Performance - Birds of a Feather

Out of the Box Theatre Company (OotB) opens its 2024-25 season with an Actors’ Equity Association–approved showcase production called Birds of a Feather, composed of two one-act plays: Trifles by Susan Glaspell and the world premiere of The Greenhouse by Robert Karmon.

“Birds of a Feather is a program of two one-act plays written 100 years apart yet strikingly unified in theme,” said David Edwards, artistic director of Out of the Box Theatre and director of the production. “This program continues Out of the Box Theatre’s continuing dedication to classic plays combined with an experimental venture into a world premiere work.”

Trifles, by Susan Glaspell, is a revered early feminist play telling its story with mystery and suspense, while The Greenhouse is a brand-new play by award-winning playwright Robert Karmon, using surreal and comic elements, both depicting difficult issues between men and women.

Trifles begins as the county attorney, the sheriff, Mr. Hale, Mrs. Peters, and Mrs. Hale enter the Wrights' empty farm house. On prompting from the county attorney, Mr. Hale recounts his visit to the house the previous day, when he found Mrs. Wright behaving strangely and found her husband upstairs with a rope around his neck, dead. Mr. Hale notes that, when he questioned her, Mrs. Wright claimed that she was fast asleep when someone strangled her husband. Often hailed as one of the quintessential feminist plays, Trifles earned Glaspell a Pulitzer Prize and renewed literary recognition.

The Greenhouse by Robert Karmon is receiving its world premiere in this production. It is a surreal, dark comedy about two strangers who meet on a (perhaps) blind date in a restaurant, and the power struggle that ensues.

Each performance will be followed by a talk-back with the director, playwright Robert Karmon, and other artists.

The cast includes Cameron Bowen, Tish Brandt,* Jeff Burchfield,* Steve Quimby,* and Kim Yancey.*

The production is directed by David Edwards and co-produced by Halina Malinowski and Susan Case, with scenic design by Harlan Penn, costume design by Katherine Roberson, lighting design by Stephen Cornelius, and sound design by Zack Dornfeld. Stefania Diana Schramm is the stage manager.