Trifles Response

Susan Glaspell uses such great imagery of items in her dialogue.  It can be argued if you need the items because they are so detailed or if you could do without them and just let the audience imagine them.  I respect the production choice for a minimalistic design because it makes the cast work even harder to help the audience understand what is happening in the play.  But, I have always enjoyed naturalistic design more.  It helps me grasp the idea of the play so much better than a minimalistic design.  With this script, I feel that a minimalistic design would be a risky choice that could end with a confused audience if they are not familiar with the play.  The play’s imagery just screams for a detailed set.  You need the rocking chair, the birdcage with the broken door, the fruit, and the elaborate box for the bird.  These props are all referred to multiple times and hold great importance in the play.  This play is a crime scene; the audience needs to be able to picture the room in their heads for what it is supposed to be.  The minimalistic design has the potential to let the mind wander too much.  The audience might picture things that are not even there and this could take away from the story at hand.  Choosing this minimalistic design could lead to new discoveries about the play though.  The feelings and emotions of the characters would be intensified.  Instead of focusing on the already detailed props, the focus would be brought to the characters and their lives.  The naturalistic design allows the audience to automatically take in what is happening, while the minimalistic makes the cast and audience think just a little bit more.  I would choose the naturalistic style, but I would also be curious to see what a minimalistic version of Trifles would be like.