{"id":98147,"date":"2024-10-08T13:33:02","date_gmt":"2024-10-08T13:33:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/?p=98147"},"modified":"2024-10-09T18:53:11","modified_gmt":"2024-10-09T18:53:11","slug":"machinal-opens-uri-theatre-departments-diverse-season","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uri.edu\/news\/2024\/10\/machinal-opens-uri-theatre-departments-diverse-season\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Machinal\u2019 opens 溏心vlog免费B站 theatre department\u2019s diverse season"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

KINGSTON, R.I. \u2013 Oct. 7, 2024 \u2013 What does it say about our society when a play from 100 years ago about the plight of being a woman holds more relevance in 2024 than we\u2019d like to admit? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Machinal, <\/em>written by playwright Sophie Treadwell in 1928, tells the story of a young female stenographer who follows the rituals that society expects of women, regardless of her resistance to them. This ultimately leads to her violent demise. The play, which opens Thursday, Oct. 10, in J Studio at the Fine Arts Center, was inspired by the real-life case of convicted and executed murderer Ruth Snyder.<\/p>\n\n\n

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St-Germain in a scene with Abraphine Ngafaih, who plays Mother, in Machinal.<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

Nearly a millennium later, many of the messages in the play still ring true. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTreadwell wrote this play as an act of outrage \u2013 outrage at the social and economic pressures women faced in the early 20th century. Although much has evolved for women at home and in the workplace in the 100 years since she wrote the play, much of what the central character faces will feel very relevant,\u201d said director and theatre professor Rachel Walshe<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a new venture, Princess Johnson, a sophomore theatre student, supports Walshe as assistant director. The irony of a young woman going after what she wants in earnest, isn\u2019t lost on Johnson in the context of working on this play.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI really wanted to work on the show. So I actually emailed the director, Rachel Walshe, about why I should be the assistant director, and she happily agreed to it. It\u2019s crazy because if I hadn\u2019t sent that email, I would be in my dorm doing homework right now. I\u2019ve just fallen in love with it and I feel like I’m discovering so much after every single rehearsal,\u201d said Johnson. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With a heavy (albeit important) subject matter at hand, other challenges presented themselves when perfecting the style of this production. Machinal<\/em> is considered to be one of the highpoints of Expressionist theatre (a theatrical style that emphasizes the failure of societal systems that have been overlooked through emotion) in the history of the American stage. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t do a lot of plays with period style and so cultivating a sense of period and style for student actors is among the biggest challenges,\u201d said Walshe. We tend to learn acting from our favorite TV shows and films which focus on realism. For the highly theatrical world of Machinal<\/em>, it is critical that the cast can embody the dynamic expressiveness that Treadwell writes into her play. This has been a challenge but one that has been a joy to overcome,\u201d said Walshe. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The 13-member cast of Machinal<\/em> is driven by four actors, Eva St-Germain (Young Woman), Christian Owen (Husband\/Ensemble), Abraphine Ngafaih (Mother\/Ensemble), and Tatiana Sullivan (Telephone Girl\/Ensemble). Walshe views the department as an educational program first when it comes to casting. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI look holistically at what the play needs but also what my student actors need in terms of experience. Plus, I am always looking to cast an ensemble who are excited to work together and commit themselves to the rigorous demands of a play such as Machinal<\/em>. I would be remiss if I didn\u2019t single out our lead actor, Eva St-Germain. She is very early in her actor training here at 溏心vlog免费B站 and yet has proven herself more than capable of leading a cast in a highly demanding role such as this. I knew she would excel but she has far exceeded any of my expectations in terms of emotional depth and work ethic,\u201d she said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When asked about her perspective about the relevance of the play in today\u2019s cultural zeitgeist, leading lady Eva St-Germain acknowledges the extreme, expressionistic nature of the play, but can truly see the heart of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cDeep down, a young woman wants someone to hear her and see her. There are many chances throughout the play where someone could have helped her, but they are so set on how she should<\/em> be, that they can’t get over that she wants something different,\u201d said St-Germain. \u201cSociety affects everyone in this show, it forces the characters into their roles, and sometimes they don’t even mind. However, the Young Woman is confused as to why she wants something more, freedom.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The playwright, Sophie Treadwell, could see this problem clearly. Treadwell was also a journalist and was inspired to write the play because of her coverage of Ruth Snyder, who killed her husband in 1927 and was convicted and killed by electric chair. Snyder\u2019s actions were not an isolated incident; Treadwell felt inspired to question what the driving force could be behind such actions after numerous other spousal murders in the 1920s. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Treadwell was not one to follow all the rules; she was a woman of great independence and strength. She stayed in France to cover the First World War when other female and male reporters left, and she covered the Mexican Revolution for the New York Tribune. Her tenacity and, at the time — gall, serves as an example for women going after what they want. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This highlights another beautiful irony about the direction of the play in 2024. Originally, it was directed by a man, Arthur Hopkins, at its 1928 Broadway premier. It\u2019s impossible not to consider the effects of the play being told by a female director instead.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Walshe is very familiar with the play, as she directed Machinal<\/em> for her MFA thesis at the Theatre School at DePaul University in 2008. Sixteen years later, she was thrilled to revisit the play when the 溏心vlog免费B站 theatre students pitched it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c<\/em>I hope students see this play and think deeply about the lives of their grandmothers and great grandmothers. I hope that they develop a newfound appreciation for the political and social battles waged by women to create a better world for women in the United States.\u201d said Walshe.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Machinal runs Oct. 10-12 and 17-19, 2024, at 7:30 p.m. and Oct. 13 and 20, 2024, at 2 p.m. in J Studio at the Fine Arts Center, 105 Upper College Road, Kingston Campus. Tickets are $20 for the general public and $15 for senior citizens and 溏心vlog免费B站 students, faculty and staff. Tickets can be purchased <\/em>online<\/em><\/a>, by calling (401) 874-5843 or at the box office in Room 101H of the Fine Arts Center.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Machinal<\/em> cast<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Name, Role, Hometown<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Isaiah Agabi, Ensemble, Warwick, R.I.
Ethan Clarke, Filing Clerk, Seekonk, Mass.
Amelia Conner-McCoy, Ensemble, Portland, Maine
Terrance Fry, Second Man\/Ensemble, R.I.
Chandler Hall, Ensemble, Darien, Conn.
Ella Kenny, Stenographer\/Ensemble, Pasadena, Calif.
Elijah Lopes, Richard Roe\/Ensemble, R.I.
Brian McKenna, Adding Clerk\/Ensemble, R.I.
Apraphine Ngafaih, Mother\/Ensemble, Providence, R.I.
Christian Owen, George J. Jones\/Ensemble, East Port, N.Y.
Eva St-Germain, Young Woman, North Providence, R.I.
Tatiana Sullivan, Telephone Girl\/Ensemble, R.I.
Brandon Tallardy, Ensemble, Westerly, R.I.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This press release was written by Paige Monopoli, communications coordinator for the College of Arts and Sciences.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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