BY CARYL CHURCHILL DIRECTED BY LIESL TOMMY

DAZZLING CONTEMPORARY CLASSIC TOP GIRLS CURRICULUM GUIDE TABLE OF CONTENTS

Common Core Standards 3

Guidelines for Attending the Theatre 4

Artists 5

Themes for Writing & Discussion 7

Mastery Assessment 9

For Further Exploration 10

Suggested Activities 18

Suggestions for Further Reading and Viewing 20

© Huntington Theatre Company Boston, MA 02115

March 2018

No portion of this curriculum guide may be reproduced without written permission from the Huntington Theatre Company’s Department of Education & Community Programs

Inquiries should be directed to: Alexandra Smith | Interim Co-Director of Education [email protected]

This curriculum guide was prepared for the Huntington Theatre Company by: Lauren Brooks | Education Apprentice Ivy Ryan | Education Apprentice Alexandra Smith | Interim Co-Director of Education COMMON CORE STANDARDS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE ARTS

STANDARDS: Student Matinee performances and pre-show workshops provide unique opportunities for experiential learning and support various combinations of the Common Core Standards for English Language Arts. They may also support standards in other subject areas such as Social Studies and History, depending on the individual play’s subject matter. Activities are also included in this Curriculum Guide and in our pre-show workshops that support several of the Massachusetts state standards in Theatre. Other arts areas may also be addressed depending on the individual play’s subject matter.

Reading Literature: Key Ideas and Details 1 Reading Literature: Craft and Structure 5 • Grades 9-10: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to • Grades 9-10: Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as to structure a text, order events within it (e.g., parallel plots), and inferences drawn from the text. manipulate time (e.g., pacing, flashbacks), create such effects as mystery, tension, or surprise. • Grades 11-12: Cite strong and thorough textual evidence to support analysis of what the text says explicitly as well as • Grades 11-12: Analyze how an author’s choices concerning how inferences drawn from the text, including determining where the to structure specific parts of a text (e.g., the choice of where to text leaves matters uncertain. begin or end a story, the choice to provide a comedic or tragic resolution) contribute to its overall structure and meaning as well Reading Literature: Key Ideas and Details 2 as its aesthetic impact. • Grades 9-10: Determine a theme or central idea of a text and analyze in detail its development over the course of the text, Reading Literature: Craft and Structure 6 including how it emerges and is shape and refined by specific • Grades 9-10: Analyze a particular point of view or cultural details; provide an objective summary of the text. experience reflected in a work of literature from outside the • Grades 11-12: Determine two or more themes or central ideas of United States, drawing on a wide reading of world literature. a text and analyze their development over the course of the text, • Grades 11-12: Analyze a case in which grasping point of view including how they interact and build on one another to produce required distinguishing what is directly stated in a text from what a complex account; provide an objective summary of the text. is really meant (e.g., satire, sarcasm, irony, or understatement).

Reading Literature: Key Ideas and Details 3 Reading Literature: Integration of Knowledge and Ideas 7 • Grades 9-10: Analyze how complex characters (e.g. those with • Grades 9-12: Analyze multiple interpretations of a story, drama, or multiple or conflicting motivations) develop over the course of poem (e.g. recorded or live production of a play or recorded novel a text, interact with other characters, and advance the plot or or poetry), evaluating how each version interprets the source text develop the themes. (Include at least one play by Shakespeare and one play by an • Grades 11-12: Analyze the impact of the author’s choices American dramatist). regarding how to develop related elements of a story or drama (e.g., where a story is set, how the action is ordered, how the characters are introduced and developed).

TOP GIRLS CURRICULUM GUIDE 3 MASSACHUSETTS STANDARDS IN THEATRE

ACTING TECHNICAL THEATRE • 1.7: Create and sustain a believable character throughout a scripted or • 4.6: Draw renderings, floor plans, and/or build models of sets for improvised scene (By the end of Grade 8). a dramatic work and explain choices in using visual elements (line, • 1.12: Describe and analyze, in written and oral form, characters’ wants, shape/form, texture, color, space) and visual principals (unity, variety, needs, objectives, and personality characteristics (By the end of harmony, balance, rhythm) (By the end of Grade 8). Grade 8). • 4.13: Conduct research to inform the design of sets, costumes, sound, • 1.13: In rehearsal and performance situations, perform as a productive and lighting for a dramatic production (Grades 9-12). and responsible member of an acting ensemble (i.e., demonstrate CONNECTIONS personal responsibility and commitment to a collaborative process) — Students will describe (By the end of Grade 8). • Strand 6: Purposes and Meanings in the Arts the purposes for which works of dance, music, theatre, visual arts, and • 1.14: Create complex and believable characters through the integration architecture were and are created, and, when appropriate, interpret of physical, vocal, and emotional choices (Grades 9-12). their meanings (Grades PreK-12). • 1.15: Demonstrate an understanding of a dramatic work by developing • Strand 10: Interdisciplinary Connections — Students will apply their a character analysis (Grades 9-12). knowledge of the arts to the study of English language arts, foreign • 1.17: Demonstrate increased ability to work effectively alone and languages, health, history and social science, mathematics, and science collaboratively with a partner or in an ensemble (Grades 9-12). and technology/engineering (Grades PreK-12). READING AND WRITING SCRIPTS • 2.7: Read plays and stories from a variety of cultures and historical periods and identify the characters, setting, plot, theme, and conflict (By the end of Grade 8). • 2.8: Improvise characters, dialogue, and actions that focus on the development and resolution of dramatic conflicts (By the end of Grade 8). • 2.11: Read plays from a variety of genres and styles; compare and contrast the structure of plays to the structures of other forms of literature (Grades 9-12).

GUIDELINES FOR ATTENDING THE THEATRE

Attending live theatre is a unique experience with many valuable educational and social benefits. To ensure that all audience members are able to enjoy the performance, please take a few minutes to discuss the following audience etiquette topics with your students before you come to the Huntington Theatre Company. • How is attending the theatre similar to and different from going to the movies? What behaviors are and are not appropriate when seeing a play? Why? • Remind students that because the performance is live, the audience’s behavior and reactions will affect the actors’ performances. No two audiences are exactly the same, and therefore no two performances are exactly the same—this is part of what makes theatre so special! Students’ behavior should reflect the level of performance they wish to see. • Theatre should be an enjoyable experience for the audience. It is absolutely all right to applaud when appropriate and laugh at the funny moments. Talking and calling out during the performance, however, are not allowed. Why might this be? Be sure to mention that not only would the people seated around them be able to hear their conversation, but the actors on stage could hear them, too. Theatres are constructed to carry sound efficiently! • Any noise or light can be a distraction, so please remind students to make sure their cell phones are turned off (or better yet, left at home or at school!). Texting, photography, and video recording are prohibited. Food, gum, and drinks should not be brought into the theatre. • Students should sit with their group as seated by the Front of House staff and should not leave their seats once the performance has begun.

4 TOP GIRLS CURRICULUM GUIDE ARTISTS

In response to Churchill’s unique style, director and producer James C. Nicola said, “Most artists — whether painters or novelists or composers — find some sense of what their voices and concerns are in their 20s and 30s, and in their 60s and 70s they’re still doing variations on it. But it’s not true of her. She’s as fresh and new and unpredictable and inspiring now as she was at the beginning of her working life.”

At age 79, Caryl Churchill continues to be active in the theatre community. Though her last major play premiered in 2016, she continues collaborating with directors on her works and is frequently seen attending opening nights around London. QUESTIONS: MARC BRENNER 1. Churchill has been applauded for being a “chameleon” who can adapt to ever-changing political and social dynamics. What can artists do to remain relevant? How can they reinvent their work while remaining true to themselves?

