An Other Company Presents a Double Header of Classics With TRIFLES and A NUMBER

An Other Theater Company in Provo is producing two classic one-acts in their space in the Provo Towne Centre Mall this spring: Trifles by Susan Glaspell, and A Number by Caryl Churchill.

In the feminist drama Trifles, two women visit the home of Mrs. Minnie Wright, whose husband has just been murdered. They begin to notice things around the house--clues that the men dismiss as merely "trifles"--and are forced to make a decision about how much they're willing to tell their own husbands. A Number takes place much later in history, in a time when human cloning is possible. Bernard is confronted by his three sons, all of whom pose complicated questions about identity and what it means to love unconditionally.

The theater chose to produce the two shows together to give an audience their money's worth of good drama. "[Both shows are] very firmly in the canon, and written by women," says Kacey Spadafora, director and theater co-founder. "But because they are one acts, they tend to not get produced as often." Audiences will have a chance to see two shows that aren't often professionally staged.

While the two shows have wildly different histories and subject matters, there are some common themes. Spadafora says, "They both have an element of putting the pieces together and finding what the truth is. And then also once you have that truth, what choice do you make once you have that information?"

Both shows also contain strong social commentaries. Trifles was written in 1916 by a female playwright, at a time when women didn't have the right to vote, serve on juries, or open their own bank accounts. Trifles forces us to ask how women function in a society where they don't have a voice. A Number was written much later, in 2002. Dolly the sheep had been cloned six years earlier, the first mammal to be cloned from an adult somatic cell. The world was grappling with the ethics of cloning, not just for sheep, but for humans. Scientists were researching whether or not it was possible, while everyone struggled to understand the possible repercussions. Both plays give audiences plenty to think about.

This is the fifth production in the company's third season which, along the lines of the theater's mission statement, focuses heavily on stories led by women and the LGBTQ community. Upcoming shows include Good People by David Lindsay-Abaire, and The Normal Heart by Larry Kramer.

Trifles/A Number runs Fridays and Saturdays, March 20 - April 11, 2020 at 7:30pm in AOTC's blackbox theater in the Provo Towne Centre Mall. There will also be one Sunday performance on April 5 at 5:00pm.

Tickets are $12-$15 online and $14-$17 at the door. Opening night tickets are pick-your-price, and free tickets are available throughout the run for those who cannot afford them through AOTC's Play-It-Forward program. For details on this program, or to buy tickets, visit anothertheater.org.

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