Machinal
at Pompano Beach High School
Reviewed on March 25, 2010
Name | School | Publication/Broadcasts |
Ashley Jones | Dillard Center for the Arts | |
Rachel Cohen | The Sagemont School | |
Alyssa Sicard | Deerfield Beach High School | |
Marcus Levine | Coral Springs High School | |
Ara Parikh | Deerfield Beach High School | |
Abbey Bethel | Deerfield Beach High School |
Ashley Jones
Dillard Center for the Arts
Submitted for publication to
A modern parable that depicts one young woman's tragic journey from isolation to murder is "Machinal", French word meaning machine or mechanical, by Sophie Treadwell performed by Pompano Beach High School.
In a well-drawn play in which most of the cast members play multiple roles, these many young women (Kristyn Pilgrim, Alexis Harden, Rebecca Madriz, Sara Kohler, Brianne Mack, Karla Leal, Tashauna Williams, Krystin Little, Jessica Epstein) render a lingering portrait of a tense, overwhelmed Everywoman pummeled by her daily routines, nagged by her heedless mother, beset by poverty, drifting into a financially secure marriage, disgusted by her dull husband and eventually carried away by illicit love.
The show was bursting with an endowed cast and crew. George Jones played Ben Garrison was vastly animated and amusingly seductive. He gave a comical yet darkly perverted portrayal of his obscene character. While, Matthew Borges as Richard Roe (Helen's lover), was a star-struck dreamer, who smoothly pulled Mrs. Jones under his spell. Alex Salgado (Defense Lawyer) and Nicholas Parrish (Prosecutor) were complete opposites from Salgado's sarcasm to Parrish's grounded demeanor they thrashed each other verbally in the court room against one another.
Sara Kohler as episode 4 young woman gave an outstanding performance as the crazed, insane, confused woman who just gave birth. Trinity McNair engaged herself in the role of the second episodes mother. She matched her rage with her realistic and natural approach. Young woman in episode nine, Jessica Epstein, gave a commanding, emotional, brilliant performance even though in a matter a seconds she'd be meeting her doom.
The technical aspects were an attribute to the show, with the mini multiple media clips in between each episode, done by Jazmine Sarrano and Ben Garrison, which were creative and effective, to the magnificent sound effects, and the numerous amounts of props were handled tremendous well. Although there were a few mishaps during the show they were fixed and almost unnoticeable.
Pompano Beach High School's production of "Machinal" was tackled proficiently and intriguingly well. Through its unique way of illustrating that a woman has many different stages and personalities.
Rachel Cohen
The Sagemont School
Submitted for publication to
Helen Jones is stuck. She is bound by the people and technology around her in the mechanical life she leads until she murders her husband to escape the claustrophobia that suffocates her. Pompano Beach High School explored the breakdown of her life with "Machinal".
"Machinal" (pronounced mawk-ee-nall) is French for machine, or automatic. Sophie Treadwell's play inspired is by the real life murderess Ruth Snyder, whose execution was witnessed by Treadwell herself. Snyder's trial, along with her lover as her co-conspirator, was attended by celebrities and dominated headlines as one of the first women to be put to death by the electric chair in New York.
The life of Helen Jones is divided up into nine episodes of her life, in which she is played by a different actress in each. The women look nothing alike; they are of all races and sizes. This is not typical of the play, but a brilliant choice by director Julia Perlowski to show the different feelings Helen has at varying times of her life. The ensemble of Helen's shine as a whole and individually; each one has their own way of enchanting. Particularly powerful was Jessica Epstein in the finale. Epstein portrayed the helplessness Helen feels perfectly with her maniacal movements when she is dragged to her death. As the woman's husband George H. Jones, Ben Garrison hits all the right notes of creepy that the role requires. The large cast rotated around a variety of cameo roles (the best being Eryk Fisher as the priest who consoles Helen), even if some were flat at times.
Between the scenes, clips from popular culture were projected onto the curtain to recap the episode that was just seen. Bits were taken from the Office, Looney Tunes, Green Mile, and even President Clinton's apology speech on repeat. It was a cute, albeit sometimes lengthy, way to distract the audience during scene changes.
The intimate stage was dressed with a multi-faceted set and large amounts of props. The cast took advantage of the square footage they worked with by having characters shout across the aisles and dance in the corridors.
As "Machinal" is known for being among the best of expressionist theatre with its sound effects, the crew had almost 150 cues. The crew sometimes had issues, such as computer errors and the use of hanging microphones were not ideal to hear the cast.