Caryl Chuchill in rehearsal for her play, The Skriker 2. Research Epic Theatre and Theatre of Cruelty. What characterizes each genre? Where in Churchill’s writing is there evidence of these PLAYWRIGHT CARYL CHURCHILL influences? British playwright Caryl Churchill is known for her works exploring 3. Research the American Theater Hall of Fame. Write an argument sexual-political and feminist themes. Born in London in 1938, Churchill explaining why Churchill deserved to be inducted as a member. lived in Montreal, Canada, from the time she was 10 until the age of 19 when she returned to England to attend university. She graduated from Lady Margaret Hall, a women’s college of the University of Oxford, in 1960 with a BA in English literature. It was during her college years that she began writing plays; her four earliest works, Downstairs, You’ve No Need to be Frightened, Having a Wonderful Time, and Easy Death, were all staged by student theatre ensembles at Oxford. While raising her family in the 1960s and 1970s, Churchill began to write short radio and television dramas for the BBC. She wrote her first stage play Owners in 1972, but it was not until seven years later when she debuted Cloud 9 that she began to receive wide critical acclaim as a playwright.

Churchill is the author of nearly 50 plays and has received numerous awards including the Richard Hillary Memorial Prize (1961), the for Playwriting (1981, 1982), the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize (1984, 1987), the Laurence Olivier/BBC Award for Best New Play (1988), the Obie Sustained Achievement Award (2001), and induction into the American Theater Hall of Fame (2010).

Churchill was heavily influenced by Epic Theatre, a genre pioneered Liesl Tommy by German playwright Bertolt Brecht, which can be seen in her work’s episodic, didactic form and non-linear timelines. Her later plays, which became progressively more surreal and fragmental, were also DIRECTOR LIESL TOMMY influenced by Antonin Artaud and the Theatre of Cruelty. Throughout Liesl Tommy is an award-winning stage director returning to the her career, Churchill has been applauded for her imaginative structures Huntington Theatre Company having previously directed The Royal that challenge the idea of what a play is or can be. According to a 1989 Society of Antarctica (Breaking Ground festival of new work – 2015), A New York Times interview, Churchill, who largely avoids the media and Raisin in the Sun (2013), Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom (2012), and has not granted an interview to a major newspaper since the 1990s, (2011). Her credits include productions of ’s explained: “I do enjoy the form of things. I enjoy finding the form that (Broadway and The Public Theater) starring Academy Award winner seems best to fit what I’m thinking about. I don’t set out to find a bizarre Lupita Nyong’o (Tony Award nomination for Best Director), Branden way of writing. I certainly don’t think that you have to force it. But on Jacobs-Jenkins’s Appropriate (Signature Theatre), Tracey Scott Wilson’s the whole, I enjoy plays that are non-naturalistic and don’t move in The Good Negro, UNIVERSES’ Party People, and A. Zell Williams’ Urban real time.” Retreat (The Public Theater/NYSF), Les Misérables (Dallas Theater Center), (California Shakespeare Theater),

TOP GIRLS CURRICULUM GUIDE 5 (), and John Kander and Greg Pierce’s musical I want to see people using language vigorously, smacking out Kid Victory. Tommy is the recipient of an Obie Award, Lucille Lortel those consonants, getting in each other’s face, and I want to feel Award, Pioneer of the Arts Award, Lillian Hellman Award, Alan Schneider like I’m smelling sweat.” How is this style of directing different from Award, NEA/TCG Directors Grant, New York Theatre Workshop Casting/ realism (when a play mirrors everyday life)? If you were to direct a Directing Fellowship, and the inaugural Susan Stroman Award from show, what guiding questions would you ask yourself to keep your the Vineyard Theater. Tommy facilitated the inaugural Sundance East production on track? Africa Theatre Director’s Lab and is a member of the oard of the Sundance Institute. She has worked at Dallas Theater Center, California 4. Tommy discovered the power of theatre when she was in high Shakespeare Theater, Center Stage, Sundance East Africa, and more. school. Where do you find community and purpose? What Tommy serves as a program associate and artist trustee at Sundance activities or subjects are you drawn to? What would you like to try Institute Theatre Program. that you haven’t had an opportunity to yet? What from your life now do you hope to carry into your future? Tommy was born in Cape Town, South Africa under apartheid where she was raised in a colored township outside of the city. When she was 15 years old, her family immigrated to Newton, Massachusetts, where she attended Newton North High School. An early lover of theatre, Tommy would explore the plays on her dad’s bookshelf and persuade her brother into reading the most dramatic scenes from plays

including Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? and The Glass Menagerie. NILE HAWVER One of Tommy’s teachers at Newton North High School asked her to be in a production of for colored girls who have considered suicide/ when the rainbow is enuf by Ntozake Shange for Black History Month. Tommy immediately discovered the outlet she needed and a sense of community in the theatre. “I instantly found purpose, a common Director Liesl Tommy language,” she remembers. “I never ever did anything else. I pursued theatre relentlessly.” After high school, she studied acting in London and subsequently pursued her MFA in acting at a joint program between Brown University and Trinity Repertory Company in Providence, RI. DIRECTOR LIESL TOMMY: Tommy even performed the role of Joan in a production of Top Girls at Trinity Rep. At Brown, her teachers noticed and encouraged ADVICE FROM THE FIRST WOMAN Tommy’s instincts for directing. Tommy slowly made the transition and now directs both new plays and classics worldwide. OF COLOR NOMINATED FOR A TONY She first stepped into the Huntington Avenue Theatre as a teenager in FOR BEST DIRECTION OF A PLAY BY 1987 to attend a student matinee. “I first encountered the Huntington when I was in high school when we saw ’s Joe Turner’s JERYL BRUNNER (FORBES Come and Gone. It was an experience that changed my life and opened up my eyes to what theatre could be and what theatre could do,” says Tommy of her experience at a Huntington Student Matinee. MAGAZINE – JUNE 29, 2016) QUESTIONS: JERYL BRUNNER: Why do you love what you do? TOMMY: I truly believe that theatre and storytelling has the 1. Director Liesl Tommy’s directing resume includes a diverse group power to change lives. I’ve seen it. I’ve seen people come of projects at theatres all over the world, ranging from Shakespeare up to me after Eclipsed and any show that I’ve worked on to musicals to contemporary world premieres. Investigate the over the years. You can see in their eyes that something in other plays Liesl Tommy has directed for the Huntington Theatre them has changed. Company: A Raisin in the Sun, Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, and Ruined. Are there any similarities among these projects? How BRUNNER: What advice would you have for young women would you describe Tommy’s body of work as a whole? who want to move forward in their careers? 2. In an article in the Huntington Theatre Company’s Spring 2013 TOMMY: The thing that has been most important for me is edition of its Spotlight magazine, Liesl Tommy describes her to fight for confidence. We can self-sabotage. People will visceral and physical aesthetic as a director, “I’m interested in the be looking for weaknesses anywhere. I believe you have to violence of being a human being, and sometimes that is with walk into a room like you own it. Because why shouldn’t actual physical violence onstage, and sometimes it’s just the thing you own it? that pulsates underneath every exchange.” How can violence manifest in other ways than literal physical violence? What do you BRUNNER: How do you do that? think Tommy means by “the thing that pulsates underneath every TOMMY: You have to look into people’s eyes, make exchange”? How do you think this set of principles might translate demands and call them on their bullshit. And because to this production of Top Girls? you’re a woman, never let them get away with making you feel like you are less. It is amazing how many people out 3. When working on a play, Tommy asks herself the following series of there want to tell us “no” just because we’re women. questions, “What is the set in real life, and how do I take it up a few notches? How do these people interact and how do I make it more?

