TRIFLES RESPOSE

Personally, I believe that this proposal is extremely iffy, but that’s politically incorrect so I’ll say it’s interesting. On one hand, it could be dangerous because with a minimalist design, there’s an abundance of little to work with, which can be a lot harder than it sounds. I haven’t been in theatre long, but even I have seen productions where the director got carried away with his/her simplistic world. If the actors all look the same and interact with the same props, that can be exponentially challenging (especially if one of these blocks can be more than one thing). In my mind, it would be like running the show in room 125 or 135 of this building ,which can bring out the best in some of us but it’s just not the same type of atmosphere as the Shaver or the Riley. I’m not saying it wouldn’t work, but I wouldn’t do it. I think it’s hard to do it successfully because you have to find that cut-off line or everything will become nothing. This is where I would agree with the proposal-imagination! The mind is a tool with incredible power that is constantly underestimated or in some cases not used at all. As people, imagination is vital to us whether we realize it or not. It’s always been there, the only difference is we aren’t princesses and Power Rangers any more. Hopes, dreams, goals-without imagination, these would not exist. Obviously, an essential part of an actor’s craft is imagination to some extent, because even though the events you portray may be real or the person you are on stage exist, you aren’t literally going through those things to the same degree. If done “correctly”, I do believe the proposal could work, but the right cast, crew, production team and maybe even audience would have to be there. Anyway, so what would the production gain? Honestly, I don’t know. I didn’t particularly like this play, in fact I found it boring so bringing an idea like that to the table would get turned down by me quick, because that would just make it worse. The only positives I could see would be if the bird cage, quilt and rope weren’t the same as the rest of the set; it would give significance to these objects (not that they need any). I guess the black clothes could help too. I mean, I get what the director wants. I have no doubt that his concept is flawless, about how characters should feel and the audience focusing on them instead of the props, that’s great. I don’t know if the audience will understand what’s happening though. For starters, I think it’ll lose entertainment value and viewers would lose interest. I also believe that somehow the story will be altered even though the plot and text are set in stone. A decision like that has rippling affects all around, minor but still. Again, I think this is risky; I may lean a little more to the “no” side than “yes”. In the end, it really depends on how minimalists we’re talking because that’ll determine all the other factors.