TRIFLES
Would you tamper with a crime scene to save an innocent life?
An original full-length ballet based on Susan Glaspell’s famed murder mystery play by the same name. Experience the drama, tragedy, and power of contemporary women who band together in search of the truth.
“I loved everything from the choreography, to the music choices, to the use of the actors. it was great to see something truly unique. Trifles is definitely one of my new favorite ballets! ”
PC Raynard Imagemaker. Trifles 2023.
TRIFLES in the News
Photo by Jon Clay.
Review: 'Trifles' is a Beautiful Display of Dance as Story
“This is the best of Artistic Director Tess Sinke’s choreography—the powerful port de bras, the anguish, nervousness, fear expressed through the arms and chest, all with wonderful musicality connected to the recording of the Jean Sibelius string quartet. Much of the dance is very academic— repetitive penchés in all directions, chaine turns—and extremely well executed by dancers with grace, and terrific expressivity.
“Women are used to worrying over trifles,” the men quip, oblivious to all that has transpired. The men come off as utter buffoons, heightened by their clunky walks and words amid the sheer elegance and nuance of the women dancers. There is nothing subtle about “Trifles” in any of its iterations, and this ballet makes even more clear its themes and symbolism through form—and does so quite beautifully.”
Marin Heinritz for REVUE West Michigan
Spooky Ballet Premieres to Watch Before Halloween
“The autumn chill finally creeps in this October, along with three chilling new works from American companies. Last year, we saw an increase in Halloween-themed ballets, and the trend continues in 2023 with plenty of scary stories onstage.
Several companies are presenting ballets on theme this fall, such as The Joffrey Ballet’s Frankenstein, Wonderbound’s Wicked Bayou, Deos Contemporary Ballet’s Trifles, Ballet Fantastique’s Nevermore, and several Draculas by companies like Ballet Pensacola, Dayton Ballet, and NWA Ballet Theatre. San Diego–based The Rosin Box Project also returns with its Ghost Light Masquerade, an immersive contemporary ballet experience that embraces theatrical superstitions, and Kansas City Ballet presents the North American premiere of Val Caniparoli’s Jekyll & Hyde.”
Catja Christensen for Pointe Magazine
PC Raynard Imagemaker
Photo by Jon Clay.
Photo by Jon Clay
Synopsis
Trifles opens on a cold winter morning as a group of two women and three men enter an empty house. The owner of the house, John Wright, was found dead in his bed — with a rope around his neck — the day before. His wife, Minnie Wright, was found sitting in a rocking chair, claiming to have slept through her husband’s murder.
The County Attorney, the Sheriff, and Mr. Hale — the neighbor who found the body — have been sent to investigate the Wright’s home to build a case against Mrs. Wright. The Sheriff’s wife — Mrs. Peters — and Mrs. Hale have come along in order to gather some personal effects for Mrs. Wright while she is held in jail.
The main obstacle facing the men’s case is finding a motive, something to explain why Mrs. Wright would kill her husband, and why specifically with a rope around his neck. The men leave the women alone in the kitchen while they investigate the rest of the house and grounds, claiming nothing of importance would be in a room full of women’s things.
Meanwhile, the women go through Minnie Wright’s kitchen, taking note of the state of the Wright’s home. It was a cold, isolated place, and they uncover that George Wright was a hard, unyielding husband. As both women piece together what life must have been like for Minnie Wright, Mrs. Hale laments not being a better friend to Minnie. She recalls what Minnie was like before she was married:
“She—come to think of it, she was kind of like a bird herself—real sweet and pretty, but kind of timid and—fluttery. How—she—did—change.”
The women find an empty bird cage, with the door violently broken off, but no sign of a bird. The story begins to unravel as they stumble upon a beautiful, ornate box… with a dead canary inside. Its neck is broken.
Mrs. Hale speculates that John wouldn’t have liked the bird. He would have choked the life out of it, just as he choked the song out of Minnie. The women work quickly to hide the evidence they’ve found and protect Minnie, a woman trapped in a psychologically abusive relationship. They relate all too well to Minnie’s situation.
“We live close together and we live far apart. We all go through the same things—it's all just a different kind of the same thing.”
When the men return, having finished their investigation of the house, they ask the women if they found anything interesting. Having uncovered the truth behind the murder, Mrs. Hale and Mrs. Peters decide to keep their information to themselves.
Photo by Jon Clay
Photo by Jon Clay.