6 TOP GIRLS CURRICULUM GUIDE THEMES FOR DISCUSSION AND WRITING

Marlene, a career-oriented woman who has risen within the ranks of the Top Girls Employment Agency, is highly successful in her work but not satisfied in her personal life. Part of her is still running away from Suffolk, the working class town where she grew up, and from the baby she left behind to be raised by her sister. Her “niece” Angie equates Marlene’s success with happiness and the promise of a better life, but her idolization of this lifestyle does not mirror Marlene’s personal experience Opening of The Clerk’s Tale in the Ellesmere illuminated of isolation and disappointment. manuscript of The Canterbury Tales, early 15th century / Huntington QUESTIONS: Library, Los Angeles 1. How does the world at large define success? In what ways can the characters in Top Girls be described as successful? Are any of them SUCCESS = HAPPINESS? actually happy? Which is more important happiness or success? Some people believe that professional achievements are often equated 2. How would you define success? How would you define happiness? to personal fulfillment, while others maintain they are not synonymous Do you think it is possible to achieve both? If you know someone and professional success does not guarantee happiness. Although many who is successful and happy explain a little bit about who they are of the women in Top Girls are wildly successful in their careers, only one and what their story is. of the characters actually appears to be happy. Patient Griselda, the last to arrive at the dinner party in Act I, has her life painted by Marlene as 3. Who or what makes you happy right now? What do you think “like a fairy story, except it starts with marrying the prince.” As Griselda would make you happy in the long-term? recounts the story of her life with the marquis, inspired by “The Clerk’s Tale” in Geoffrey Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, her unwavering patience THE REPRESSION OF FEMINITY and loyalty are revealed as her husband puts her through hell fire to test When Marlene is promoted to managing director over her coworker her fidelity. Griselda’s husband forces her to give up their two children, Howard, she believes her promotion marks the pinnacle of her life as divorces her, banishes her from court, makes her walk home barefoot in an independent woman in the 1980s: she not only proved herself a a slip, calls her back to plan his wedding to a new and younger bride, capable employee but also holds a position of power over a man. Does then shocks her by revealing it was all a test: their children are alive, that feeling of success — for Marlene, the other women of the Top Girls and the couple lives happily ever after. At the dinner party, Griselda Employment Agency, and even for the historical and legendary women is polite, disconnected, and highlights how much her husband must of the opening scene — come at the cost of their identities as women? have suffered all those years as he put her through these challenges, Did getting ahead mean repressing their inherent femininity? instead of sharing any of her internal emotional journey. She may have succeeded as a peasant by marrying a prince and proving her As women were still new to the corporate workforce when Top Girls character is beyond reproach, but the text suggests that she has also was written in the 1980s, a general assumption existed that women been emotionally traumatized by this series of events. The cost very well needed to adopt male qualities of dress and personality in order to be might have been more damaging than she is willing to acknowledge. taken seriously. In Act I, provides a literal living example of Instead, Griselda optimistically focuses on the happiness she has this long-held belief, having deliberately hidden her true gender identity achieved by earning ultimate rewards of status and the most sought to live her adult life as a man rather than as a woman. The women after bachelor in the land. of the agency also repress their femininity in order to manufacture credibility in a male-driven world, embracing more masculine silhouettes The other guests present at Marlene’s dinner party in Act I are all through “power dressing.” As Nell, a Top Girls employee, explains in historically influential and objectively successful women from different Act II, women were assumed to be fragile, so they felt it necessary to cultures and moments in history, however, over the course of dinner, prove their toughness. Nell elaborates on the dynamic between women drinks, and dessert, the polished facades of these powerful women are and masculinity in the workplace, in her analysis of Marlene’s recent removed, revealing their pain, regret, and frustration with themselves promotion over a male colleague, Howard. “Howard thinks because he’s and their lives. Isabella Bird was a well-educated world traveler a fella the job was his as of right,” she explains. “Our Marlene’s got far during the Victorian era with a life full of adventure, yet she yearned more balls that Howard and that’s that.” Not only does Nell’s statement for the companionship of her sister Hennie whom she left behind in make clear that Howard felt he deserved the job because he was male, Scotland. Lady Nijo was a courtesan to a Japanese emperor before but it also shows how masculine qualities like having “balls” serve as a later becoming a Buddhist nun, yet she felt trapped in both worlds and statement of qualifications in their workplace. experienced lasting heartbreak in her relationships with the men in her sphere. Dull Gret was a fearless and fierce warrior and leader in battle, Shona, a woman seeking a job through the agency, also equates yet her monologue at the end of Act I reveals that she holds deep anger masculinity with success. In crafting a fictional account of her about all she has seen, perhaps even suffering from post-traumatic previous work experience, she describes more traditionally masculine stress disorder. Lastly, Pope Joan used a masculine disguise to rise in responsibilities and pastimes: driving, selling large electrical equipment, status and serve as the Roman Catholic pope for two years, only to nights away from home, and regular drinking. Another agency see her truth exposed and be stoned to death. For all of these women, employee, Win, chimes in that she has rejected society’s expectations success did not bestow happiness. of women through choices she makes in her romantic life and refuses

TOP GIRLS CURRICULUM GUIDE 7 to settle down, get married, and “play house.” Win prizes her liberty Top Girls instead only find common ground in their shared misery as over expectations associated with traditional femininity, so she pursues women. The women try to outdo one another in who has the most casual relationships and remains unattached, thus thwarting the feminine wretched life, proclaiming dead lovers, bouts of illness, mistreatment by expectations of motherhood and monogamy. men, and the sacrifices of their children and femininity as evidence. One by one the women express a mutual feeling of emptiness: “I am dead The female Top Girls employees therefore establish their successes in already,” “You thought your life was over,” “You wish it was over” similar fashion to Pope Joan: through imitation. Rather than proving (Act I). Though their similar feelings of dissatisfaction offer a point of that women are wholly capable with an entirely unique skillset, both agreement, they experience their unhappiness as individuals with no real biologically and socially, they mimic the successes of men in an attempt understanding or acknowledgement of each other’s plight. to walk an already tried and true path. In the world of Top Girls, it seems ingrained that women must sacrifice everything that makes them female Despite hearing each other’s personal stories and sharing their own, in order to achieve success. the women fail to empathize with one another. Repeatedly, Lady Nijo and Isabella declare one another’s cultures to be “barbaric” with Nijo QUESTIONS: dismissing Christianity and Isabella subsequently dismissing the practices 1. Why might Shona have tried to make her fake resume seem of the lower classes in “the East.” Similarly, Marlene is critical of Griselda’s masculine? Do you think she did this consciously or did she husband Walter, characterizing him as a misogynist and abuser despite unintentionally internalize a male model of success? Griselda’s own glowing view of him. Their lack of empathy, however, is largely due to an inability to see eye to eye across time, place, and 2. Though Nell and Win express little regret over their choices, the culture. The women come from a range of different cultural backgrounds, women in the play who did actually become mothers tell stories of but although they literally speak the same language in the play, they conflict between their senses of self and their identities as nurturing fail to effectively communicate with one another. When Marlene asks caretakers. What tough choices did Marlene, Lady Nijo, and Patient Nijo whether she was raped by the ex-Emperor after she was given to Griselda make? Why? How did they feel afterward? him at age 14, for example, Nijo responds, “No, of course not, Marlene, I belonged to him, it was what I was brought up for from a baby” (Act 3. Do you believe that women still have to prove themselves in the I). Nijo’s retort demonstrates that critical value statements, such as workplace? Think of a recent example, either from your own life or the parameters of what constitutes consensual sex, are ideas that are from a TV show or movie, where a woman has had to prove herself culturally defined. as capable as a man. What challenges did she encounter? How did she address them? Thus, Churchill challenges the idea of universal sisterhood in a way that echoes arguments against first wave feminism, in which middle-class 4. A. There are countless books and articles written about how white women egregiously assumed that they could speak for women women who are aggressive in the workplace are likely to be called of all socioeconomic backgrounds and cultures. By bringing historical “bossy” whereas men who are aggressive are seen as driven and figures from different backgrounds into the social climate of 1980s successful. Why do you think this difference in perception exists? London, it becomes clear that a shared gender experience can be B. Consider the words “bossy” and “nasty.” Do you believe these overruled by cultural context. words are gendered? QUESTIONS: FEMINISM AND CULTURAL RELATIVISM 1. Why did Caryl Churchill structure the play’s first act so that the In the iconic opening scene of Top Girls, Churchill creates a fantasy women argue and talk over one another? conversation that brings together a diverse range of women from past and present. Rebecca Cameron, a comparative drama expert 2. Do you believe that there’s a universal bond between people of from DePaul University, likens this to the suffrage-era pageants of the shared gender identity? Why or why not? early 1900s that brought famous historical women and female martyrs 3. Why is it difficult for people to empathize with individuals of together in a utopian vision of female solidarity. However, as Cameron different cultures? points out, Churchill challenges this notion of “universal sisterhood” by juxtaposing different cultures that cascade into a cacophony of clashing 4. “Intersectionality” is defined by the Oxford Dictionary as: “The female voices and opinions. interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender as they apply to a given individual or group.” Rather than bonding over their shared empowerment as women and Why is it important for social movements such as feminism to assumed common goals in reaching gender equality, the women of be intersectional?

