Machinal at MadLab Theatre

The Sound Company’s Machinal runs May 18 – 28, 2023 at MadLab Theatre in downtown Columbus. This ensemble-devised show will use Treadwell’s shocking and surreal text to create a multidisciplinary experience that includes music, dance, and multimedia components. Sophie Treadwell's expressionist play tells the story of a young woman, any woman—a woman who suffocates in a society that wants her to be submissive. When it premiered in 1928, the New York Times said "in a hundred years it should still be vital and vivid." As we near the 100th anniversary, The Sound Company is using this play as a catalyst to a community conversation about the global backlash against women's rights.

The play will be directed by Sean Ryan Naughton and assistant directed by Ben Fisher with stage management by Jenny Morrison. The ensemble includes Jessica Hughes, Lior Livshits, Shannon McCarren, Matt Piper, Alex Rito, Othman Shuri, Sydney Webb, Scott Douglas Wilson, and Christina Yoho.