Machinal by Sophie Treadwell

Expressionism

The Raging Twenties

Women

Prohibition and Speakeasies

Politics

To convey a feeling or impression as opposed to being a direct translation of a person, place, or experience. In expressionist theater, there is usually no straight through plot line, the play is expressed in an episodic manner. This style first became popular in poetry during the 1910s-20s, the subjectivity, bold imagery, and breaking of conventional forms made this style perfect for drama.

Expressionism in other mediums is again used to convey feelings as opposed to concrete representations of things or experiences. Expressionism shifted art from being a depiction of something seen to a translation of something felt by the artist, they express inner life. This style was prominent in Europe, specifically Germany.

• The 19th Amendment granted women the right to vote. With found rights and a lot of hope for the future, many women began to immediately utilized their right to vote. However there were many women who still believed that the womans place was in the home and therefore regarded these women as extremists or having loose morals. Many women who excercised their right to vote, did so in line with their husbands.

• The "New Woman"- she defied the expectations of femininity and womanhood. Drinking, smoking, dancing, holding a job, were all things associated with the "new woman" ideal.

• Working Women- pre WWI woman's contributions to society were explicitly household duties. During the war when men were away fighting, women fulfilled the roles of men and women. Tending to the house and children and working as teachers, stenographers, journalists, and in factories.

• 19th Amendment

• Calvin Coolidge (1923)- the frugal conservative with no control over Wall Street.

• Herbert Hoover -1928
• Great Depression- many blame Hoover for the social and economic standing of America because of his lack of involvement and support for the American people.

• Automobile Advances
• Unionization

• Technology in homes

• January 1920, the start of Prohibition. The American government outlawed the production, sale, and transportation of alcohol in hopes that it would encourage the American public to spend their money on other forms of entertainment. This was almost totally unsuccessful. Prohibition only encouraged people to make and sell alcohol in smaller secret batches, often in bathtubs in backrooms of restaurants and lounges.

• Speakeasies became popular because of a combination of reasons; places like the Stork Club and the Cotton Club would sell tickets to performances by renowned musicians and dancers and give patrons a complimentary cup of alcohol. This grew into the practice of secret menus and code words. Many speakeasies eventually turned into hotspots where the famous and wealthy would go to be photographed.

Sophie Treadwell

Machinal Production History

• Born in Stockton California in 1885.
• She attended college at UC Berkley where she earned a Bachleors of Letters. She began writing and tutoring in her free time.
• Most of her career was spent as a journalist, many of her plays have been based on real events she wrote about.
• Married to Sports Journalist William McGeehan
• Member of the Lucy Stone League
• Died February 20, 1970

• Original Broadway Cast (1928)
• Kamerny Theater in Moscow (1933)
• Gate Theater Revival (1960)
• NY Shakespeare Festival (1990)
• Royal National Theater (1993)
• American Conservatory Theater (1997)
• Roundabout Revival (2014)

Career

Reviews

"a startling collision of past and present. Like an archeological treasure preserved in a subterranean air pocket, ''Machinal'' is both an authentic artifact of a distant civilization and a piece of living art that seems timeless. " (Frank Rich NYTimes)

"it’s a moody, jarring meditation on the modern world that’s a critique of capitalism, mechanization and male-dominated power. For 86, it looks pretty, weirdly good." (Mark Kennedy Washington Times)

• Journalism
• Playwrighting
• Other Works
• The Right Man(1908), Andrew Wells’ Lady(1913), La Cachucha(1918), Gringo(1922), Lone Valley(1923) O' Nightengale (1925), Ladies Leave(1929), The Last Border(1944), Judgement in the Morning(1952), Garry (1954), Plumes in the Dust (1936), and Hope for a Harvest(1941).
• Broadway
• Gringo, Lone Valley, O'Nightengale, Machinal, Plumes in the Dust, Hope for A Harvest.

Machinal

Machines Mentioned

By Sophie Treadwell