UCSB Theater/Dance to Stage Caryl Churchill's TOP GIRLS, 11/8-16

What does it mean to be a successful woman in a man's world? What do we have to abandon to survive? What is the cost of survival for women? Through the eyes of her historical and modern-day female characters, Caryl Churchill explores these questions and others in her play, Top Girls. Director Anne Torsiglieri faces the exciting directorial challenge of navigating a play that explores women's struggles both past and present in this piece, presented by the Department of Theater & Dance at UC Santa Barbara.

What begins as a celebratory dinner for Marlene's promotion in 1980s London, becomes an exploration of the challenges facing women in the workplace and the home. Questions about ambition, achievement, and loss run throughout the play. "With the current issues facing women, I find the play to be timely and socially relevant," states Ms. Torsiglieri.

A fan of the play since college and an understudy in a 2008 Broadway production, Ms. Torsiglieri is pleased to be able to work with a talented group of young women in the Theater & Dance department to present this work. "In this all female play, there are 16 characters, portrayed by only 7 different actors. So many of the actors are double and even triple cast. I have great confidence in the ability of the students to handle these challenging roles," says the director.

Ms. Torsiglieri says, "Caryl Churchill plays with time and reality juxtaposing the fantastical with kitchen sink drama. Comedy and tragedy coexist. Nothing is funnier than the truth."

In this play, hailed as "the best British play ever from a woman dramatist," by The Guardian's Michael Billington, Anne Torsiglieri hopes to foster dialogue on these socially relevant topics.

Top Girls performs November 8 - 16, 2013 in the UCSB Performing Arts Theater. Tickets are available online at www.theaterdance.ucsb.edu and by phone at 805.893.7221. Visit the Theater & Dance website for more details: www.theaterdance.ucsb.edu.