President's Corner	Machinal
Reflecting on Big River	Kilroy's Club
FOTM	Frankenstein

                                        
 

        THE SCHOOL OF THEATER 
 

                                          AND THE MASON PLAYERS                                                                                                                                                             present
 

 
MACHINAL

Kayla Schultz 

 

I had never considered myself as a potential director until I read Sophie Treadwell’s Machinal. The text and storyline intrigues any listening ear and I am ecstatic to bring it to the Mason Player’s stage. This process has inspired me to direct many more visually and dramatically interesting pieces of art to the stage. Machinal features the story of a young woman who feels pushed and shoved throughout life, and makes the staggering choice to kill her husband in an attempt to be free, only to be chained down even more. Treadwell writes the Young Woman into a very robotic, anxiety-driven, mechanized world, practically making her choices for her. The Young Woman has been broken down by society, and I see this play as a warning to not become victim to the harsh realities among us.

My vision for Machinal is to create a large metaphor for the Young Woman’s world onstage. We will be creating a mechanical world using both the technical elements and actors alike. As we see different phases of the Young Woman’s life, the audience will get to watch her be swept away by life, and not fight back in order to claim her own individualism.

I believe Sophie Treadwell says it best, Machinal is inherently, “an interesting play.”  
 

 

 
 

On March 20th 1927, the strange murder of Albert Snyder left detectives and the city of New York completely baffled. The trial to find the murderer behind this cold-blooded act immediately followed, bringing many interested onlookers, including reporter and playwright Sophie Treadwell. As the trial unfolded, Treadwell gathered the inspiration for her original play, Machinal. While Treadwell's play contains elements from the actual case, the playwright focused not on retelling salacious details but depicting her central character as neither victim nor villain. Through live performance, Treadwell found a way to depict how societal pressures can lead to crippling anxieties. As someone who suffered from mental health issues herself, Treadwell sought to understand the mind of a woman who feels trapped in her own life.
 

 

REFLECTING ON BIG RIVER
 

In light of expressions of anger and hurt around some of the content of Big River, I thought it best to use this space to further the conversations on this topic. Having already expressed that the racist views held by characters within Big River are not reflected by our community, and we understand that the “unreliable narrator” of the piece, Huck, is not heroic in his journey, I write here on the topic of empathy. Empathy starts with being able to see, hear, and feel for others and has meaning when it is reflected in some expression of empathy. Our students, our audience, all members of Theater at Mason should feel seen, heard, and valued. Empathy demands acknowledging those around us and what they are experiencing and feeling. Big River was chosen by the faculty for several reasons: size of orchestra, musical content, opportunities for movement and ensemble work, expectations for design, and, yes, to provoke a conversation about race relations in our nation. While we desired the conversation, we have never looked to cause pain. Theater at Mason has striven to inspire, never to demean nor diminish, but rather to lift the human and communal spirit. The play’s choice has caused pain. Individuals have felt angry and have worked to be heard. Empathy is taking another’s perspective and responding accordingly.
 
Mason’s School of Theater seeks to practice empathy in our daily process, in both big and in smaller ways, but we can do better obviously. Ironically, choosing this season was the most inclusive process it has ever been. All students, Friends, and faculty were invited to contribute to a growing list of potential titles; applications were accepted for multiple possible productions, and, as always, the faculty, as a whole, discussed trying to meet the needs of the students and the community. We will continue to work towards inclusion and transparency. Town hall style meetings were offered, already in the spring, and we have held several this fall. Guest artists, some already scheduled and some looked to for address to this specific dialogue around diversity and inclusion, have and will continue to join us. The School of Theater is always working to tune in to do the right things, at the right time, in the right ways, so we can educate, grow, and help build a more empathic and peaceful world.
  
We can change our trajectory, we have the power to write the story of our future together. We get to determine if it is going to be a tragedy or a story of triumph, peace, love and human connection. We so appreciate all who are a part of making a positive difference, in playing a part in creating a more compassionate and connected community, and in collaborating to do better.
 

Ken Elston
Director, School of Theater

EXPAND YOUR HORIZONS– JOIN KILROY'S CLUB
By Mack Miller, FOTM Events Coordinator

 

 

Students of George Mason’s School of Theater pick several plays to read and discuss – one each month during the academic year. The Kilroys took their name from the iconic World War II image that appeared in unexpected places – a playful way of making the presence of under-represented playwrights known and hopefully supported. Each year the Kilroys publishes a list of un- and under produced new plays. The Kilroys are a gang of playwrights and producers in LA who decided to do something more than talk about gender parity in playwriting. 
 

At the Fall Convocation, I asked if Friends of Theater could participate and received a resounding “yes” from the group’s leader, student Madison McVeigh. Thus I joined about 20 students at September’s meeting to discuss STEW by Zora Howard. STEW is about the relationships between four women of the same family spanning three generations. Set in the kitchen of the grandmother’s house, we learn about the characters through their relationships with one another – all the while trying to uncover a connecting story developing in the background. I thought the play was excellent and would enjoy seeing it performed. I was also fascinated by the student’s discussion. As theater semi-professionals, the students made comments and had observations that I did not have. The discussion enhanced my appreciation for the playwright’s work and the students’ knowledge and perspectives. 

The Kilroys meet on the last Thursday of the month. The last  meeting of the semester will be on Thursday, November 29th at 4:45pm in the School of Theater Conference Room, on the 4th floor of the PAB. This month, we will be reading THE OPPORTUNITIES OF EXTINCTION by Sam Chanse. 

 If you are interested in participating, contact me at cmmiller10847@gmail.com. The meetings are popular with students and space in the conference room is limited; so we may need to limit Friend participation to only one or two members each month. But you can still read the play even if you can’t attend the meeting. Let me know what your heart desires and we’ll see if we can’t make it happen.


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CHILI CHOWDOWN

Saturday, November 10, 2018

 

 

 

 

Aquila Theatre brings the classic thriller Frankenstein to the stage in a production that is sure to make your spine tingle. The story centers on Victor Frankenstein, a Swiss scientist obsessed with his mission to create an artificial humanoid. Without considering the implications, he succeeds, but his creation is no ordinary man. It is a huge, hideous creature possessing a sharp mind and with human emotional needs, which has horrific unintended consequences for the doctor and his family. Written nearly 200 years ago and considered the first true work of science fiction, Shelley’s novel was years ahead of its time, and it still poses myriad timely ethical questions, including those surrounding artificial intelligence. Known for their bold, daring physical style and described as “a classically trained, modernly hip troupe” (The New York Times), Aquila Theatre pays homage to the original, frightening writing of Mary Shelley.

 

Sunday, November 18, 2018 at 7 PM 

George Mason University's Center for the Arts

4373 Mason Pond Drive, Fairfax, Virginia 22030