Cleveland’s fall play this year is Machinal, a German Expressionist play inspired by the real trial of Ruth Snyder. The play follows a woman who goes to extreme measures to free herself from being trapped by societal expectations.
“Audiences will get to see a play produced in a very different style. The play’s sound and look is very different from traditional high school theatre. It’s an opportunity for audiences to see a play they may have never heard of or seen before,” said theater teacher James Payne.
Expressionism is often used for social criticism, and focuses more on internal perspectives and emotions rather than realism. Machinal utilizes this abstract style to give the play a distorted feeling and convey the physiological state of the main character.
The theater department typically aims for productions that have large casts, rotating between different types of musicals and plays, so over the course of four years, there are opportunities for students to be in a variety of different productions.
There are 40 students in the cast of Machinal, 18 also being crew members of the production.
“This year we are producing published plays written by female playwrights. In the spring, we produce Sarah Ruhl’s ‘Eurydice,’” Payne said.
Congratulations to Pema Lauder, who got cast as the lead, Helen Jones, who is also referred to as “the young woman.” Her character kills her husband in a desperate attempt to gain freedom.
Lauder is a senior and has been very involved in the theater program at Cleveland High School throughout her four years. This is her first time playing a lead in a play.
“I play the young woman, her name is Helen Jones, and the story is loosely based on a real trial, it’s super interesting. It takes a lot of emotion to portray her character, ” Lauder said.
In addition to acting, Lauder’s main passion in life is writing. Still wanting to stay in the realm of theater, she mentioned wanting to get into playwriting after high school and possibly going to college for it.
Lauder also noted that some viewed Machinal as a controversial production for a high school, due to its content.
“There are definitely some mature themes, but we took out anything that was really explicit. It’s interesting and I think it’s fine, it’s like, PG-13,” she said. These mature themes may be triggering for some or seen as unsuitable for a high school environment.
“The play deals with emotional abusive relationships and the death penalty,” according to Payne.
These elements are essential to the plot of Machinal and are part of the artistic expression of the story of this murder. Censoring them all out would significantly impact the plot.
Machinal will run from Nov. 13 through Nov. 15, and Lauder encourages anyone interested to come see it.
