BWW Previews: REPaloud's WOMEN ON TOP Stars Exceptional Cast of Nashville Actresses

It's the stuff of theatrical legend. Or perhaps it's the perfect recipe for a theatrical endeavor of legendary proportions. You must simply bring together eight of Nashville's finest actresses under the direction of a man who is helping to change the face of local theater with his inventive, imaginative original works. Then give them two noteworthy scripts from the late 20th century and place them in a rehearsal hall to prepare for public consumption.

The result? Women on Top, the latest iteration of Nashville Repertory Theatre's REPaloud series, which this week features two staged readings in repertory: David Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross and Caryl Churchill's Top Girls.

In each reading the same group of eight exemplary women, under the direction of Nashville Rep resident playwright Nate Eppler, will perform Mamet and Churchill, breathing life into each script with a minimum of props, sets and movement.

Presenting these plays "in repertory" allows the two scripts to play off each other, highlighting common themes, and bringing their differences into sharper focus. Both plays consider work, identity, the roles we all play and the cost of success.

Mamet's Glengarry Glen Ross is as timely now as it was when it premiered in 1983: An office of small-time cutthroat real estate salesmen bite, scratch, and claw their way through the weekly sales contest while trying to carve out their own piece of the American Dream. First prize is a Cadillac. Second prize is a set of steak knives. Third place is unemployment. With such talented actors crossing the gender divide, Mamet's story gives audiences the opportunity to hear it with new ears and a fresh perspective.

Churchill's Top Girls is the story of Marlene, a successful career-driven superwoman in the early years of Margaret Thatcher's England in the 1980s. In the first act, Marlene celebrates her promotion over a male co-worker by inviting famous women throughout history to her dinner party: Pope Joan (who claims to have been pope in the ninth century while disguised as a man), Isabella Bird (the famous explorer), Dull Gret (the harrower of hell from the Breughel painting), Lady Nijo (mistress of a Japanese emperor) and Patient Griselda (from "The Clerk's Tale" in Chaucer's Canterbury Tales). In the second act, Marlene's sister joins the assemblage and we learn the steep cost of what she had to give up in order to find success.

Ultimately, the plays complement each other by posing the same rhetorical questions: What are we willing to do in order to succeed? What are we willing to give up? What is the cost for a woman to break through? Does the fact that one woman broke through the glass ceiling mean liberation for all women? Or is it every woman for herself? After 30 years, have we indeed "come a long way, baby" or are the questions we ask ourselves different now?

The answers, which will come for each audience member individually, are far beyond the expected rhetoric, given the wealth of creativity and imagination gathered into that rehearsal hall. Obviously, with these eight women in the same room working together, this weekend's readings are likely unequaled experiences one might have on any local stage. Anywhere.

The electric, eclectic and showstopping ensemble assembled by Eppler for REPaloud includes Rachel Agee, Rebekah Durham, Denice Hicks, Shannon Hoppe, Nettie Kraft, Megan Murphy Chambers, Jennifer Richmond and Tamiko Robinson. Seriously.

The eight women comprise an awe-inspiring cast, a dream conflagration of talent, intelligence and, quite frankly, sass. Combine the women with the words of Churchill and Mamet and you can't help but have an event that will have everyone talking in the days that follow...

We asked each of the women to give us some insight into the project and how each of them approaches the process before them. One thing we were able to determine quickly and without question? Nate Eppler is a very lucky man-and quite possibly the focus of every local director's jealousy to get to work with these women all at once. [Tamiko Robinson's comments were unavailable at press time.]

What's your take on this reading-in-repertory? What sets it apart from others?

Denice Hicks: It's extremely challenging material for the actors as well as the audience. The topics are still relevant, which makes them that much more important after 30 years. Hearing a reading of a play that you think you know well can be refreshing, because you're bound to notice something you hadn't before.

Readings like these really highlight the playwright. You know that every word you hear, and in Mamet's case especially, every partial word, every stutter, stammer and pause that you hear are what is written on the page. That can be enlightening and give a listener new appreciation for the art of playwriting.