Suffrage Pageant at the Skookum Club in 1913, Don Sherwood Parks History Collection (Record Series 5801-01)

8 TOP GIRLS CURRICULUM GUIDE MASTERY ASSESSMENT

The scenes are listed in the order in which they will occur in the Huntington Theatre Company’s production of Top Girls. This may differ from published editions of the play. Compare the sequences of scenes in the Huntington’s production with the order in which they occur in a published version. Why might the director of the Huntington’s production, Liesl Tommy, have wanted to make this change? How does the sequence change your experience of the characters and plot?

ACT I 11. What kind of job is Jeanine looking for? How does she want her next job to differ from her current position? 1. What is the occasion being celebrated at the dinner party? 12. What advice does Marlene give Jeanine at the end of 2. What is the relationship between the guests? the scene? 3. What are the religions of each of the six women eating 13. Who are Win and Nell? together? 14. What are Win and Nell’s perspectives on male suitors? What 4. Who is Rocky Mountain Jim? are their requirements and current prospects? 5. How did dressing as a boy alter Joan’s life path? What did 15. What is Win and Nell’s profession? it allow her to do that she wouldn’t otherwise have been allowed to? What were the consequences? 16. Why is Howard bitter? Whose side are Win and Nell on? 6. What were Lady Nijo’s two professions? How does she feel 17. Why is Louise looking to change jobs after many years at about each of them? one company? How does she hope her company will react when she leaves? 7. Where has Isabella traveled? Why did she travel the world? 18. Who is Mrs. Kidd? What is the issue she has come to 8. How many children did Lady Njio have? Who fathered her address? How do Mrs. Kidd and Marlene differ on the matter? children? What was her relationship with the babies after they were born? 19. Why is Angie at the Top Girls Agency? Does Joyce know Angie is there? 9. Who is the last guest to arrive at the dinner party? 20. What is Shona hiding from Nell in her interview? 10. Marlene describes Griselda’s life as “a fairy story.” What story is Marlene encouraging Griselda to recount? What test did 21. How did Win wind up working for the company? Griselda’s husband put her through? How did it end? ACT III 11. What does Joan drunkenly recite? 1. How are Marlene and Joyce connected? How many years 12. Gret says very little throughout this scene. When she finally have passed since they last saw each other? does speak, what does she talk about? 2. What part did Angie play in getting Marlene to come over? ACT II 3. What does Angie show Marlene in her bedroom? SCENE 1 4. What are Joyce’s perspectives on Angie’s intelligence, 1. Who is Joyce? development, and prospects? 2. Why does Angie talk about her gran’s picture falling? How is 5. Who is revealed to be Angie’s biological mother? that connected to the dead kitten? 6. What are the main points of conflict between Marlene and 3. How does Kit prove she isn’t afraid of blood? Why does Joyce? What are their stances? Angie refer to herself as a cannibal? 7. What are Marlene’s political beliefs? 4. To what does Angie refer when she calls Kit’s mom “a slag” 8. What tier of society does Marlene belong to? What tier of and says “she does it with everyone”? society does Joyce belong to? 5. Where is the secret place Angie refers to? What does she 9. Who are the ‘us’ and ‘them’ referred to by Joyce believe to be a secret about her aunt? and Marlene? 6. What does Kitty and Joyce’s conversation reveal about Angie? 7. Why did Angie put on a dress that’s too small for her? SCENE 2 8. What is the context under which Marlene grills Jeanine with questions? 9. Who has the higher status in this scene? 10. What information does Marlene tell Jeanine to hide?

TOP GIRLS CURRICULUM GUIDE 9 FOR FURTHER EXPLORATION

MEET THE DINNER GUESTS to empirical evidence that the first writings about a female pope were added into Jean de Mailly’s chronicles after his death. According In the opening scene of Top Girls, Marlene, the newly promoted to most other accounts, Joan was a learned woman who disguised manager of an employment agency, hosts a celebratory dinner with five herself as a man to study in the Vatican with her lover. Due to her legendary and historical dinner guests. Read the introductions of her intellectual abilities, she rose through the ranks and was elected Pope. dinner guests and then answer the questions that follow: One day, while making a procession, Joan unexpectedly went into labor. It was revealed that Joan was a woman, and she and her child were 1. ISABELLA BIRD, born in the United Kingdom in 1831, suffered from spinal pain, headaches, and insomnia from early childhood. Her doctors stoned to death. recommended an open-air lifestyle which prompted Bird to not only 5. PATIENT GRISELDA is a fairytale character appearing in Geoffrey engage in outdoor activities such as horseback riding and rowing, but Chaucer’s The Canterbury Tales, written in the late 1300s, as well as also eventually led to her extensive international travels throughout famous stories by Giovanni Boccaccio (1350) and Charles Perrault (1691). her adult life. In her 73 years, Bird visited Australia, the Sandwich Isles, In Chaucer’s version, Griselda was a peasant woman whom the Marquis Japan, China, Colorado, Korea, Morocco, and more. To fund her travels of Saluzzo decided to court. The marquis’ only condition for marriage and to provide income for her single sister Henrietta, Bird published was that Griselda always obey him. Despite the marquis dispelling letters and journals detailing her journeys. In her later years, following Griselda’s two children and divorcing her for being unable to bear him a the deaths of Henrietta and Bird’s husband Dr. John Bishop, Bird studied child of status, Griselda maintained trust in and patience with her once- medicine, traveled as a missionary, and experimented as a photographer. husband. At the end of the story, the marquis calls Griselda back and Much of the character’s dialogue in Top Girls comes directly from Bird’s reveals he had been harboring their children all along. The reward for own writings. her patience and obedience was her restoration as his wife and mother of his children. In Top Girls, Griselda is notably consumed by her love 2. LADY NIJŌ was born in 1258 to a family that ranked high in the imperial courts and was known for its literary abilities. Due to her for the marquis and his ability to elevate her from peasant status; as a mother’s early death, Lady Nijō was brought to the imperial court by her result, she sees no fault with his extreme tests of her obedience. father and raised there from the age of 4. At 14, she was given to retired QUESTIONS: Emperor Go-Fukakusa as a concubine, and her father died within the year. Due to her unsavory status as an orphan and her affinity for taking 1. Each of Marlene’s dinner guests has endured great sacrifice and lovers while working at the palace, Lady Nijō was never recognized as hardship. How does Marlene’s status as a working woman in the an official consort of the Emperor. She was eventually expelled from 1980s compare to the experiences of the other women? the court in 1283, at which time she assumed the role of a Buddhist nun 2. In your opinion, which woman has endured the greatest hardship? and wrote her iconic memoir Towazugatari (“An Unasked for Tale,” or Which woman was most successful in her pursuits? known in English as The Confessions of Lady Nijō). Though written in the early 14th century, the memoir was not re-discovered until 1940 and 3. Why does Churchill select these women in particular? What makes not published until 1950 following the conclusion of WWII. Much of the them unique? If you were to host a dinner of fictional and historical character’s dialogue in Top Girls is borrowed from English translations of people, who would you invite and why? her memoir.

