• The Machine Stops

    "A Space Mountain roller coaster ride, an intellectual white water rafting expedition, a production that will have you talking about it for hours and days to come." – The Front Row Center

  • The Machine Stops

  • The Machine Stops

  • The Machine Stops

The Machine Stops

A New Play

Based on the short story by E.M. Forster

Adapted & Directed by Kevin Ray

Scroll to read more about the play, view productin photos and watch mini-documentaries about how the production was created.

Devised in collaboration with

Augustus W. Cook II, Jon DeGaetano,

Robert A. K. Gonyo, Wyatt Moniz, Deb Hertzberg,

Alyssa Korol, Ian McNally, Henry Menestrier,

Uki Pavlovic, Rachel Rhea Shannon, John Teresi

Lya Yanne & Yang Yu

Watch mini-documentaries about

The Machine Stops

Kevin Ray on Directing

Look inside our rehearsal process to see the ensemble in action and hear about Kevin’s approach to theatricality.

Deb Hertzberg on Puppetry

Watch Deb and the ensemble animate objects and hear about what inspired Deb to become a puppeteer.

Jon DeGaetano on Projection

See Jon in action experimenting with projections and hear about his “Design Forward” approach to collaboration.

E.M. Forster's Sci-fi Allegory

In an imagined future where everyone lives alone in identical, underground cells, having all their needs provided for by a multi-functional, omnipresent machine, people have abandoned public gathering and physical touch in favor of communicating with each other via The Machine’s video interface system. When Vashti's son Kuno calls her from his cell on the other side of the world, her life is turned upside-down when he asks to meet in person to tell her something face to face, "not through The Machine."

Through a combination of live acting, puppetry and video projections, this production used expressive theatricality to vividly bring Forster’s futuristic allegory to life on stage.

Written in 1909, Forster's prophetic work of science fiction asks audiences to consider: When is technology bringing us together and when is it dividing us? How and why is technology drawing us away from nature? What might happen if we don’t cultivate a healthy relationship to technology?

Production Photos

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Press Photos

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Cast & Creative Team

Click the accordian below to read about the cast and creative team

  • CREATIVE TEAM

    Open or Close

    In Alphabetical Order

    Jon DeGaetano • Projection Design

    Jon DeGaetano is an artist creating work centered in design, performance, and collaborative making. Most recent work includes Amadeus lighting/set (Ephrata Performing Arts), Breath and Imagination set (Penguin Rep), I Know Exactly What You Mean by Ogemdi Ude projections/interactive media (Danspace NY) Cuando el Fuego Abrassa lighting/set (La Mama), L’Amico Fritz lighting (La Mama), EXHAUSTED creator (The Tank, Darkfest), UNEARTHLY VISITANTS deviser/designer (Triskelion Arts), Love’s Labour’s Lost, lighting/set (Atlantic Stage 2/NYU), Will They Play Golf on Mars, designer collaborator with Janine Cunningham (Dixon Place), Lacy Rose and her Starling Quartet, lighting/set (HERE Arts). Jon is also in collaboration with Matthew Deinhart in an ongoing series of technology based installation art. MFA Brooklyn College. jondegaetano.com

    Robert A. K. Gonyo • Sound Design

    Robert A. K. Gonyo is a theatre director, actor, sound designer, voiceover artist, podcaster, musician, and tour-guide residing in Queens. He is the producer of Go See a Show!, New York City's independent theatre podcast (goseeashowpodcast.com). robertgonyo.com robertgonyo.com

    Wyatt Moniz • Lighting Design

    Wyatt Moniz is a designer and visual artist who creates unconventional storytelling devices using light, shadow, sculpture, and projected image. With a background in interactive art and experimental theater, he pushes the boundaries of design as a form of performance. He will be making his public art installation debut as part of Lincoln Center's Collider series under Mimi Lien in 2023, where he will be exploring large-scale kinetic sculpture in the heart of Hearst Plaza. His recent credits include lighting design for "What Happens to Brown Girls…” and projection design for “Sisters by Water” by Shenny de Los Angeles, lighting for the film “The Baptism” by Carl Hancock Rux & Carrie Mae Weems, and projection design for "The Vicksburg Project" at Harlem Stage.

