Prelude to Trifles

Characters:
Green Canary
Mrs. Wright
Mr. Wright Salesman

Act One: Scene One A man slowly walks up a path to a small dark farm house. He pulls a cart and in it an array of singing feathers. Inside the home, a slight woman stands in the kitchen working over a coal burning stove. The walls are covered in a yellowed wall paper and the steam from the stove has made the seams loose. The woman stops from her work, looks over to the sink and her eyes fixate on the shelf above it. Moments pass with her staring as if in conflict as to what to do. She moves toward the sink shelf and reaches for a bottle of Aspirin (At the time Aspirin contained Heroin). A knock at the door startles her before the bottle is taken into her hand. She recoils from the shelf and rushes to the door. She opens it and the man with the short pants stares back at her.

Salesman: Why hello ma'am. Today I am going door to door with canaries specially bred for their singing abilities. I have here for a low price, a bird the color of your choice and a fine hand made cage.

Mrs. Wright looks into the cart. The birds are kept in a large cage. Several small cages, the ones for sale with the birds, are kept at the back of the cart. At the bottom of the large cage sits a small green canary covered in the other birds' excrement. Her eyes fixate on this tiny creature and her lips purse.

Mrs. Wright: And I may choose the one I want?
Salesman: Most surely.
Mrs. Wright: I'd like that one. (She points to the green bird).
Salesman: That one? No, no that one is half dead. I'll find one for you with plenty of spunk. One with the most beautiful voice you have ever heard.
Mrs. Wright: No, I want that one right there at the bottom.
Salesman: Okay, (he mumbles under his breath) it's your money.

He opens the cage. Birds fly frantically trying to dodge his ever present hand. Meanwhile, Mrs. Wright goes for her coin purse. The salesman takes hold of the bird and throws it into its smaller new cage. Mrs. Wright hands him the money grabs the cage and slams the door shut. The salesman stares dumbfounded at the closed door. He turns away and makes his way back up the path. Inside, Mrs. Wright sets the birdcage on the kitchen table. She takes a bowl from the cabinet and turns the warm water on to fill the bowl. After the bowl is full, she takes it to the table where she has set the cage down. She opens the cage, takes the bird in her hand and starts to bath it. As she bathes the bird, she begins to sing and so does the bird. The Front door opens.

Mr. Wright: What the hell are you doing?
Mrs. Wright: (startled) oh hun, you scared me. A salesman had come buy selling these marvelous birds. I was in the middle of cooking dinner when he interrupted me. I'll be done in a sec.
Mr. Wright: Well why don't you put that damn thing down and get to it?
Mrs. Wright: Yes dear, I'm sorry.

Mrs. Wright puts the bird in its cage and returns to the stove. Mr. Wright takes his boots off and goes upstairs. He comes back down and she serves him a plate of dinner. He proceeds to grunt his way through the meal.

Scene Two: A year has gone by. The bird is healthy and once again Mrs. Wright stands in the kitchen working on dinner. She sings a song to herself and in the background the canary provides a staccato melody. The front door opens, Mr. Wright enters the room. Mrs. Wright stops singing but the bird persists.

Mrs. Wright: (Smiling) you're late but that's okay; dinners almost done!
Mr. Wright: (grunt) Every time I get home you and that damn bird is making a racket. I can't get a moment of peace in this house. Every day I bust my ass in the fields, but when I get home, my wife is too busy with her head in the clouds to have dinner on the table.
Mrs. Wright: Have you been drinking?
Mr. Wright: What do you care? All you care about is that damn bird. I could drop dead today and it wouldn't concern you.
Mrs. Wright: That's just crazy. Please just calm down. Dinner is almost done. I've just been preoccupied with canning the fall harvest before the weather gets any colder. I'll make you a pot of coffee, extra strong, just how you like.
Mr. Wright: I don't need to calm down. I need this bird to shut its trap.

Mr. Wright takes the bird cage in his hands and rips the cage door open. The bird stops singing as he grabs it and wrings its neck. He then sits down in front of the fireplace with his back to the kitchen. Mrs. Wright stands there in shock with her jaw slack. She picks up the bird, raps it in a dish towel and puts it in her pocket. With tears streaming down her face she starts to make the pot of coffee. As she does so, she takes the aspirin bottle from above the sink and throws its contents in the pot. She finishes dinner and in silence serves her husband a hearty plate and a large cup of coffee. He grunts as he devours his meal.

Mrs. Wright: I know that you have had a hard day, why don't you go upstairs? I will be up in a bit when I am done tidying things up down here.

Mr. Wright's eyes are heavy and when he stands up his arms are limp. He turns and struggles up the stairs. When he reaches the top, Mrs. Wright drops her work and leaves out the back door. When she comes back in she has something hidden with in the folds of her skirt. She makes her way up the stairs and stands over her already sleeping husband. From her skirt, she takes out a slip knot and brings it around her husband's neck. The light dims and so does the life of Mr. Wright.