In my opinion, to truly capture the authenticity of a play like Machinal, I would use all three aspects of acting: vocal, physical, and emotional. In order to give Sophie Treadwell’s character of Helen the strong voice she so desperately needs, the actress needs to convey all of the contradictory emotions Helen is feeling throughout the play. It is fairly impossible to really breathe life into Helen’s character if you don’t have a complete understanding of the play as a whole or Helen herself. In respect to the physical aspect of the character, the audience has to feel the sheer agony Helen felt by being controlled during the entire play. This is shown in her relationship with her boss, her husband, and even in the man she has an affair