    Deb Hertzberg • Puppet Director & Designer

    Deborah Hertzberg is a New York City–based puppeteer, costumer, theatre-maker, and educator. Her recent puppet fabrication and performance work includes Saturday Night Live, A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood, the documentary film George Saunders: On Story, Muppets Most Wanted, Auntie Panda, Avenue Q (Broadway), Little Shop of Horrors (Broadway), Heineken, Optimum On-Line, and many other projects. Her original puppet works include Zwerge for the Eugene O’Neill Theater Center, the award-winning Nosferatu for New York Fringe, and her family show, Animals in Winter. She serves as the costume shop supervisor for the Department of Theater at Brooklyn College, and is a lecturer for her course “Puppetry for the Theater.” For Brooklyn College she has designed puppets for She Kills Monsters and Camino Real. Her published works include "An Avant-Garde Approach to Comprehensive Puppet Performance Training for Puppetry International and Offstage Intimacy" for ATHE’s Theatre Topics. She holds a BFA in acting and an MA in puppetry from the University of Connecticut, and an MFA in design from the University of Idaho. www.debhertzberg.com

    Alyssa Korol • Costume Design

    Alyssa Korol is a theatre and film costume designer, wardrobe manager, and crafts artisan, who enjoys creating thought provoking works that challenge societal expectations and invite audiences to consider topics from different perspectives. She grew up in northern Vermont and is now based in the New York City area. Past works include UNEARTHLY VISITANTS, Richard II (The Enemies, William Shakespeare), The Passion According to GH (Fractured Atlas, an operatic adaptation of Clarice Lispector’s 1964 novella of the same name). Boston University MFA in Costume Design, 2018. alyssakorol.com

    Ian McNally • Sound Design & Original Music

    Ian McNally is a composer, performer, and producer based in Queens. Studying under David Fulmer and Shafer Mahoney, he has had pieces performed by The Talea Ensemble, Mazumal, and members of the International Contemporary Ensemble. His work centers around the atmospheres of places as told through the multitude of sounds an instrument can create. Aside from his classical work, Ian has produced a number of Brooklyn and Queens based bands at Huntsville Road Recording Studio and performs around the city with acts such as Demeter and Moon Hound. Thanks to Kevin and the whole cast and crew for this opportunity!

    Henry Menestrier • Production Stage Manager

    Henry Menestrier is a NYC-based theatre artist, focused predominantly on stage management, lighting design, and set design and holds a BFA in Technical Theater and Design from Brooklyn College. He is very excited to be working with Kevin again, having worked with him on Unearthly Visitants in 2021. Recent Stage Management credits include Unearthly Visitants (Triskelion Arts Center), The Moors (Brooklyn College), Little Women (The Gallery Players), and The Winter's Tale (Brooklyn College).

    Kevin Ray • Producer & Director

    Kevin Ray is a Generative Theater Artist, producing & directing original works in collaboration with actors & designers. Most recently he directed UNEARTHLY VISITANTS, an adaptation of ghost stories by Edith Wharton. He has also directed productions of Jeniffer Haley's Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom, Mark Ravenhill's Scene from Family Life and David Harrower's adaptation of John Wyndam's speculative fication novel The Chrysalids. Kevin has directed productions of the musicals The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, Monty Python's Spamelot, and A Year with Frog and Toad in addition to Menotti's opera The Telephone. He has received grants to support his work from Brooklyn Arts Council and The Puffin Foundation. Kevin is an Associate Member of SDC and holds an MFA in Theater Directing from Brooklyn College. kevinrayworks.com

