is a major contemporary British dramatist. Churchill wrote 'Owners', her first stage play in 1972. Her first play to receive wide notice was 'Cloud Nine' (1979), set partly in a British Colony in the Victorian era, which examines the relationships involved in colonization. In The Skriker (1994), Churchill explored modern urban life by following The Skriker, a kind of northern goblin, in its search for love and revenge.

Top Girls (1982) had an all-female cast, and focused on Marlene, who had sacrificed a home and family life to achieve success in the world of business.

'Serious Money'(1987) is a verse play that takes a satirical look at the stock market, and received enormous acclaim, partly because it played immediately after the stock market crash of 1987. Her 2002 play, 'A Number', addresses the subject of human cloning, Churchill has also written television and radio plays for the BBC.

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Production crew

• Executive Producer & Director: Roman Zolnierczyk
• Stage Manger: Stacey 0' Neill
• Assistant Stage Managers: Adam Houde and Ryan 0' Dowd
• Set Design and Construction: Roman Zolnierczyk, Stuart Woodley, Heidi Hurst, Ryan 0' Dowd, Barry Slater and Adam Houde
• Lighting Design: Heidi Hurst
• Lighting Operator: Rebecca Kelley
• Sound Operator: Stacey 0' Neill
• Costumes: Jane Slater and cast
• Props: Immaculada 0' Reilly
• Specialty Props: Wendy Moore
• Poster and Program Design: Jane Curtis
• Publicity: Catherine Everett
• Bookings and Catering: Helen Brown
• Choreography: Jane Slater
• Front of House: Diana Underwood

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Acknowledgements

• Assistant to the Director: Choi Seon Ho
• LCD Projector: Sebastian Skiff
• Korean Liason: Sung Jung Hwa
• 'Boys Club' painting: Marion Pfeifer
• Changgo Theatre: Jung Dae Kyung
• Rehearsal space: Novotel Kangnam
• Set and Furniture Transport: Transpack
• Publicity support: AMCHAM
• NANTA: Kim Byung Ick

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Cast biographies

• Brenda Kemp
  Originally from the wild prairies of Canada, Brenda got addicted to being on stage after she played a feminist cavewoman beauty contestant in the 3rd grade. She went on to do a theater degree at university and has played everything from clowns to murderers. The women Brenda admires most would have to be Gwen Steffani, Rigoberta Manchu, Joan of Arc, and Maya Angelou. Her favorite color is black of course - you mean there are other colors?
• Jessica Jacob-Pappas
  Jessica has a BA degree in Theater Arts with emphasis in Musical Theater and is a certified school teacher. She spends most of her time with her children and enjoys painting. She played the role of Cherry in the Seoul Players production of
  Cos/. The woman Jessica admires the most is Mother Theresa because she represents strength and humility, and achieved great things with very little.
• Caroline Le Gargasson
  Originally British, from Salford, Caroline is also now French thanks to her husband. She doesn't really feel she has a home base, but is more of a "world citizen". Her present job is mother to two children and surrogate to one cat, wife, occasional French and kids' theatre teacher, long-distance translation student, head cook and bottle washer (bottle drinker too), computer addict. Amongst prominent women, Caroline would choose Aung San Suu Kyi. In Korea, she admires all the Filipino women who work tirelessly and cheerfully in expat houses in order to send money back home to their families.
• Jane Curtis
  In her younger and fitter days, Jane first went on stage as an acrobat and performer in a women' s physical theatre troupe in her home town of Brisbane, Australia. Then she sat down, discovered the simple pleasures of glue, scissors and a photocopier and made magazines with her friends. Nowadays it' s all digital (and grown-up) and she works as an editor, reads and writes internet blogs, makes websites and takes photos. Jane' s longest serving heroine is Anne of Green Gables but she also admires Kathleen Hanna, Margaret Cho, Naomi Klein and Julie McCrossin.
• Sandalene Olivier
  Sandalene spent her life up until now between South Africa and England. She was originally a ballet dancer but stopped due to injury. Sandalene now has a finger in many different pies, from event management to acting. She first became interested in Seoul players after seeing their recent production of Cosi which "really took her breath away". Sandalene likes to think she admires all women but keeps her true deep felt admiration for the people she has met personally and become close to.
• Eunju (Jackie) Chang
  Eunju has lived in seven different countries and so cannot be pinned down to one cultural identity. She is a psychologist and a Master of Fine Arts student of drama at the Korean National University of Arts, She got involved with the Seoul
  Players because she knows how difficult it can be to do things in a foreign country, and initially assisted with translation and sourcing equipment for various productions. Eunju has had 16 years theatre experience.
• Catherine Everett
  Catherine is from Napanee, Canada (hometown of Avril Lavigne). She is an elementary school English teacher at a Korean public school in Gyeonggi province. On average, Catherine says "hello" 347 times a day. However, since
  she has a Theatre degree from York University, she has found over 347 different ways to say it!!!! Although Catherine was famous in her family for her "tea time cabarets", her first legitimate acting experience was in Grade 3. She was an
  "auntie" in a community theatre production of HMS Pinafore, and thinks it was the cast party that eventually led to her theatre addiction ... donuts and boys! Catherine' s fantasy dinner would include Nancy Drew, Sarah McLachlan, Nellie
  McClung, Marie Curie, Julianne Moore, Hillary Clinton and her mother.
• Jane Slater
  Born in Staffordshire in the northwest of good old Blighty, Jane came to Korea with her husband, daughter and cat 4 years ago. This is only her second time on stage (ever). Strangely, her first production with the Seoul Players didn't manage to scare her off sufficiently and so she' s back, from outer space... Jane admires women anywhere who raise more than one child and hang onto their sanity! (especially Jessica)

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PRESS RELEASE

What does it take for women to reach the “top”?
The Seoul Players present Caryl Churchill’s award-winning drama “Top Girls”

October 11, 2004

Seoul’s amateur English-language theatre company, The Seoul Players, will present “Top Girls” from November 3-14, 2004 at the Samilro Changgo Theatre in Myeong-dong, Seoul.