3. DULL GRET (or Dulle Griet) is a figure of Flemish folklore famously depicted in Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s 1562 portrait, Dulle Griet. In the painting, Dull Gret is shown marching into hell clad in male armor as other women loot a town behind her. It’s believed Bruegel is mocking noisy, shrewish, aggressive women in this painting, playing on the Flemish proverb, “One woman makes a din, two women a lot of trouble, three an annual market, four a quarrel, five an army, and against six the Devil himself has no weapon.” Dull Gret’s mission refers to another Flemish proverb, “She could plunder in front of hell and return unscathed.” In Top Girls, Dull Gret likens hell to her own village, serving as a reminder of the tough conditions that 16th century peasant women endured.

4. POPE JOAN was alleged to have disguised herself as a man to reign as Pope of the in 9th century . The earliest NILE HAWVER mention of a rumored female pope appears in the Dominican Jean de Mailly’s chronicle of Metz, written in the early 13th century. She is not attributed a name until late in the 13th century when the third version of Martin of Opava’s Chronicon Pontificum et Imperatorum was published. Most modern scholars believe the story of Joan is fictional due to a 200- The cast of Top Girls: year gap between her supposed lifetime and any account of her, due to Elia Monte-Brown, Carmen M. Herlihy, Sophia Ramos, Paula Plum, Vanessa Kai, Kiara Pichardo, and Carmen Zilles a lack of gaps between the reigns of known at that time, and due

10 TOP GIRLS CURRICULUM GUIDE When Marlene (played by Carmen Zilles, above) earns a promotion at the Top Girls employment agency, she celebrates by hosting a dinner party with five historical women. Get to know the guests before seeing Marlene’s present and their pasts converge. 5. 1.

“But of course a wife must “I always felt dull when I was obey her husband.” stationary. That’s why I could – GRISELDA never stay anywhere.” TABLE – ISABELLA BIRD FOR SIX MEET THE HISTORIC WOMEN OF TOP GIRLS

4. 2. “There was nothing in my life “The first half of my life except my studies. I was obsessed was all sin and the second with the pursuit of truth.” all repentance.” – POPE JOAN – LADY NIJŌ

3.

“You keep running on and fighting you didn’t stop for nothing. Oh we give them devils such a beating.” – DULL GRET

TOP GIRLS CURRICULUM GUIDE 11 CHURCHILL’S WRITING STYLE Caryl Churchill’s writing style and her body of work have resulted in her being regarded as a theatrical revolutionary. One of her clearest and most inventive trademarks is the technique she uses to delineate the interconnected threads of communication in her scripts. Many other playwrights have been inspired by her experimental structure and boundary-breaking content. For creative teams working on Churchill’s scripts, extensive energy throughout the rehearsal process goes into text analysis that focuses on the specificity of conversation and the crafting of timing and overlap.

A speech usually follows the one immediately before it BUT:

1. When one character starts speaking before the other has finished, the point of interruption is marked / e.g. ISABELLA. This is the Emperor of Japan? / I once met the Emperor of Morocco. NIJO. In fact he was the ex-Emperor. Margaret Thatcher during her reign as Prime Minister of the UK (1979-1990) In this scenario, Nijo would begin her line “In fact…” immediately following Isabella’s MARGARET THATCHER: THE IRON LADY “. . . Emeror of Japan?” causing it to overlap with In Act III of Top Girls, written and set in the 1980s, Marlene and Joyce Isabella’s “I once met the Emperor of Morocco.” get into a heated political argument over the United Kingdom’s newly elected first female Prime Minister, Margaret Thatcher. The great rift 2. A character sometimes continues speaking right between the political leanings of these two sisters mirrors the polarizing through another’s speech, which is made evident by divide in the United Kingdom. the character’s first line ending without punctuation and following line starting with a lower case letter: MARLENE. And for the country, come to that. Get the economy back on its feet and whoosh. She’s a tough lady. Maggie. I’d ISABELLA. When I was forty I thought my life was over. give her a job. / She just needs to hang / Oh I was pitiful. I was JOYCE. You voted for them, did you? NIJO. I didn’t say I felt it for twenty years. Not MARLENE. in there. This country needs to stop whining. / every minute. Monetarism is not ISABELLA. sent on a cruise for my health and felt even JOYCE. Drink your tea and shut up, pet. worse. Pains in my bones, pins and needles… MARLENE. stupid. It takes time, determination. No more slop. / And 3. Sometimes a speech follows on from a speech earlier JOYCE. Well I think they’re filthy bastards. than the one immediately before it, and continuity MARLENE. who’s got to drive it on? First woman prime is marked *: minister. Terrifico. Aces. Right on. / You must admit. Certainly GRISELDA. I’d seen him riding by, we all had. And he’d gets my vote. seen me in the field with the sheep.* JOYCE. What good’s first woman if it’s her? I suppose you’d ISABELLA. I would have been well suited to have liked Hitler if he was a woman. Ms. Hitler. Got a lot minding sheep. done, Hitlerina. NIJO. And Mr Nugent went riding by. Margaret Thatcher served a total of three terms from 1979-1990 and was ISABELLA. Of course not, Nijo, I mean a healthy life in also the leader of the UK’s Conservative Party from 1975-1990. Thatcher the open air. received her popular nickname “The Iron Lady” from a Soviet journalist . *He just rode up while you were minding the JOAN because of her fierce determination, unyielding will, and uncompromising sheep and asked you to marry him? politics. Although she was the longest serving prime minister of the In this example, ‘in the field with the sheep” is the cue 20th century, she was detested by people of opposing parties and was to both “I would have been” and “He just rode up.” eventually ousted from office by members of her own party. When Margaret Thatcher rose to power in 1979, the United Kingdom was rife with industrial strikes, power cuts, and fears surrounding immigration. Thatcher immediately went to work – she united the right wing under

