Top Girls theatre festival performance receives four awards

The cast, crew, and director won an award for outstanding ensemble. Individual awards were presented to Mckenzie Keenan of Aurora for acting and Steven Kent Murphy of Ithaca for the original score. A special award went to Wells' Technical Director Joe DeForest for technical excellence.

Top Girls, a dark comedy by Caryl Churchill, was first performed at Wells last October. The play explores the sacrifices and regrets in the life of a woman who joins the corporate world in the wake of 1970s feminism.

DeForest worked closely with Susan Forbes, associate professor of theatre at Wells and director, to create a sparse and futuristic set. "Other productions of Top Girls have tended to be realistic, but I conceptualized this show in a very different way," explained Forbes. "I envisioned something that would give us a strong visual representation of polar opposites from the theme of the play. Joe expanded upon this idea and developed sculptural pieces for the set that we could move around and turn into whatever we wanted them to become; it worked very successfully for us."

Another striking visual aspect of the production was its representation of the corporate world. "I wondered how people find any sense of family, identity, and warmth in an environment that is so competitive and demanding. I wanted to project an image of the cold, steely, male-dominated world I experienced several years ago when we did a Wells performance on Wall Street," she said.

Forbes' interpretation of Top Girls also influenced her directing. "In the beginning we talked about the imagery, the mythological and religious references so abundant on the set. The polarities in theme are always the undercurrent for the emotional state of the characters."

Each actress in the show played a variety of roles with the exception of Katharine Schlist '98 of Clinton, New York, who plays the leading role. Other cast members were Gabrielle C. Seailles '97 of Columbus, Mississippi;

Disha Mookherjee '99 of Syracuse, New York; Christie Perfetti '00 of Oswego, New York; and Christina Kubasta '99 of Wautoma, Wisconsin. Susan Forbes also acted in the production. Murphy's soundtrack was created to match the abstract set design and directing concepts.

Three full-length productions are invited from a statewide pool to perform in the TANYS festival each year - this year's gathering was in Auburn, New York. "This has never happened before at Wells. We've been building the arts and performance major, and we made a decision last year to submit Top Girls. Given the conditions surrounding the festival, we made very specific choices in advance that influenced what we did with the set. The students had a high degree of focus and dedication. They were committed to working on this production with the goal of being invited to the festival," said Forbes.

December, 1996

Wells theatre slated for refurbishment 

An estimated $400,000 will be used to paint, professionally clean seats, install new carpeting, and make improvements in the stage area, among other changes. The project is funded by Wells and Pleasant Thiele Rowland, a member of the college's Class of 1962. The scheduled completion date is June of 1997.

"We are thrilled that this popular public space is going to be refurbished with the same attention to detail and design as other recent campus renovations," said Diane L. Hutchinson, Wells' vice president and treasurer. Professor of Theatre Susan Forbes will work with a theatrical designer to improve the stage area.

Macmillan Hall was constructed in 1930. Because the seats could be removed, Phipps originally served as a ballroom as well as a theatre. The space was renovated in 1974 by architect Walter A. Netsch who preserved many of its elegant features: columns, arches, windows, and chandeliers. Permanent theatre seating for 537 was installed; the stage was enlarged and modernized; but no significant renovations were made in the ensuing 22 years.

The funds pledged by Ms. Rowland are the continuation of a two million dollar project she began in 1995 to refurbish public spaces in the college's historic buildings. She is the founder and president of Pleasant Company, located in Wisconsin.

November, 1996

Other Articles in Wells College News:

September, 2002	September, 2000. - May.,2001	May,1998	May - June,1997
August, 2002	September, 1999 - August, 2000	April,1998	March - April,1997
September, 2001. - May.,2002	August,1999	March,1998	February,1997
	May,1999	February,1998	November - December,1996
	April,1999	January,1998	October,1996
	February -March, 1999	December,1997	September,1996
	January,1999	November,1997	June - Aug.,1996
	Fall,1998	October,1997	May,1996
	August,1998	September,1997	April,1996
	June -July, 1998	July - August, 1997	February - March, 1996