Original performance context Flashcards
Where was Machinal first performed?
On Broadway, at the Plymouth Theatre (September 7th, 1928).
Who was the director?
Arthur Hopkins.
Who was the scenic designer?
Robert Edmond Jones.
What was Machinal inspired by?
The case of Ruth Snyder (1927). Ruth killed her husband, Albert Snyder, framing it as a home invasion. Her intent was to take his life insurance and run away with her lover, Judd Gray. However, she was unsuccessful in this because she was caught and subsequently given the death sentence.
What was happening in early twentieth-century America?
Flappers: middle-class women wearing short dresses, openly drinking/smoking in public without a chaperone. Prohibition: the distribution, production, and/or sale of alcohol was made illegal across America. Ford introduced the assembly line in 1913, which fed the economic boom as once luxury products became available to the average consumer. The rise of jazz meant that opportunities arose for African-American performers.
What style of theatre does Machinal utilise?
Expressionism.
What is expressionism?
Expressionism is a theatrical style that took inspiration from German cinema, expanding into global literature and art.
Name key aspects of expressionism.
A rejection of realism in favour of dream-like states. Chiaroscuro lighting- large contrasts between the light and dark. Non-linear, often disjointed narratives. Symbolic imagery. A focus on abstract concepts and ideas. Characters often don’t have names, instead serving as archetypes. The dialogue often won’t follow a traditional structure, instead becoming poetic. Stage designs are often dark, slanted, and angular.
Speak on her parents.
Since divorce was not the social norm at the time and might have made them social outcasts, they were separated but never divorced.
Who was Sophie Treadwell married to?
Treadwell met renowned sports journalist William O. McGeehan while she was employed at the San Francisco Bulletin, and the two married in 1910. Sophie’s last name remained the same, and the two continued to live apart.
Themes include?
Marriage and gender inequality (the role of a woman in society). The Mechanical World. Communication, and how it often fails. Isolation and alienation. Freedom versus Captivity.
