Fall 2017
MACHINAL by Sophie Treadwell
Director: Missy Thibodeaux-Thompson
Scenic Designer: Dathan Powell
Performances: October 27th, 28th, 29th (Fri., Sat., Sun.) & November 2nd, 3rd, 4th (Thurs., Fri., Sat.), 2017
Sophie Treadwell’s 1928 expressionist play was inspired by the sensational 1927 New York murder trial of Ruth Snyder. The story, told in nine episodes, focuses on the Young Woman as she navigates the oppressive, mechanized, hard society and the cultural expectations placed on her—and all women at the time. “Machinal uses expressionist techniques to create a parable about ‘an ordinary young woman’ who lives in a mechanized, materialistic world. Treadwell takes Helen through the stages of a kind of modern Everywoman: work in a boring office, marriage to a boss who offers her financial security (‘he’s a Vice-President–of course he’s decent’ her mother insists), a motherhood that oppresses her and a lover who abandons her.” – Judith Barlow
CAST: Minimum of 14 actors—8 men, 6 women.
