Machinal

TheatreUSF presents Machinal.

By Sophie Treadwell
Directed by Dora Arreola

Fri, Sept. 22 – Sat, Sept. 23 and Thurs, Sept. 28 – Sat, Sept. 30 at 7:30 p.m.
Sun, Sept. 24 | Sat, Sept. 30 | Sun, Oct. 1 at 3 p.m.
TAR 120 Studio Theatre, Theatre Centre USF Tampa Campus

A woman on the edge – wanting to break out of the box society has put her into. Stuck in a job she hates, pushed into a marriage by her mother to a man who does not understand her. What do you do when societal pressures become too much? When even an affair cannot alleviate the feeling of living a life that was made for you, and not one you made for yourself? The first show of the TheatreUSF 2017-18 Season, Machinal is a riveting drama based on a true story of such a woman and the extremes to which she goes to be free. A drama inspired by the true story of Ruth Snyder, convicted and sent to the electric chair for murdering her husband.

A woman lies on a hospital bed, two male doctors take notes. One doctor speaks to a nurse standing on the other side of the bed.

Two women and a man sit together at a table, one woman with her arm draped over the shoulder of a man who is standing and talking to them. All of them are dressed formally, the women wearing nice dresses, one man wearing a tie and the other a bowtie.

The stage has been converted into a courthouse. The woman sits at a table, interrogated by a lawyer. The judge and other people look on.

A woman and a man sit on a bed facing each other, the former in a night gown and the latter in pajamas.

Three people laugh heartily. One of them, a woman, holds an old-fashioned phone to her ear.

USF School of Theatre & Dance

The University of South Florida School of Theatre & Dance is committed to facilitating creative and academic artists and scholars though rigorous training in the studio, the classroom, and in performance. Students have the opportunity to work closely with faculty and guest artists brought in by our British International Theatre and Holloway endowment programs. The Musical Theatre program, Theatre Honors’ year-long intensive program, and McNeil pilot playwriting program give students the opportunity to expand their theatrical horizons. Our exclusively undergraduate program boasts intensive studies in the disciplines of performance, design and theatre arts as well as a close working relationship with our nationally and internationally recognized faculty.