MACHINAL
MACHINAL
Composed by Kamala Sankaram
libretto by Kathryn Walat
adapted from the 1928 play by Sophie Treadwell
MACHINAL is about “an ordinary young woman,” Helen Jones, who meets tragic ends. It tells her story in nine short scenes: following her from her failing work as a stenographer, to marrying her boorish boss on the urging of her nagging mother; from her experience with oppressive motherhood, to a breath of air with the lover she meets in a speakeasy; to finally murdering her husband after her lover abandons her.
The play was inspired by the real-life sensational murder trial of Ruth Snyder—the first woman to be executed by electric chair, at Sing Sing Prison—and is set in a New York City teetering at the edge of the Stock Market crash, economic disaster, and finally societal transformation.
about the artists
Kamala Sankaram
Composer
Praised as “strikingly original” (NY Times), Kamala Sankaram moves freely between the worlds of experimental music, sound installation, and contemporary opera. Known for pushing the boundaries of form and style, she has created work for the Brooklyn Botanic Garden (as 2023 Artist-in-Residence), an opera for the trees of Prospect Park, a techno-noir featuring live datamining of the audience and a chorus of 25 singing tablet computers, and the world’s first virtual reality opera, among other pieces.
Kathryn Walat
Librettist
Kathryn Walat is an award-winning playwright, whose work has been produced across the country, as well as an opera librettist. Her play CREATION – about music, obsession, and the artistic process – was developed at the Eugene O’Neill Theatre Center/National Playwrights Conference, and premiered at the Theatre @ Boston Court in Pasadena, for which she was nominated for an LA Stage Alliance Ovation Award for Playwriting.
She is a librettist of contemporary chamber opera. PAUL'S CASE, adapted from the Willa Cather story with composer Gregory Spears, premiered at UrbanArias and was produced in New York at PROTOTYPE festival and at Pittsburgh Opera. It was named in The New Yorker’s list of Ten Notable Performances for 2014; and its recording from National Sawdust Tracks was named in Opera News’ “5 Best New Works” of 2019. THE ECHO DRIFT (co-librettist; composer Mikael Karlsson), was commissioned and produced by American Opera Projects, Beth Morrison Projects, and HERE, and premiered at the 2018 PROTOTYPE festival in New York.
Alison Moritz
Stage Director
With fifteen years of experience in opera, classical music, and theatre, Alison Moritz is a highly sought after arts leader and stage director. Most recently, Alison produced the 2024 and 2025 festivals at Central City Opera, a Colorado cultural institution with an annual operating budget of $6.5 million. During her tenure at CCO, Alison strengthened the company’s artistic profile and union collaborations while also cultivating audience growth and commercial success. The 2025 Festival she programmed and produced was the company’s highest grossing season in ten years, particularly notable for its uptick in subscription revenue at the 550-seat venue.
Information
Duration 80 Minutes
Commission MACHINAL is currently in development with AOP & Eastman School of Music
Premiere TBA
Roles 6 singers
Instrumentation