12 TOP GIRLS CURRICULUM GUIDE the umbrella of free enterprise capitalism, reduced the influence of trade but the State. In which decisions affecting people’s lives are taken from unions, privatized a lengthy list of industries (including British Telecom, them, instead of being taken by them. In which property and savings are British Gas, British Airways, and Rolls Royce), and scaled back public taken from the people instead of being more widely held among them. benefits related to social programs and education. She rejected the In which directives replace incentives. In which the State is the master popular economic theories of John Maynard Keynes, who advocated of the individual, instead of the servant.” By contrast, she described for deficit spending during periods of high unemployment, in favor of capitalism as “a free economic system” which “not only guarantees Chicago economist Milton Friedman’s monetarist approach. the freedom of each individual citizen, it is the surest way to increase the prosperity of the nation as a whole.” Margaret Thatcher stood for In the words of a close aide, Margaret Thatcher and United States everything that Caryl Churchill opposed. For many writers with leftist President Ronald Reagan were “political soulmates.” Reagan was philosophies, including Churchill, The Iron Lady was the embodiment elected a year after Thatcher, and they quickly created an alliance that of the capitalist order that they argued was holding back women, and they saw to be a conservative match made in heaven, particularly other marginalized demographics, from achieving equality and success. when it came to international politics. Not only were they partners in Churchill’s writing is imbued with socialist philosophies and critiques diplomacy and policy-making, but they developed strong friendship on traditionally capitalist values such as being aggressive, getting in the public sphere, seeing themselves and their respective countries ahead, and prioritizing oneself. In contrast, Thatcher criticized the as part of a transatlantic alliance. They both attacked what they saw messiness of socialism, instead preaching about the importance of the as over-regulation of industries and worked to dismantle government individual and the idea that greatness and success is achieved through bureaucracies — Reagan focused on telecommunications, the individual efforts. environment, and business, while Thatcher took stands on health care. Additionally, they were committed to the destruction of Communism Britain might have had its first woman Prime Minister, but many and opposing the Soviet Union. The Ronald Reagan Presidential Library feminists argued they had ended up with a leader similar to recognizes Margaret Thatcher as Reagan’s most prolific correspondent Shakespeare’s Lady Macbeth, a woman largely defined by her ambitious among heads of state and notes that they exchanged hundreds of cut-throat scheming. During her terms in office, the United Kingdom letters, messages, and telephone calls. experienced a shift in cultural values where market principles triumphed over human ones, where millions of people were tossed onto the One of Thatcher’s hallmark accomplishments during her tenure was her scrapheap of unemployment. Asked about feminism at her first press victory against Argentina to maintain control over the Falkland Islands. conference as Conservative Party leader, she immediately replied, “What The Falklands War of April — June 1982 was a major turning point in has it ever done for me?” Although Margaret Thatcher verbally rejected Thatcher’s political career. The conflict began with a surprise attack on feminism, she still was a revolutionary who rebuked the idea that a April 2, 1982 when Argentine forces descended on the islands, British woman’s place was in the home and overcame immense sexist prejudice territories located off Argentina’s coast, to seek their claim. After two in the political sphere. Many feminists, however, including Churchill, felt days of resistance, Thatcher was faced with a difficult decision between that this progress was miniscule and that the potential for genuinely suing Argentina for settlement or embarking on a risky military conflict radical change in the early 1970s had been wasted. with little hope of victory. Many political figures argued that battle so far from home was preposterous and a win would be impossible. With her QUESTIONS: government on the brink of collapse, Prime Minister Thatcher overruled 1. Research Margaret Thatcher’s career prior to becoming prime dissenting voices and gave the order for a special task force to set sail minister. What was her profession? What accomplishments helped immediately with 38 warships, 77 auxiliary vessels, and 11,000 soldiers propel her to become leader of her party? What were some of and marines. She converted a point of national shame for the UK into a her most memorable and significant accomplishments as prime point of collective purpose and within two months the UK triumphed. In minister? August 1982, when Top Girls first premiered at the Royal Court Theatre, Thatcher’s popularity was at an all-time high. 2. What makes a successful political leader? What qualities do you look for in a candidate? What issues are most to you (economy, In a 1976 speech to the Christian Democratic Union Conference, civil rights, war, health care, women’s rights, foreign policy, etc.)? Margaret Thatcher clearly articulated her capitalist belief that “there are only two political philosophies, only two ways of governing a country. 3. Do you identify as a feminist? Why or why not? One is the Socialist-Marxist way in which what matters is not the people NILE HAWVER

The cast of Top Girls: Kiara Pichardo, Elia Monte-Brown, Carmen M. Herlihy, Carmen Zilles, Vanessa Kai, Sophia Ramos, and Paula Plum

TOP GIRLS CURRICULUM GUIDE 13 Source: Labour Force Survey, Office for National Statistics

14 TOP GIRLS CURRICULUM GUIDE WOMEN AND WORK QUESTIONS: Top Girls premiered in 1982, a time when women were entering the 1. In Top Girls, Marlene receives a promotion over a male colleague, workforce in large numbers and trying to prove themselves equal much to the dismay of the colleague’s wife. Why might his to their male counterparts. According to the Office for National colleague’s wife be upset? How does she react? If this situation Statistics, 43.9% of women were employed in the UK at that time, happened today, do you think she would react the same way? compared to 56% as of November 2017. Moreover, women’s wages relative to those of men were on the rise beginning in the late 1970s. 2. Read “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All” in The Atlantic (https:// According to the UK’s National Bureau of Economic Research, www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/07/why-women- the female/male ratio or annual earnings for fulltime workers still-cant-have-it-all/309020/). Do you agree with Anne-Marie increased from 60.2% in 1980 to 72.2% in 1999. The change in ratio Slaughter’s view that women must choose between a career or not only reflects both the large increase in numbers of working having children? Do you think that Top Girls playwright Caryl women and the slight decline in male employment and wages, but Churchill would agree or disagree with this view? also conveys the increase of women in higher paying professions and 3. A. According to a December 2014 article in “The Upshot,” a managerial roles. data-driven social research section in The New York Times, Unfortunately, women continue to earn less than men overall in 2018. working women in France benefit from significant government This difference is often attributed to women’s choice in careers. support and generous family leave policies when they have According to Mehroz Baig, a communications specialist, women children. Read the article (https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/14/ make up over 90% of dental assistants, secretaries, and registered upshot/us-employment-women-not-working.html). Compare the nurses. From 1970 to 2010, secretary, cashier, and elementary school French system to family leave policies in the United States. Do teacher have remained the leading occupations for women. Even you think that the government should provide greater support though women are the recipients of more than half of undergraduate for women? degrees, they often study the humanities over STEM fields and B. Working mothers in France receive more government support pursue less financially lucrative careers. The gender gap is not than those in the US, however, women in France also report entirely due to choice of professional field, however. In a 2012 study having less career mobility and that they are less likely to reach at Yale, researchers created a fake job application and sent it to top positions. Many mothers have reported discrimination and science professors at top research universities in the United States. lack of promotions due to taking maternity leave or working part Professors were then asked to evaluate the student’s competency, time while raising children. Are those repercussions worth it? state how likely they were to hire the applicant, and provide how 4. Do you believe women can “have it all”? Why or why not? much they would be willing to pay the applicant. The applications and resumes were identical aside from the fact that half were for an applicant named “John” and half from an applicant named “Jennifer.” The results, from both male and female professors, demonstrated a bias that favored the male applicant; professors were not only more likely to hire the male candidate but also willing to pay the male candidate a higher salary.

Gender bias undoubtedly contributes to inequality in the workplace, but what about in women’s personal lives? Many women cite efforts to strike a harmonious work-life balance as a major struggle. According to Jane Martinson of The Guardian, women in London have a particularly difficult time. As of 2012, fewer mothers worked in London compared to anywhere else in the UK. High costs for child care as well as long commutes and inflexible work schedules make child-rearing in London extremely difficult, especially considering that 31% of families in London are single parent homes. As demonstrated by Marlene’s own struggle between motherhood and a career in Top Girls, not much has changed since the 1980s. As Anne-Marie Slaughter explains in her essay “Why Women Still Can’t Have It All,” published in The Atlantic’s July/August 2012 issue, despite a greater acceptance of women in the workplace, there is still not societal support to allow women to simultaneously have aggressive careers while also raising a child. Almost inevitably, NILE HAWVER having a child either means a choice between taking a back seat on career ambitions and passing up opportunities or missing out on the developmental years of the child’s life. For many women, work-life balance has become a matter of scheduling, forcing many women to Cast member Carmen Zilles struggle with whether children or career should come first.