Directed by Roman Zolnierczyk, founder of The Seoul Players, “Top Girls” takes a hard look at the choices women make in order to find happiness and success. Set in 1980’s England during Margaret Thatcher’s Conservative government, the play features an all-woman cast.

Each act is distinctly different, but focuses on the life of Marlene, an “Iron Lady” who has sacrificed family and femininity for corporate success.

During the imaginative and often humourous first act, Marlene brings together 5 extraordinary women of history for a dinner party celebrating her promotion to managing director. She invites Isabella Bird, a famous Victorian lady traveler; Lady Nijo, Japanese courtesan turned Buddhist nun; Dull Gret, a Viking woman who is the subject of a famous painting by Brueghel; Pope Joan, cross-dressing girl who became Pope of the Roman Catholic church; and Patient Griselda, literary character found in Chaucer, Petrarch and Boccacio due to her extraordinary marriage. Each woman has had to sacrifice and endure hardship to achieve success, but at what cost? “Why are we all so miserable?” Marlene exclaims.

Can women balance work and home? Femininity and career? Can men and women work together? Is there really a ‘glass ceiling’? The second act explores Marlene’s working life as the tough as nails new managing director of the Top Girls Employment Agency.

In the third act, Marlene has a tumultuous and poignant reunion with her sister Joyce and niece Angie. Churchill creates brilliant contrasts pitting Conservative, affluent, selfish and career-minded Marlene against her Liberal, working-class, selfless and sacrificing Joyce.

The diverse cast includes both Korean and expatriate actors from Canada, England, Australia, Italy and South Africa.

This is The Seoul Players third season and 6th production. Previous productions include: Dancing at Lughnasa, A Christmas Carol, and most recently Cosi. Founded by Roman Zolnierczyk, The Seoul Players are an amateur group always looking for new people who are passionate about the theatre, both experienced and newcomers alike.

The show runs for 2 weeks only commencing Wednesday 3rd November. Details are as follows.

Performances
Evenings at 8pm: Nov 3 – 7, 10 – 14
Matinees at 3pm: Nov 6 – 7, 13 – 14

Admission
Adults: W20,000
University Students: W15,000
Children: W10,000
(Admission includes program and complimentary refreshments at interval)

Bookings
011 9003 2101 or info@seoulplayers.com

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Press article: English-language theater comes to Myeong-dong

By John Scott Marchant
The Korea Herald
November 16, 2004

Myeong-dong, that shining shopping Mecca located north of the river, is offering more than just extreme retail therapy this weekend. The Seoul Players, Korea's oldest and best known English-language amateur theater group is staging the final two days of "Top Girls" at the Samilro Changgo Theater.

Brenda Kemp, Jessica Pappas and Caroline le Gargasson perform in "Top Girls."

According to Roman Zolnierczyk, director of the production and founder of The Seoul Players, "Top Girls," is considered to be one of the 20th century's best dramas, exploring the lives of women in Margaret Thatcher's England during the 1980s.

Widely acclaimed for its inventive structure, shocking insights and driven characters, the production features an all-female cast, fitting perfectly with the group's aim to give Seoul's theater goers a different experience.

"I'm into different staging and really giving the audience something different," said Zolnierczyk. "'Top Girls' takes a hard look at the choices women make in order to find happiness and success. We begin with a slide show of famous women and include quotes from Queen Victoria about the role women play in society. It's a really interesting experience," he added. Featuring expatriate and Korean actors, Zolnierczyk has been amazed by the performances from some of his less experienced thespians.

"This is Sandalene Oliver's first time acting and she has been superb," he said. "I've also been very impressed by Jackie Chang and Jane Slater. Everyone is giving their all, we've been very lucky with this crew; the production has been very smooth." A fact that Zolnierczyk is extremely grateful for.

"We've staged six productions before 'Top Girls,' and working with such a reliable crew makes all the difference. Also, having such a supportive theater owner and professional venue has really helped us to maintain our standards in terms of putting on professional productions where people get value for money," he said.

Describing The Seoul Players' productions as "boutique theater," Zolnierczyk believes that Myeong-dong's Samilro Changgo Theater is better for audiences because it's a real theater with a deep and wide stage. "Great venue," he said. We're able to use full sets and the venue is nicely laid out with areas to get away from the theater and have a break during intermission."

Which for Maria Vairy, a Canadian theater-goer who experienced an evening performance of "Top Girls" last weekend, made her visit to the theater that much more enjoyable.

'I really enjoyed myself," she said. "It's a real theater and that definitely makes the evening even more enjoyable. I love sitting in the darkness enjoying a show and then being able to take a break outside while enjoying a coffee. It allows you time to think and really appreciate the performance." And for Zolnierczyk, this is what The Seoul Players' experience is all about. "I want to be known for putting on high quality productions where people get good value for money.

"I'm a purist. I don't put productions on in bars and don't like drinking during performances. Even eating popcorn or rustling papers bothers me and distracts the actors," he added.

"Top Girls" is being performed on Nov. 13 and 14 at 3 p.m. and 8 p.m. Tickets cost 20,000 won for adults, 15,000 won for students and 10,000 won for children. Admission includes a program and refreshments.

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