Event

Ripple Effect Artists Presents THE ADD1NG MACHINE by Elmer Rice

In this absurdist 1923 Play, Mr. Zero works at a large firm as an accountant. When he discovers he is about to be replaced by an ADDING MACHINE (the 1923 term for a calculator), he commits an unspeakable crime. He then comes home to his nagging wife, Mrs. Zero, and a cocktail party with the Ones, Twos, Threes, Fours, Fives, and Sixes. The policeman finds him there. After he admits his guilt in court, he is executed. We see him move through the graveyard, Elysian Fields, and further into the after-life, where he becomes an accountant again, until Lieutenant Charles ("the boss") tells Mr. Zero that he is a waste of space and his soul is going to be sent back to the earth to be reused.

A play that combines realism, expressionism, and absurdism all to ask the questions "What is the value of the human worker?" "What does it take to leave one's comfort zone?" "Are some humans marked as slaves?"

Ripple Effect Artists Inc. chooses partnering Social Rights Organizations for each production for which to raise funds. With this production, a significant portion of proceeds will be going toward Safe Horizons NYC.

Director: Justin Bennett
Production Manager: Cooper Jordan

Cast Listed Alphabetically:
Erick Carter
Jessie Fahay
Jessica Jennings
Mallory Kinney
Kyle Sallee
Kevin Sebastian
Arianna Taxmann
Justin Van Voorhis