A
play is meant to bring a story to life visually. Props and costumes help bring
context to a play that the audience would otherwise miss without them. It’s
especially true when dealing with a play that is set in a different time period
and unfamiliar setting to the audience. The play “Trifles” is set in a time
period that is very different from the one we live in now. Without props and
costumes to portray this setting accurately it would be difficult for an
audience to fully grasp the setting. The dialogue itself gives hints to a
different time period but it might not be blunt enough to fully explain this to
an audience. If the audience is not aware of the setting they will not
understand they story fully. You could rely on the actors to portray accurate
speech and mannerisms but this could still be inadequate.
There
is also a lot of interaction with props written in the playwright. If actors in
the play did not have these props to work with they would have a difficult time
portraying their actions to the audience. I doubt it would be too difficult for
experienced actors to work with a blank set, but the audience can only work
with what they hear or see. If there was no set to portray the bleakness and
emptiness of the house, the audience might not be able to immerse themselves in
the story deep enough to appreciate it.
I completely agree with you about the props and clothing helping to bring context to the play. I forgot about the fact that all of these intricacies help determine the time period of the play. You touched on two points I made also about the audience being incapable of full entering the world of the play because they may get lost in the absence of the props, and, about the unclearness of what the setting. This is prompt is well written, and clear.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you 100%. Without props and clothing bringing this world to life it is near impossible to completely understand the context of this show. Not to not give an audience credit, but they would get lost when they are hearing about a bird, but the actor is holding a wooden block. When one comes to the theatre they come to get lost in a world that's not their own. They would get lost alright...but not for the reasons we want them too. I like your response.
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