Megan Murphy Chambers: I would have agreed to be the watergirl for this project if it meant I got to be in the room. Not only do I get to dive into challenging and important material with incredibly talented artists (playing a role I never thought I'd get to play, no less), but participating in this process means spending time surrounded by some of the most intelligent, funny and sweet people I know. My last couple of weeks have been rough, and having these rehearsals to look forward to has been a fantastic shot in the arm. My brain and my soul are both getting fed. And I get to tell Rebekah Durham that "her business is being an asshole" so, Yahtzee!

Nettie Kraft: I'm grateful to be a part of something so unique. Men have been reading and performing women's roles for a long time, supposedly we learn something from the switch, then it must surely follow that women performing men's roles would also illuminate something about the human experience. And the bones of the play really show when we aren't comparing the actor to the role. Like, that guy isn't the type or look of a guy I think should be in that role. It strips all that away. You are just thinking about the truth of the words and circumstance without the extra packaging (baggage?).

Rebekah Durham: Partnering these particular two plays and using the same cast for both prompts some interesting discussion on how women treat each other, how women are treated by society, and what has and has not changed in 30 years.

Shannon Hoppe: Well, for Glengarry Glen Ross, I am reading the stage direction, so I get to sit back and enjoy the show. In Top Girls, I play Marlene. I really think both shows are very applicable in this decade. Subject matters that are still being talked about and still going on. People who lie, steal, manipulate to get what they want. Priorities that are out of order. Or are they? It's a lot about people being right. We're all right.

Jennifer Richmond: These two plays complement each other really well and whether or not people enjoy them, I can't imagine them not having a strong opinion about them. It should definitely get some conversations started. (Remember you can BYOB!)

Rachel Agee: I think I am more nervous about this than most full productions I've done. Accents are hard. This has been such a fantastic experience because it's a group of people who genuinely like and respect each other getting together to do really challenging work. And seriously, that is such a pleasure. Also there has been candy. Which incidentally is how Nate got me to do this show. Cruised past the coffeehouse where Rebekah and I were sitting, drinking coffee and talking about actor stuff (like all actors do). He was in a van that had awards painted in bright colors on the sides and was playing show tunes, shaking a plastic pumpkin head of candy at us with one hand and scripts in the other. "Hey, you talented actresses, whom I respect and enjoy on stage, want to do a reading?" And then he threw his head back and let out kind of a weird, maniacal laugh. And we tried to resist at first because we'd been told to beware of readings. But this was Nate Eppler. We love Nate Eppler. And he was directing. Plus, you know, candy. So it ended well. Also I get to share a stage with a bunch of actors I've never had the chance to work with, and with Megan Murphy Chambers' crutches, whom I've named Neil Patrick and Ellen and who are absolutely integral parts of both shows.

What's the pay-off for audiences?

Denice Hicks: We're not there to dazzle the listeners with our acting skills, we're there to breathe as much life as possible into the playwright's words. Actors bring all of themselves to a role-they should always be 100 percent themselves, with the character's given circumstances being that much more. So the male roles that we're reading in Glengarry Glen Ross will be 100 percent female, plus the masculinity of the characters, creating extra-intense and dynamic relationships through which the story is told.

Megan Murphy Chambers: I love attending readings for the same reason I loved getting read to as a kid: I get to fill in a lot of the blanks myself. The elements that make a show "complete" are absent (no costumes, lights, props, set, etc.) so it's just you and the words; and for me, having a piece read to me allows for a whole different kind of discussion about the material and the acting. Everything's out there and exposed-no trappings.

Nettie Kraft: What I said above about the structure of the play, the mechanics, which can still prove poetic and powerful if the play is good. If not, the holes show through. Easily. It gives you an insight into the brilliance of a good playwright. Wright. To make. To craft. The play becomes something built by a human that could express things so many ways but chose to do it this way. Why? The questions become clearer.

Rebekah Durham: Staged readings are exciting because the focus is on the text, the words. There is a casualness about it because the performers carry scripts that always make me feel, as an audience member, like I'm in on something, a special secret, about the process of making art.

Shannon Hoppe: I really can't wait to hear what people think. I have no idea.

Jennifer Richmond: I have to credit my friend (and roommate) Travis with this one. He says he loves a staged reading because he never gets distracted by sets, costumes, etc., because they are always perfect since he gets to create them from his imagination. Therefore, right from the start, he's more engaged in the actual words being said and overall story being told.

