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Theatre's Machinal Continues
This Week
 The
theatre department’s production of Machinal, a powerful expressionist
drama about the loss of individualism in a machine-like society, continues this week
with performances Wednesday through Saturday, March 7-10, at 8 p.m. in the Hallie
Flanagan Studio Theatre, Mendenhall.
Set against the backdrop of the steep rise in commerce
and finance in early 20th-century America, Machinal, written by Sophie Treadwell
nearly 80 years ago, has enjoyed numerous productions. The Smith production, which
features Brett Mathewson Smith ’07 and Andrew Barker, Western New England College,
is directed by Leta Tremblay ’07. It is loosely based on the sensational 1927
murder trial of Ruth Snyder, the first woman in New York sentenced to die in the
electric chair.
Sophie Treadwell, who began her career as a journalist
reporting for the San Francisco Bulletin, was one of the first accredited
female war correspondents during World War I before she turned to the theatre and
wrote 40 plays, Machinal being the most well known and critically acclaimed.
A feminist, Treadwell was one of those rare female playwrights who flourished at
that time in America, even directing and producing many of her own works.
Tremblay is a theatre major who over the last four years
immersed herself in the study and experience of every aspect and nuance of theatre
production, from the artistic to the technical to the administrative. As a sophomore
Tremblay was assistant stage manager and assistant director of After Mrs. Rochester,
working with Ellen W. Kaplan, professor of theatre. She has also apprenticed in stage
management with New Century Theatre and Paintbox Theatre, and studied for a semester
at The Eugene O'Neill National Theatre Institute, where she worked with the SITI
Company and discovered a passion for Viewpoints, an ensemble-building and actor-training
technique. Last spring at Smith she stage managed a production of A Doll House and
directed Hot Fudge by Caryl Churchill. Leta’s ultimate goal is to
start a theatre company dedicated to producing original work with an emphasis on
ensemble.
There will be a Talk Back session with the director
and cast on Monday, March 12, at 4:10 p.m. in the Green Room, Mendenhall.
Tickets are $7, general public, $5 for students and
seniors. To purchase tickets, call 413-585-ARTS (2787), or in person at the Mendenhall
Center box office Monday through Friday 1 to 4 p.m. and beginning at 7 p.m. on performance
nights. |
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