Trifiling Things

The name of my blog, Tremendous Trifles, is indebted to the writing of two men. The first is Edward Gordon Craig, the influential English scene designer and theorist. He wrote in his quarterly journal The Mask,

“I will go so far as to suggest that it is these things – trifling things – that the world today stands most in need of, and that the weighty ones are absorbing all our strength…might it not be wiser and much more sociable to concern ourselves with trifles for a few decades…I have seen in most lands that I have visited, even the miniature theatre held by grown men…to be…of great value."

The second is G. K. Chesterton an English critic and writer from the early twentieth century. In 1920, he published a collection of thirty-nine essays under the title Tremendous Trifles. A great enthusiast of Juvenile Drama, one of Chesterton’s “trifles” in the collection concerned toy theatre.

It is intended that my own trifle will allow me to explore and indulge my interest in table top theater.

1. By posting photos of my collection of toy theaters. Using the entries as an opportunity to do a little research into the publishers and designers behind the various models that I have enjoyed assembling.

2. By documenting the building of new additions to my collection.

3. By writing reviews of the shows, books, and websites that I've encountered that touch upon table top theater.

4. By using this as an excuse to create some "original" toy theaters.