Almost, Maine
This year’s fall production, Almost, Maine, is set in a place called Almost in Maine. It is technically not a town because that requires people to get together and organize it to become one. Since that never happened, it’s inhabitants just call it Almost.
Each scene was student-directed and the whole play featured several love stories that are all happening simultaneously.
“I think there were 8 in total,” said Ella Heckman (12).
Each of the scenes are completely independent of each other. They don’t necessarily happen chronologically and don’t rely on each other for the story to make sense. It’s just a collage of many stories.
“We all practiced in our own groups,” said Audra Hissong (10). “And then we had two rehearsals before the show to run through the whole thing.”
In one of the scenes, a bachelorette was having a party at a restaurant and ran into her ex- boyfriend. This particular story focused on a love that was, rather than one that will be or the formation of one.
“We each auditioned for our parts,” said Lillie Matiko (10). “I wanted my part.”
Another scene featured a man asking a woman to marry him, to which he got no response and the two drifted apart. After some time, she shows up at his doorstep with an answer.
“Ella and I said it was probably about 5-7 years,” said Connor Slemp (9) between the time that she was asked and the time she gave the answer.
He explains to her the pain that this would cause. The scene ends with a woman calling his name which would show that he’s with someone and possibly married.
“It was the first time I ever did something like that, but it turned out to be extremely fun and a good experience,” said Slemp.
The play’s debut was December 20 and 21 and was performed in the JB auditorium. It was only the third time ever performed as a whole since each scene was always individually rehearsed. Even with multiple directors and little time for whole run-throughs, it flowed smoothly and was enjoyed by the audience.