Yangqi Cao

The machine world is a representation of the lives of many people. People live like machines, do the same things over and over again every day, everyone goes through what everyone goes through - born, goes to school, gets a job, gets married, gives birth, dies, people live a programmed life. Although the script is set in the 1920s, it is appropriate to set it in the present day as there are many people still living a life like that. I also chose to place the set in a contemporary setting so that it is close to our life and it will be easier for the audience to empathize and engage with the play.

The model I have created depicts a world where the silver box makes the world seem cold and fits the machine setting. What also touched me in the script was that no one cared about and respected the idea of the heroine, so I separated the scenes one by one with boxes to create a sense of isolation. There are nine episodes in the play, hence, the scene changing becomes a big challenge. My design makes the transition easy. At the start of the play, the furniture of all the episodes will be on the stage in different boxes, and when one episode ends, the boxes will be removed. In the end, there will be only one box left which hopefully will create a powerful visual effect.

Machinal is a tragedy, the young woman in the play feels isolated, the main tone of the script is rather depressing so that almost all the lights I use are all relatively dim to show the mood of the young woman. I use the subtle lighting for episode one to eight and strong red light for episode nine, the contrast between the light leads the play to climax.