Rachel Agee: Measure for Measure and Much Ado About Nothing are my favorite Shakespeare shows. That's because those are the only two I've performed, and therefore the two about which I've had the most guided discussion. Being able to see a show and then process it with a bunch of other people, especially shows that ask you to go a little deeper, helps give not only a better understanding of what you've just seen, but an appreciation, I think, of theater in general. Like leaving a party with a bunch of really interesting people where you had great conversation. It's energizing, invigorating, you learn things. Maybe you can even pick up a few smart sounding things to throw out at the next party. Maybe you want to bring a notebook and a pen. Maybe you want to wear a beret so you look artsy when you participate in the conversation. Perhaps an ascot. You do you. I'm just saying, especially for Top Girls, once you get into themes and background and discussion, it becomes a whole new play. Then maybe you want to come see it again. (ahem)

If you could be any one of your co-stars, who would you choose to be?

Denice Hicks: I think I'd stay myself, because none of these astounding women can see their full and absolute glory like I can. From my perspective I can appreciate all of their talents, skills, abilities, quirks and beauty way better than any of them can of themselves. And honestly-I don't think I could handle being as amazing as any of them are. I just can't imagine walking in any of their shoes for even a day-all of them are exceptional, each in their own right. I am a sparrow in this flock of swans.

Megan Murphy Chambers: I have to pick just one? Boo. I think I'd like to spend a day in Rachel Agee's shoes, mowing down any sorry fools that crossed my path. Rachel is like an anti-idiocy juggernaut.

Nettie Kraft: I'd be me. I've earned it.

Rebekah Durham: There are aspects of each of my coworkers that I admire, there are aspects of each of them that I respect, there are elements of each of their lives that I'd enjoy stepping into for a day. Or for a play. As long as I could go back to being me when the house lights come up.

Shannon Hoppe: I was fortunate to play a few of these characters in college. Dull Gret and Angie. Both were very interesting! Now I'm able to dive in and get to know another lady. One of my favorite part of being in a play is the chance to research and figure out who my character is. I like the challenge. Maybe one day, these shows will come around again and I'll get to be someone else. As for now, I'm enjoying everyone else's work.

Jennifer Richmond: It goes without saying that everyone in our cast is fabulous but the first person to pop in my head when I very first saw this question was Rachel Agee. She can make anything funny. It's her super power. If you ask me, that's a pretty great super power to have. I so desperately want her to think I'm cool. It makes me so happy when she likes things on my facebook page. I save those posts away in a little file marked "RA Approved." I dyed my hair the same color as hers. The other day I tricked her into hanging out with me by asking her to get to rehearsal early to run lines. However, I am quite fickle. Yesterday Megan got this scooter to glide around on because of her broken foot. So, I am now thinking it would be more fun to be her. I mean I know she suffered through a lot to get to this point, but I think it was totally worth it because this scooter even has a basket! On the front!

Rachel Agee: I can't choose one of my co-stars to be. Perhaps in the future we will be able to cobble ourselves together into a giant Transformer-like Frankenactor (I think I'd be a kneecap or something in this scenario). At the moment I like to picture us a Power Rangers (I'm the green one.) Sorry, this is a weird answer. But now you know what I'm thinking about onstage while I'm sitting there watching.

• Nashville Rep will present two plays in repertory as a part of its popular REPaloud staged reading series in an effort to prod discussion about issues related to successful women. The series will take place Wednesday-Saturday, November 12-15, at Nashville Rep's Rehearsal Hall (NPT Studio A, 161 Rains Avenue) and will include Mamet's Pulitzer Prize-winning Glengarry Glen Ross (Wednesday, November 12 and Friday, November 14) and Churchill's Top Girls (Thursday, November 13 and Saturday, November 15). "Talkback" discussions follow the staged readings of Top Girls on Thursday, November 13 and Saturday November 15. Admission is free for 2014-15Nashville Rep season subscribers, with a requested donation of $10 for all others. A donation of $5 is requested for actors and students (with valid ID). Seats may be reserved online at http://nashvillerep.org/repaloud or by calling (615) 244-4878.

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