MACHINAL

Sophie Treadwell’s play Machinal (1928) is told through a series of nine vignettes that explore the role of the modern woman in the dynamic, rapidly changing early decades of the 20th century. Each vignette takes places in a separate location that features a common window and door to visually connect event in an over-arching storyline.

My set design was informed by the zeitgeist of the era, when literature and art explored the role of the individual in the then mechanizing landscape of the modern age. I intentionally linked broader contemporary art movements with the show’s Expressionist script. Specifically, I drew aesthetic inspiration from the Supremacist and Constructivist art movements of the early 20th century that explored the place of “art in the new century” just as Machinal interrogated the role of women in modern times.

I achieved this using the simple, sharp lines characteristic of angular Supremacist geometry to reflect the alienating, machine-like environment that Treadwell’s Young Woman navigates. I employed a strong, uncomplicated gray-scale color scheme to reinforce a sense of Young Woman’s isolation and estrangement. Lastly, the set design utilized vast empty space, a “wide alley” that provided a blank canvas for the vignettes. The actors were confined to the wide alley, contributing to a sense of their entrapment.

Photography by Evan Barr (2019).