TOP GIRLS CURRICULUM GUIDE 15 ICONIC “AGGRESSIVE” WOMEN: and Tove Lo. Rapper-singer-actress Nicki Minaj reflected in the same THE 1980S – TODAY Billboard article that Madonna “has always been true to herself as an artist. She does things her way no matter what, and that always The employees of the Top Girls Employment Agency, Marlene, Nell, inspires me. Because she never backs down from her beliefs and and Win, are stereotype-smashing women who have found success takes risks, she has made history . . . She’s the ultimate boss.” Despite in their industry by outwardly owning their power (nb: this seems acclaim from fans, critics, and fellow artists, however Madonna has unclear). This archetype of an independent female, who asserts also been made a pariah by religious groups, conservative politicians herself, takes no nonsense, and flourishes in her profession, has and social activists, and international censors who objected to her become a staple of Western culture since the 1980s. Women have uninhibited, confrontational persona, sometimes resulting in boycotts sky rocketed to positions of power across pop culture, government, of her work. business, and various other industries despite sexist prejudice and obstacles of societal norms.

Singer-actress Madonna has been a lightning rod for controversy as an iconic aggressive woman throughout her career. This legendary pop star, who exploded onto the scene in the early 1980s, has been in the driver’s seat of her career for decades. Madonna is best known for embodying sexual freedom, revolutionary fashion, commitment to her craft, and rebellious energy in both her career and personal life. Rolling Stone magazine once referred to one of her tours as “an elaborately choreographed, sexually provocative extravaganza” due to her rejection of censorship and commitment to her authentic voice and vision. She pushed the boundaries with content in her tours and music videos incorporating nudity, bondage, sexual fantasies with religious figures, sadomasochism, and same-sex kissing during a time when all of those topics were considered taboo in public Omarosa Manigault speaking at the settings. In a 2016 Billboard interview, Madonna provided insight 2017 CPAC in National Harbor, Maryland to a formative event that shaped the aggressive nonconformist she became as an adult: Women in high-profile business positions have faced similar backlash “My mother dying and me not being told, and a sense of loss and to their openness about their ambitions using strategic approaches betrayal and surprise. Then feeling out of control for the majority of more often associated with ambitious men. Omarosa Manigault- my childhood, and becoming an artist and saying that I will control Newman, for example, gained notoriety during her tenure as director everything. No one will speak for me, no one will make decisions for of communications for the Office of Public Liaison in the White House me . . . I don’t want to have an event that I’m not proud of. It’s like during the first year of the Trump administration and as a reality everything that I do. My shows, my films, my house, the way I raise television star, most notably appearing on multiple editions of the my children.” business-focused “The Apprentice.” Manigault-Newman is a polarizing figure, framed in an issue of Jet magazine as “the woman America By unapologetically paving her own path, Madonna has inspired other loved to hate.” She was named by E! as reality “television’s number pop stars for decades including Nicki Minaj, Britney Spears, Diplo, 1 bad girl” and by TV Guide on their the 2013 list of the “60 Nastiest TV Villains of All Time.” Her public persona is that of a cutthroat, outspoken, unapologetically competitive businesswoman, an image she has carried into both in her politics and her presence in pop culture. Manigault-Newman has publicly embraced this reputation as part of her personal brand identity. In her book, The Bitch Switch: Knowing How to Turn It On and Off she claims to have made her mark with her acidic tongue, sharp elbows, trickery to survive-at-all-costs, and by being a cat who could “be just as aggressive as any breed of dog (i.e., our male counterparts).” She embraces the behaviors of powerful men she wishes to emulate, especially the qualities of her former mentor Donald Trump. Manigault-Newman has disagreed, however, with the semantics of being labeled a villain. Instead, she believes those “villainous” qualities simply make her “a shrewd businesswoman,” and argues that men who aggressively pursue their goals are always seen in a positive light, but when a woman behaves the same way, those same qualities are viewed as flaws.

Though they are opposing ends of the political spectrum, Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg has expressed sentiments similar to Manigault- Newman’s. In her book, Lean In: Women, Work, and the Will to Lead, Sandberg boldly reignited the discussion around women in the workplace. Before writing Lean In, Sandberg delivered a stirring TED Madonna in the 1980s, a fashion icon Talk titled “Why We Have Too Few Women Leaders,” which has been

16 TOP GIRLS CURRICULUM GUIDE viewed more than six million times as of March 2018. In her talk, Sandberg aimed to illustrate her belief that women inadvertently hold themselves back in their professions and systematically underestimate their own abilities. Her talk encouraged women to “sit at the table,” seek challenges, take risks, and passionately pursue their goals. Lean In is a continuation of this conversation; it is a combination of Sandberg’s personal anecdotes, employment statistics and data, and social research, aimed at reframing the conversation from what women cannot do to a focus on what they can. Sandberg offers real- world advice on negotiation techniques, mentorship, and creating a satisfying career. She describes specific steps she believes women can take to unite professional achievement with personal fulfillment.

Women in the workplace have experienced many obstacles but also a series of significant triumphs since the 1980s. The archetype of the iconic aggressive woman exists across all professional fields: Sheryl Sandberg giving her TEDTalk in 2010 women who refuse to let less-qualified men lead simply because they are men and reject society’s expectations that they live based on unspoken outdated rules, much like the characters in Top Girls. These 2. Name two other iconic aggressive women not mentioned in this are women who defy traditional gender norms and roles to reach article and describe why they fit this category. What are their major their full potential in their respective fields. accomplishments in their respective fields? What is their public persona? What traditionally masculine tactics have they employed QUESTIONS: to achieve success? How do they respond to criticism?

1. Watch Sheryl Sandberg’s TED Talk “Why We Have Too Few Women 3. Does the word “aggressive” have a positive or negative Leaders.” What three concepts does Sandberg use as the structure association for you? How does aggression manifest for for her talk? Do any of her ideas resonate with you? Are there any different genders? you disagree with? What advice would you give to solve the issue of the world having too few female leaders? NILE HAWVER

The cast and director of Top Girls: Paula Plum, Kiara Pichardo, Carmen Zilles, Vanessa Kai, Liesl Tommy, Elia Monte-Brown, Sophia Ramos, and Carmen M. Herlihy,

TOP GIRLS CURRICULUM GUIDE 17 SUGGESTED ACTIVITIES

SCENE STUDY QUESTIONS:

