Machinal+Questions-+Haley+Clark

“Machinal” Questions


 * 1) The play was about a young girl who lived a mundane life and felt pressure from society to marry a man that she did not love and raise a family. Throughout the play, she felt more and more trapped until, in the end, she could not handle it any more and murdered her husband. At the very end, she is convicted of the murder in trial and executed in the electric chair
 * 2) Sophie Treadwell told the story of the young woman and her life very well. However, she didn’t write a literal story in the dialogue, but instead, abstract interactions between the characters that conveyed the unhappiness and confliction that the young woman was feeling. The story was told much through physical movement that amplified the tone of the scene and I really enjoyed this; although, I wasn’t sure if that is the way the play was written and physicality is called for, or if it was a choice made by the director. Either way, I enjoyed the physical engagement. As the play is based off of a true story, I think Treadwell did an excellent job of telling the events of that battered woman who fell victim to a terrible marriage, feeling the only way to be free was through murder.
 * 3) The subject matter is significantly worth while to me. I have always been very interested in crime cases and very interested in plays so “Machinal” was a total treat for me. The story was full of action between the cast members and each of there characters developed greatly with each scene. I loved the twist in the end where she goes into trial because I had a feeling about where the show was headed but I had no idea she would be executed in the end for actual murder. The show ended and my jaw was dropped until the actors came forward to take their bows. I thought the story was fascinating, the characters were rich, and the ending left me speechless.
 * 4) The actors in “Machinal” very successfully conveyed the intent of the story to the audience. They were given barely anything to work with: scarce props, a meager set, only plain black clothes. This minimalistic approach to the production made the actors tell the story entirely with their bodies and with their words. I thought each character was masterfully developed, as I previously mentioned, and their interactions with each other were meaningful physically and verbally. I especially loved the actress that played the young woman; she had a frail frame and appeared weak at first, then throughout the play, slowly revealed her fire and passion to the audience accompanied by her sorrow and anger that would later lead her to commit a fatal mistake. She portrayed the slightness of the character with grace and revealed her darker side in just the right moments. I loved each actor in this production and what they individually brought to the show.
 * 5) The physical production, which I interpret to be the set and the props, was very minimal so that the story could be portrayed solely by the actors and the environment was created by their physicality. There were several black boxes that the characters used to build certain scenes, a digital screen that flashed different pictures to portray where the characters were, a bottle, pebbles, and flowers. These items were all the characters needed to tell the story. As opposed to Vanya, which had a full realistic set, “Machinal’s” set was purely imaginative and abstract and it went over extremely well with the audience; this show wasn’t about spectacle, but about the relationships between characters.
 * 6) Everyone that I talked to from the audience seemed to love the show. While there was no intermission, I had no comments to influence me mid show. I enjoyed how raw the show was and the “bare bones” element that was the set and liked that I could focus on the actors. When I asked people how they liked it, they would always comment on how amazing the acting was because that was the focal point of the show.
 * 7) I would absolutely urge people to see this play! It was very abstract and I haven’t seen a show like it. My one thought is that people that don’t do theatre or know theatre history might not appreciate the story fully. Because is was very abstract, I could understand people who don’t appreciate theatre not enjoying it. However, I greatly enjoyed it and would encourage any of my theatre friends to go see it like I do after each show I see. I always aim to support the arts.
 * 8) I would absolutely read other plays by Sophie Treadwell! I loved her writing and knowing how coveted she is among theatre historians, I look forward to reading other works by her and further educating myself.