| Sarah L. Hunt-Frank  |  | Machinal Director: | George Miller Designer: Sarah L. | Hunt-Frank Lighting: Julie | Hallorand Costumes: Jennifer | Flitton-Adams HOME | 
 This is an incredible play to work on. The repetition of phrases and
numbers exemplifies the neglect of personal needs or desires. In
keeping with the play’s Orwellian feel the set was harsh and cold
consisting of corrugated siding and riveted steel. The industrial
lighting helped to isolate and depersonalize every aspect of the show.
Stenciled numbers accentuated the floor and walls for the nameless
identity of the Industrial Age. My approach to this production was that
of cold discomfort and entrapment. The heroine, who remains nameless,
is not in control of her life but the events that happen around her
affect her in terrible ways. She does not enjoy her job, is nagged by
her mother, marries because it is expected, and delivers a baby because
it has been forced on her. | The one moment she takes control of her life is when she murders her husband in order to glimpse that highly desired freedom, but it is fleeting. Even as she is going to the electric chair, she is manipulated by the jail attendants and her last cries are “Just leave me alone!”
“Sarah L. Hunt’s set, with its heavily riveted corrugated metal walls,
freight elevator and tacky furniture, fits perfectly. There are
exquisitely complicated sound effects and cues, and an iron-colored set
by Sarah L. Hunt that’s considerably more “machinal” than Theatre
Outlet’s usual simple backdrops.”
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