Marlene and Joyce are sisters with a contentious relationship. Marlene 1. Describe the relationship between Marlene and Joyce. How did you left their working class neighborhood many years ago to pursue a and your partner demonstrate this relationship through tone of career in London, leaving Joyce feeling abandoned and forced to take voice, body language, etc.? on additional responsibilities. 2. What does Marlene want? What is she feeling? Work with a partner to rehearse and perform the following scene. Answer the questions that follow, and then perform the scene a second 3. What does Joyce want? What is she feeling? time. Please note that a slash ( / ) indicates that the next line starts. 4. What is the flow of the scene? Does it have a climax? Where does MARLENE: I came up this morning and spent the day in it pick up speed or slow down? How do the power dynamics Ipswich. I went to see mother. between the sisters change? JOYCE: Did she recognize you? MARLENE: Are you trying to be funny? 5. What does the varying length of the lines in this scene tell you? JOYCE: No, she does wander. Does one character speak more or for longer than the other? MARLENE: She wasn’t wandering at all, she was very lucid thank you. 6. What can you and your partner do differently to more clearly JOYCE: You were lucky then. convey the characters’ relationship, objectives, and tactics? MARLENE: Fucking awful life she’s had. JOYCE: Don’t tell me. CREATING DIALOGUE AMONG MARLENE: Fucking waste. HISTORICAL CHARACTERS JOYCE: Don’t talk to me. Choose two of your favorite women who have made history. They can MARLENE: Why shouldn’t I talk? Why shouldn’t I talk to you? / be dead or alive. The only requirement is that they likely never could Isn’t she my mother too? have met each other because of differences in the era or location JOYCE: Look, you’ve left, you’ve gone away, / we can do in which they lived. For ideas, brainstorm a list of activists, writers, without you. politicians, technological innovators, warriors, muses, scientists, MARLENE: I left home, so what, I left home. People do leave humanitarians, celebrities, artists, royalty, and business pioneers. Then home / it is normal. imagine that these two women are on a blind friendship date organized JOYCE: We understand that, we can do without you. by you. Some questions to mull over: MARLENE: We weren’t happy. Were you happy? JOYCE: Don’t come back. 1. What would these women talk about? What are their passions? MARLENE: So it’s just your mother is it, your child, you never wanted me round, / you were jealous 2. What do they have in common? Where might they disagree? JOYCE: Here we go. MARLENE: of me because I was the little one and I was clever. 3. What is different about today versus the time in which they lived? JOYCE: I’m not clever enough for all this psychology / if that’s What human advancements would they find surprising? what it is. 4. What would they order to eat or drink? MARLENE: Why can’t I visit my own family / without all this? JOYCE: Just don’t go on about Mum’s life when you haven’t 5. Who are their loved ones and best friends? Who are their enemies? been to see her for how many years. / I go MARLENE: It’s up to me. 6. What are their hopes and dreams? What are their fears JOYCE: And see her every week. and obstacles? MARLENE: Then don’t go and see her every week. JOYCE: Somebody has to. Now write how you imagine a conversation between the two of them would go. Get creative — feel free to incorporate famous quotes of their or tag lines, or feel free to invent it all! You decide!

18 TOP GIRLS CURRICULUM GUIDE POWER DRESSING COMPARE AND CONTRAST Top Girls takes place in the early 1980s. During this time, women Compare and contrast Top Girls with another of Caryl Churchill’s plays were not only entering the workforce in large numbers but also being (turn to page 20 for a complete list of Churchill’s works). Discuss the promoted more frequently into managerial positions. The idea of subject matter, writing style, characters, and setting. “power dressing” developed in the late 1970s and early 1980s as a way for women to establish and bolster their authority in professional IN-CHARACTER RSVP and political domains traditionally inhabited by men. Power dressing Pick a famous woman from history, literature, or pop culture. Imagine typically recalls elements of male fashion, such as tailored jackets with that you are that person and that Marlene has invited you to attend broad shoulders and lapels, and modifies it with feminine accents, such her dinner party. Write a letter to Marlene and the other dinner guests as a string of pearls. Power dressing was largely inspired by the Chanel expressing your regrets that you cannot attend and then updates them suit of the 1920s but later became heavily associated with Margaret on what has been going on in your life. Include details about the time Thatcher in the UK in the early 1980s and Hillary Clinton in the US in the period and culture in which you live, information about your family, late 1990s. Though professionals of all identities certainly still dress to friends, or colleagues, and an anecdote about a recent hardship that you impress, the term “power dressing” is most commonly associated with have endured. What did you learn? How will you move forward? What the 1980s. Some recognizable trends for women at that time included: advice do you have for Marlene as she begins her new position? • Shoulder pads UNDERSTANDING CONTEXT • Pantsuits Audience members sometimes find reading or watching Act I of Top • Single colored suits Girls a somewhat jarring experience because Marlene is the only character who appears in the remainder of the play. Moreover, the • Knee length skirts setting of the play switches sharply from a fantasy moment including • Wide leg trousers women from throughout history to a concrete setting in the UK in the early 1980s. Write a brief essay explaining the purpose of the Top Girls • Kitten heeled shoes “dinner scene.” Address some or all of the following questions in • Pointed toe shoes your response: • Pussy bow blouses 1. How does the dinner scene connect to the rest of the play? • Shiny costume jewelry 2. Why is Marlene’s involvement in Act I significant? How is she affected by her interactions with the other characters? • Voluminous hair 3. How does the scene frame the themes of the play?

4. In what ways do the characters in the scene resemble the characters in the rest of the play? How can double casting help emphasize these connections?

Examples of 1980s power dressing for women, courtesy of Fashion-Pictures.com

Do additional research into women’s professional fashion in the 1980s and create your own contemporary costume design for at least 3 characters in Top Girls. For an added challenge, try designing a costume for one of the historical characters in Act I!

TOP GIRLS CURRICULUM GUIDE 19 SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING AND VIEWING

WORKS BY CARYL CHURCHILL RADIO DRAMAS BY CARYL CHURCHILL Downstairs (1958) (ON BCC RADIO) You’ve No Need to be Frightened (1959) The Ants (1962) Having a Wonderful Time (1960) Lovesick (1969) Easy Death (1960) Abortive (1971) Identical Twins (1960) Not Not Not Not Not Enough Oxygen (1971) Owners (1972) Schreber’s Nervous Illness (1972) – based on Memoirs of My Nervous Illness by Daniel Paul Schreber The Hospital at the Time of the Revolution (1972) The Judges Wife (1972) Moving Clocks Go Slow (1973) Objections to Sex and Violence (1975) TELEVISION WRITING BY CARYL CHURCHILL Light Shining in Buckinghamshire (1976) (ON BCC)

Vinegar Tom (1976) “Turkish Delight” (1973) Traps (1976) “The After-Dinner Joke” (1978) Seagulls (1978) “Crimes” (1982) Cloud Nine (1979) ADDITIONAL SUGGESTED READING Three More Sleepless Nights (1980) • Superwoman by Shirley Conran Fen (1983) • “The Clerk’s Tale” in Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer Softcops (1984) • A Lady’s Life in the Rocky Mountains by Isabella Bird A Mouthful of Birds (1986) • Outrageous Acts and Everyday Rebellions by Gloria Steinem A Heart’s Desire (1987) • “Caryl Churchill: changing the language of theatre” by April de Serious Money (1987) Angelis (The Guardian) (https://www.theguardian.com/stage/2012/ Ice Cream (1989) sep/07/caryl-churchill-landmark-theatre) Hot Fudge (1989) • “The Mysteries of Caryl Churchill” by Sarah Lyall (The New York Times) (http://www.nytimes.com/2004/12/05/theater/ Mad Forest (1990) newsandfeatures/the-mysteries-of-caryl-churchill.html) Lives of the Great Poisoners (1991) The Skriker (1994) Blue Heart (1997) Hotel (1997) This is a Chair (1999) Far Away (2000) Thyestes (2001) – translation of Seneca’s tragedy A Number (2002) A Dream Play (2005) – translation of August Strindberg’s play Drunk Enough to Say I Love You? (2006) Seven Jewish Children – a play for Gaza (2009) Love and Information (2012) Ding Dong the Wicked (2013) Here We Go (2015) Escaped Alone (2016) Pigs and Dogs (2016)

20 TOP GIRLS CURRICULUM GUIDE SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING AND VIEWING NOTES

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MAR. 15 & 22 2017-2018 STUDENT MATINEES MERRILY WE ROLL ALONG SEPT. 28 TARTUFFE NOV. 17 MAY 3 MALA JAN. 18 & 25 SKELETON CREW TOP GIRLS