Reading of THE MACHINE Comes to Westport Country Playhouse

Westport Country Playhouse will present a Script in Hand playreading of a new play, “The Machine,” on Monday, November 3, at 7 p.m. The plot focuses on a poet suffering writer’s block, artificial intelligence, and the tricky questions that arise when technology starts writing art.  A 2021 featured finalist in the Blue Ink Playwriting Festival at the American Blues Theater, and a 2019 finalist for the Princess Grace Award in Playwriting at New Dramatists, the play is written by Matthew Libby and directed by Camden Gonzales. 

"I’m excited to present Matthew Libby’s new play ‘The Machine’ for our next Script In Hand reading,” said Mark Shanahan, Westport Country Playhouse artistic director. “Libby’s script takes us on a wild, thrilling ride that is smart, witty, and full of surprises. A modern thriller and morality tale, ‘The Machine’ keeps us on the edge of our seats while asking provocative questions about art, technology, and human connection.

“And most interesting, the play makes us think about the devices we’ve come to accept in our lives every day, and the ways they’re quietly shaping our creativity, our choices, and our relationships. It’s clever, fun, and sure to spark some lively conversations long after the lights go down!”

“The Machine” is set around a prestigious university in the late 1990s. The plot follows Laney Chamberlain, a celebrated poet-turned-professor stuck in a serious case of writer’s block - until a tech CEO shows up with a wild proposition: build an AI that can write poetry in her voice. What follows is a clever, fast-moving journey of self-discovery as Laney grapples with her identity as an artist, a recent personal tragedy, and the big question: what does it really mean to create in a world where technology can do it for you?

The cast includes Gibson Frazier as Roy (Off-Broadway: “Regretfully So The Birds Are,” “Mr. Burns,” “Tumacho,” “For All the Women…,” “10 Out of 12,” “There Are No More Big Secrets,” “Telephone,” “God’s Ear,” “The Internationalist”; regional: “Rough Crossing” with Tony Randall, “Death of a Salesman” with Jack Klugman; film: “Unsane,” “Frances Ha,” “Illusion” with Kirk Douglas, and “Man of the Century,” also co-writer/producer; television: “Girls5Eva,” “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”); Maggie Lacey as Laney (Westport Country Playhouse: “Our Town,” “The School for Husbands,” “Lips Together, Teeth Apart,” “I’ll Drink to That,” several Script in Hand playreadings; recent credits: “Appropriate” at Old Globe, “What the Constitution Means to Me” at Cleveland Playhouse - Critics Circle Award for Best Performer; recent television work: “Hotel Cocaine” for MGM+, “Julia” for HBO Max; recipient of a 2025 Ten Chimneys Fellowship).

Stacie Morgain Lewis as Chelsea (Westport Country Playhouse: Curator, Script in Hand Jr., co-director, Playhouse Playmakers, co-writer/performer in “2Motherpluckers,” which will return to the Playhouse in early 2026; Glinda in the Chicago production of “Wicked”; Broadway: “Sunday in the Park with George,” “Wicked” as standby for Glinda, “Urinetown,” “Titanic”; Off-Broadway: “Don’t Quit Your Night Job”; regional theater: “LMNOP” at Goodspeed; BFA Ithaca College; co-wrote the children’s album “Harmonize”); Kevin Shiu as Max (Westport Country Playhouse: Script in Hand playreading of “Warrior Class,” Playhouse Radio Theater’s "The Return”; National Tour: “The King and I” - Lincoln Center Theater; Off-Broadway: “Wearing Black,” “My Real Mother” at NMYF; “Carousel” at NAAP, “Lost in Shanghai” at Pan-Asian; regional: “A Grand Night for Singing” “Miss Saigon,” “Disney's Aladdin” “Disney's When You Wish”); and Hanako Stepper reading stage directions (NYU Department of Drama's New Studio on Broadway, freshman student, assistant stage manager for world premiere of “Love Somebody Now”; Manhattan School of Music precollege; semi-finalist, ESU National Shakespeare competition).

Playwright Matthew Libby’s plays include “Data” (Arena Stage; Helen Hayes Nomination for Best New Play or Musical, Kendeda National Graduate Playwriting Award) and “Sisters” (Northern Stage; Neukom Award). Libby is a 2022-2023 Dramatists Guild Foundation Fellow, Theater Masters Visionary Playwright, three-time Princess Grace Award finalist, four-time O’Neill Playwrights Conference semifinalist, and Blue Ink Playwriting Award featured finalist, and his work has been produced and developed by theaters across the country. As a TV writer, he has developed projects for Hulu, Lionsgate/eOne, Beau Willimon's Westward Productions, and Alex Gibney's Jigsaw Productions, and his screenwriting work has been recognized by The Black List and Script Pipeline. Libby studied cognitive science and creative writing at Stanford University, and received his MFA in dramatic writing from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts, where he was awarded the Chair’s Award for Distinguished Achievement and where he also teaches.

Director Camden Gonzales directed for Westport Country Playhouse a Script in Hand playreading of “How the World Began” earlier this year. She is the associate choreographer for “Moulin Rouge! The Musical,” working with companies all over the world including London, Germany, and Australia. Previous credits include “A Sherlock Carol” (assistant director) at New World Stages, “Sing Street” (associate choreographer) at Huntington Theatre, “Peter and the Starcatcher” (choreographer) at White Heron Theatre as well as “Forget Me Not” (choreographer), a new musical which debuted at Manhattan School of Music.

Stage manager is Tyler Danhaus (Off Broadway: “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” at WTC PAC; “Pretty Perfect Lives” at The Flea; “Fish” at Keen Company; “Russian Troll Farm,” “Scene Partners,” “This Land Was Made” at Vineyard; BFA: UW-Milwaukee; @tydanhaus).

Tickets are $30. Running time is approximately one hour and 50 minutes; one 15-minute intermission.