As Helen in Episode Two tells her mother that she "feels like I'm tight inside," the audience felt the same as they were captivated by the mature and skillful cast.
Alyssa Sicard
Deerfield Beach High School
Submitted for publication to
Pompano Beach High School's production of "Machinal" this past Thursday was a moving show about the machine-like routine of our lives, and of one woman who tried to break free.
"Machinal" (French for "automatic" or "machine-like") was written by Sophie Treadwell and was first produced on Broadway in 1928, to some critical success, with Clark Gable cast as the lover, Richard Roe. The play is loosely based on the murder trial of a real woman who had murdered her husband with the aid of her lover and was sentenced to death by the electric chair. The main character of the play, Helen, marries her obscenely wealthy boss because she feels pressured to do so. She deals with her loveless marriage until she meets Roe, has intimate relations with him, and from Roe she gets the idea to murder her husband so that she can finally be free.
Since the play was done in "episodes" and in each episode a different actress played Helen to represent how women feel differently in each stage of their lives, there is no real lead actress. However, each actress did a commendable job staying in character yet portraying the different feelings Helen had in each episode of her life (Kristyn Pilgrim, Alexis Harden, Rebecca Madriz, Sara Kohler, Brianne Mack, Karla Leal, Tashuana Williams, Krystin Little, and Jessica Epstein).
The mother (played by Trinity McNair in the second episode) was a memorable character for her stage presence. The same could also be said for many of the supporting roles that were only on stage for one short episode. Most notable was the Business ensemble in the first episode, which maintained good timing as well as pulled off a clever effect to symbolize how Helen felt claustrophobic at work, staying in character while they pulled their desks and props closer and closer around Helen.
The cast and crew made good use of the relatively small stage, even using the aisles to expand their space. Each episode had a unique set and realistic props. Although there were occasional black spots on stage, the audience could always understand the clear diction used by the actors. While some of the line delivery was awkward, there were times when the machine-like theme was present and very chilling.
Pompano Beach High School's production of "Machinal" took the audience into the life of Helen and asked them to sympathize with a woman who committed a terrible act, and succeeded.
Marcus Levine
Coral Springs High School
Submitted for publication to
Freedom of will is a privilege often taken for granted, yet many find themselves confronted by compulsions which could only be described as divine intervention. Pompano Beach High School explores a very peculiar instance of such intervention in one woman's life with their intriguing production of "Machinal."
Written by American playwright and journalist Sophie Treadwell and first produced in 1928, "Machinal" follows the tragic story of Helen, a woman whose life has been controlled by technology and authority figures, stifling her desire for freedom and crushing her willpower. Heavily based on Treadwell's experience on the jury in the murder trial of one Ruth Snyder, the story is told in nine episodes, following Helen's metamorphosis from innocent house girl to convicted murderess.
In this production, the director makes the interesting choice of splitting the lead character in to nine different parts, one for each of the nine episodes. While this choice is a bit confusing, it serves to accent the changes taking place in Helen's soul as each actress adds her own individual flair to the character.
Among the nine leads, the most captivating and believable is by far Jessica Epstein, the ninth, final incarnation of Helen. Facing the end of her character's life, Epstein has the difficult task of tying each of the preceding performances together. She achieves this through sincerity and emotional commitment, lashing out and breaking down as if it were herself being condemned to death.
As a high expressionist play, "Machinal" challenges even the most competent actors to distort their own sense of reality in order to convey the meaning and emotion intended by the playwright. Unfortunately, this distortion went far over the heads of some of Pompano Beach's cast members, though some did grasp it. Among these successful students of absurd theater, Matt Borges in the role of Helen's lover stands out as the most prime example, exemplifying the quixotic and contradictory tones of forbidden love through excellent body language and powerful (though weak where appropriate) stage presence.
Technically, the show is minimalist, a worthy choice as there are nine completely different settings in which the plot takes place. Sets are wonderfully constructed with realistic props and costumes, though some of these aspects were slightly prochronistic. The crew handles the most difficult technical aspect of the show, sound effects, with utmost proficiency, suffering only minor early cuts or missing cues.
Pompano Beach High School begs many questions with their laudable production of "Machinal," but by far the most pressing is also the most human: "Are we free?"
Ara Parikh
Deerfield Beach High School
Submitted for publication to
Where life's common experiences become a forced, autonomous pattern, the seemingly meaningful chapters can appear encumbering and terrifying. This unsettling commentary on the stages of life for a young woman is cleverly examined in Pompano Beach High School's production of "Machinal".
