Life > September 27, 2007

By Mary Kate Wagner | Contributing writer

A recent phenomenon in popular culture is the increasing number of people fascinated by Court TV. What better way, then, for the University Theatre to begin its 2007-’08 season with Machinal, an expressionist play based on the 1927 murder trial of Ruth Snyder?

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Sophomore Maggie Choumbakos plays "young woman" in the upcoming play Machinal. (Jonathon Christman/Wake Forest University Theatre)

Snyder, convicted of the murder of her husband, was the first woman in New York City to be executed by the electric chair.

Written by Sophie Tredwell, a reporter who followed the trial, Machinal is a feminist take on the motives of a young woman who, with the help of her lover, murdered her husband. The play’s “nonrealistic, expressionist style is a wonderful challenge for our actors,” said director Brook Davis.

The play pursues the motives of this young woman to commit such a crime.

The Orwell-esqe motif of the “machine” of society serves as a comment on how the social order in the early 20th century had strict control over the actions of women.

The play revolves around the theory that Helen, the character representing Snyder, might not have committed such crimes if she had not been pressured into marriage and had her life controlled by everyone except herself.

Only marrying her husband to appease her controlling mother, she is easily swayed to follow the passions evoked by her young lover.

He provides an escape from the monotonous machine-like aspects in her life. The word machinal is a French word which means “automatic.”

The life that Helen was expected to lead was nothing short of automatic: marry, have children and serve society – leaving little room for her own passions and desires.

Because these “machines” controlled her, it seems cruelly ironic that a machine would ultimately take her life.

“We are asked to physically become part of something much bigger … we are to connect to the style of the script, and as a whole unit become a ‘machine,’ not focusing an exceptional amount on the emotions or internal struggles of our characters,” said sophomore Brittni Shambaugh of her experience.

This is Shambaugh’s first performance in a University Theatre production. She acts as a member in the ensemble, a reporter and a “telephone girl.”

The most compelling aspect of Machinal is not a shocking conclusion or a riveting twist of an ending, but in the ways in which the story is told.

The play embraces the expressionist take on something seemingly commonplace – in this case a court room.

Expressionism is most commonly defined as “the tendency of an artist to distort reality for an emotional effect.”

Keeping that in mind, the play is oftentimes presented with a large emphasis on sound effects and abstraction.

The university’s theatre department has been rehearsing for the show since August.

With performances running at 7:30 p.m. on Sept. 28-29 and Oct. 3-6 and 2 p.m. on Oct. 7 at 2 p.m., there are plenty of opportunities to indulge in this “disturbing feat of the senses.”

Tickets for all performances are $5 for students and $12 for general admission.