    Yang Yu • Scenic Design

    Yang Yu is a lighting and set designer for performing arts. Her design focus is to use light, space, and time to create emotionally charged environments and experiences. She is also interested in exploring the connection between visual arts and music. Productions include lighting design for Prometheus Bound (The Tank), The Shes (Weasel Festival 2019, The Public Theater), set and lighting design for St. Vincent’s Project (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater). She holds an MFA degree in Design & Technical Theater from Brooklyn College and am MA degree in Fashion Design from University of Nebraska-Lincoln. yangyudesign.com

  • Cast

    Open or Close

    In Alphabetical Order

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    Augustus W. Cook II

    Augustus W. Cook II is an NYC based Theater Maker, Cultural Producer, and Marketing Professional. He graduated from The Stella Adler Studio of Acting in 2013. He then went on to co-teach in Stella Adler’s Outreach Division where he worked with students throughout the 5 boroughs. Augustus studied across CUNY campuses to earn both a BA in Investigative Theatre and Mass Media Production and Marketing. He has worked on the press and marketing teams of The Public Theater, AFROPUNK, Bulova, and more.  


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    Uki Pavlovic

    Uki Pavlovic is an actor, director, and a producer, for both film and stage. Currently, he is set to star in a queer thriller directed by Nate Dushku. His screen work also includes recently released series "The Highlands Inn", a dramedy about actors, their pipe dream, and the chosen family, which he wrote, directed, and acted in. His short film, "The Black Mallow", about the struggles of a young immigrant in America, is currently available on Amazon. His most recent stage work includes directing "Moony's Kid Don't Cry" which premiered at DipFe Festival and Gwangju International Theater Festival in South Korea.


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    Rachel Rhea Shannon

    Rachel is a New York City based actor, singer, and voice-over artist. She is a graduate of The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and the Stella Adler Studio of Acting. You may have seen her in UNEARTHLY VISITANTS as Alida Stair/Mrs. Rutledge/Others and as Debra in The Zenosyne Hotel, heard her as Winlee in the Multiclass Theatre Podcast, or seen her on the UTC Theatre Company stage in Silent Sky (Margaret), EVITA (Eva Peron), and Hay Fever (Myra). She is grateful to be making art and would like to thank her beautiful family, friends, and teachers for their ever-flowing love and support.


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    JOHN TERESI

    New York: UNEARTHLY VISITANTS (Kevin Ray Works), Decimal (New York Theater Festival), QUILTBAG, Animus Anima//Anima Animus, Woe is Me (The Public/Weasel Festival), All of a Sudden (The Farm/MWEntGroup); Regional: Sweeney Todd (PFO), Woyzeck (WTF), Baby Wants Candy: The Improvised Musical (WTF), A Reception for Time Travelers (WTF), Orpheus in the Berkshires (WTF), Mercy Train (Microscopic Opera), Cendrillon, Macbeth (Resonance Works); University: Porch Play, LEAR, A Map of Virtue (Brooklyn College), The Beggar’s Opera,* L’étoile* (Carnegie Mellon); BFA: Vocal Performance, Carnegie Mellon University; MFA: Acting, Brooklyn College. johnmteresi.com johnmteresi.com


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    LYA LANNE

    Lya is an actress, writer, filmmaker, translator, and Mandarin coach in New York City. Selected Credits: TV: Iron Fist (Marvel), Three Women (Showtime) Film: Vox Lux (Neon), The Beta Test (IFC Films) Theater: The Lighthouse (Provincetown Tennessee Williams Festival), Planet Heart (Signature Theater) Special thanks to Kevin, our fearless leader, and my talented and inspiring cast mates and the extraordinary designers who made this production possible. Love to Jaye, Michael, and Yael and the dear friends who came out to see our show!

THE MACHINE STOPS was made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.

THE MACHINE STOPS was sponsored, in part, by the Greater New York Arts Development Fund of the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, administered by Brooklyn Arts Council.

Funding also made possible by Broadway Green Alliance.

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