Framed by a series of emotionally charged vignettes, "Machinal" comprises of milestone episodes of a 1920's young woman's life as she is mentally, physically, and socially dragged into the current of marriage and maternity. Her marriage is unwonted: her husband is despicable and uncaring and her unwillingness to have a child is harshly ignored. The sheer dysphoria of her controlled life leads to an affair and drives her to murder as her only outlet of spontaneity and channeling of inner turmoil is finally released. The expressionist play is edifying and illuminating of the female struggle for independence and the structured style of the show of the general all-encompassing female and specific supporting players was cleverly performed by Pompano Beach High students.
Each episode, as per director's choice, featured distinct actresses all playing the Young Woman. Consistency with character (i.e. fixing hair a trademark way) was commendable, while each actress remarkably contributed a different plane of emotion and understanding of the hopelessness of autonomy. Jessica Epstein (Young Woman) was notable in the final episode, "A Machine", in a fervent depiction of the character's desperation and nostalgia towards her mother. Epstein utilized depth of expression in her looks of terror and sadness and succeeded in a slow-motion physicality that symbolized the need of escape. Also memorable was Sara Kohler (Young Woman) who, with minimal words, created the visage of utter revulsion of motherhood with gasps for air and screams.
Additionally, Trinity McNair created an indelible Mother in her realistic diction, dramatic pauses and mannerisms, and her ability to hold a crucial conversation organically. Technically, the show coolly showcased movie and television clips to complement each episode's focus (i.e. The Office- "To Business", Bill Clinton's infamous Lewinsky declaration-"Intimate", etc). While some scene changes were lengthy, the overall ensemble remained committed and worked well together with an excellent use of props and stage.
The communication of the unsettling notion of a life forcibly and externally formulated is difficult considering the sheer depth and gravity of the didactic significance of the play, but Pompano Beach High School's production of "Machinal" was both successfully affecting and clever.
Abbey Bethel
Deerfield Beach High School
Submitted for publication to
Wake. Work. Home. Eat. Sleep. Repeat. This is a glimpse of the monotonous machine-driven and human-dictated lifestyle expressed in Pompano Beach High School's commendable production of "Machinal".
Written by lesser-know American playwright and journalist Sophie Treadwell, "Machinal" is based on the infamous murder trial of Ruth Snyder. The play hones in on Helen, a woman who is suffocated by the people and machines that direct her life. Following the template that society has crafted for a woman, a somewhat defiant Helen marries her repulsive boss and has a baby with him. As if it were a wrench thrown into the gears of a massive machine, Helen's lustful affair with a younger man is the episode that compels Helen to murder of her husband. After living her life by the whirring of machines, Helen is sentenced to die by machine, the electric chair.
Although Helen is only one woman, she is a "different" woman at each stage in her life. Pompano's production showcased the various stages of Helen's life by having a different actress portray Helen in each of the nine episodes of which "Machinal" is comprised. All of the nine young women, however different they may be, shared a distinct commonality that made the transition from one Helen to another quite effortless.
Alexis Harden, Helen in Episode 2, provided a commendable characterization, embodying the angst and frustration of Helen at such a pivotal moment in her life: getting married. Trinity McNair, Helen's mother, was a wonderful complement to Harden and between the pair, the intensity of their interaction, fueled by the shoving of various kitchen items and utensil-driven death threats, was truly a joy to observe. Karla Leal, Helen in Episode 6, instituted the most unique characterization of Helen, accurately portraying her at her happiest; in the midst of a lustful affair with her young lover oozing genuine passion and bliss.
The ensemble in Episode 1 provided a wonderful opening to the production. Between the ruckus of mechanical sounds implemented by the stenographer (Raquel Clayton), adding clerk (Tyler Barnes), and telephone clerk (Amanda Moscone), the interjections of "hot dog!" by the filing clerk (Brandon Strachan), and the literal coordinated suffocation of Helen, the unity of the quartet proved triumphant in establishing an oppressive tone for the play.
The production featured a strong technical execution. The set was appropriate for the production and each of the nine unique locations was justly rendered. Scene changes were, for the most part, executed in a timely manner. To occupy the time between set alterations, pop culture recaps of the previous episode were displayed, with video clips from The Office, Pepe LePew, and Bill Clinton. Although the implementation of the video clips was rough, with minor glitches and abrupt endings, this original and unique concept was well-received.
A show that certainly was not monotonous, PBHS's "Machinal" was an unusual and remarkable production.