Trifles

     After reading Susan Glaspell's Trifles, I'm not sure that a minimalistic, abstract concept would work well for this play or even do the play justice. 
     As I was reading Trifles, a number of images stuck out to me. The haphazardly left house and kitchen in disarray was the first. As the audience eventually finds out that there is a murder investigation occurring in the Wright household, you get a feeling that someone left in a hurry (or in Mrs. Wright's position, was removed in a hurry). Another image in the kitchen that was talked about in detail by the characters was the dirty towel on a roller. An exchange about class levels and gender roles unfolds, and sets a tone that men are superior to women in the world of Trifles. The bread box and jars of preserves are also images that pop up time and time again. Both women are almost unsettled at the sight of bread out of the bread box (the horrors of an unkept kitchen!) and the jars of preserves seemed to worry Mrs. Wright more than the recent death of her husband.
     Other significant images are the bird cage, the sewing box, and the quilt and pieces of fabric, to name a few. Most, if not all, of these props are small yet vital pieces of the complete story. It's very difficult to image a staged performance of Trifles without these physical, literal objects on stage, as opposed to blank, abstract, neutral colored versions. 
     It's hard not to compare the two because we just read Overtones one or two days ago, but I feel you could absolutely get away with an abstract, bare stage, black and white version of Overtones. Although written in the early 1900s, it could be set in the here and now and be equally as compelling. It almost seems as though this hypothetical director is confused as to what show he is proposing. Overtones is definitely a play where I would want both audiences and actors to put their focus on the words and emotions. 
     The focus in Trifles seems to me to be more about understanding why Mrs. Wright killed her husband and the motive for the other women to protect her. Without critical props like the bird cage and sewing box, especially in the final scene, the scene would lose its power and purpose. I think going with a minimalist design would alienate an audience. This isn't a make believe, magical, fantasy show which requires an imagination. It does, however, require an understanding of what's going on in between the lines, which can only be aided and made clearer by the use of sticking to the stage directions and props/costumes listed. It would also make it more difficult on the actors. If you were in Harry Potter, would you want to act next to a dragon or pretend in front of a green screen? If I was in a production of Trifles, I would not want to pretend to see a dirty house, pretend to see a rocking chair, and pretend to be cold as I'm wearing simple black pants and a shirt. Having realistic props and costumes only helps the actors feel more comfortable and makes the entire situation seem more "real". I don't believe this is a type of show that could get away with a bare stage - it's just not written that way. There are too many instances in the play where it would almost seem ridiculous to an audience to see any actor reacting so vividly to nothing.