Trifles Prompt Response

The proposal to stage a more theatricalized version of Trifles is, in my opinion, a very bold move, and one that I don't think would work very well. The thing that I like most about this play is its naturalism; the way it honestly depicts the gossip of a small town through the dialogue of Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters, and the true-to-life representation of a small country home. My Grandparents live in Dodson, Louisiana, and upon reading this play I was immediately reminded of visiting them and hearing my Grandmother and Aunt whisper in another room about some new scandal about someone in town. Granted, the subject matter of the play is (hopefully) much darker than any of the gossip my family deals with, but I still can vividly picture the way the women talk and act. However, I believe the dialogue should be reinforced by the naturalistic scenery of Mrs. Wright's kitchen. The two women discover the truth through the details overlooked by the men, and I feel that if there are no real "details" to be found onstage, then this concept is lost. The significance of the little things, the "trifles," if you will, is very important to the script as a whole, and, if lost, ruins the play.

"Overtones"

The conventions exhibited in Gerstenberg’s play Overtones are, in my opinion, not that strange. I mean, sure, there are two characters whose sole purpose is to relay the deep, dark implications of two women’s otherwise pleasant conversation, but apart from that, it’s nothing out of the ordinary. The characters of Hetty and Maggie are just a tool by which Gerstenberg expresses the inner conflicts of the two characters, Harriet and Margaret. The majority of the interaction between Hetty and Maggie occurs only after the others speak to convey the real way in which Margaret and Harriet interpret what the other is saying. A few times the “primitive selves” (Hetty and Maggie) speak to Harriet and Margaret before saying something in an attempt to influence what will be said, and near the end of the play, the “primitive selves” yell at each other as the tension rises in what would otherwise be complete silence.

In terms of actually sticking to the conventions she set herself, I don’t believe Gerstenberg does that great of a job. In the description of the characters, it is stated that “HARRIET never sees HETTY, never talks to her but rather thinks aloud looking into space.” But on the very next page, Harriet is responding to Hetty’s prodding and even asks “Am I presentable, Hetty?” Within the first two pages, the convention is broken. Perhaps I am misinterpreting what the description on the first page meant, but to me it seemed that Harriet and Margaret were never meant to speak directly to Hetty and Maggie, respectively. I know that the characters never look in the direction of their “primitive selves,” but they certainly acknowledge their presence.

Apart from being slightly confused about maintaining the integrity of the conventions Gerstenberg set in place, I really enjoy the choice to have the “primitive selves” onstage with the other characters, because, albeit a little bit strange, it gives the audience insight into the subtleties that would have otherwise gone unnoticed in the otherwise bland situation.

Testing, Testing: 1, 2, 3

This here is my first blog post on this newfangled Blogger.com doohickey. If'n I might say so myself, I am happier than a heap of hotcakes to be in this Script Analysis class. So yeah man that's, like, my first post I guess.