Love is rarely like relationships portrayed in romantic comedies. It can be chaotic, awkward and challenging, especially in the digital age. John Cariani’s play “Almost, Maine” explores love and relationships in an honest, open way through couples living in the same small town in Maine.
The University of Arizona’s School of Theatre, Film and Television will present the show Thursday, Feb. 26 to Sunday, March 8.
It is being directed by Erin Roberts, an assistant professor of practice, live and screened performance.
She is an actress, director, improviser and educator with experience in theater and film.
“Almost Maine” is the first show Roberts has directed at UofA.
In some of her classes, she has done scenes from “Almost, Maine.”
“It’s a really cool concept. The entire play is broken up into two-person scenes. They’re like little vignettes…I have used the text for previous on-camera film classes, for acting classes, for monologues, for exercises, but this is the first time that I have the chance to direct the whole thing… I do think that it stands alone, scene by scene, but I think it goes really well together because it’s a roller coaster of relationships. It’s nice when it’s actually paired together because you go through these emotions of this couple’s breaking up. This couple is reuniting. This couple is first meeting or finally getting together,” Roberts said.
The stories within the show unfold during a time when the Northern Lights are visible in this small town.
The play shares stories of realistic characters falling in and out of love in honest, messy ways. It goes past the polished, “filtered versions” that people present of themselves online and shows them being brave as they try to form connections with others.
“They label it as ‘magical realism.’ I think a lot of it is identifiable or relatable to everyone. Everybody’s gone through relationship issues, whether that’s getting into one, coming out of one or trying to navigate one. You’re going to find someone that you identify with in this show…We’ve got honesty, humanity, humor and hope. I think that’s what people need to see right now,” Roberts said.
Roberts hopes that the show will encourage audiences to put down their devices, risk being seen, really look into the eyes of the people they care about and express their feelings.
The students in the show have been challenged with capturing vulnerable, honest emotions and practicing nonverbal skills such as making eye contact with each other.
“This has been a really wonderful opportunity for them to sit opposite someone, make that eye contact and really talk truth,” Robert said.
Roberts said the show is funny and sentimental, but it also has unexpected moments, such as scenes with fight choreography.
The play can be cast in different ways.
“It’s basically representing an entire town. With the exception of one scene that has a waitress who comes in and out, it’s only two people on stage. You can cast up to 20 people because there are 18 different characters. The original production that was done in ’04 was just four people. Because it’s an educational show, we want to give as many people an opportunity as possible. I have nine actors, and I have two understudies,” Roberts said.
Roberts said that many of the couples were written ambiguously, in terms of their ages and backgrounds. This allowed for casting a diverse group of actors of different races, sexualities and gender identities.
“One of the scenes can be done with two men or two women. We chose to do the all-female scene because we have more women in our department, so that was an easy choice to give more women opportunities onstage,” Roberts said.
During the audition process, they did chemistry reads with different pairs of actors.
The actors all play multiple characters, which means they are part of different couples.
“I think that that adds an extra challenge for the actors. Each character has its own very specific backstory, but then that relationship also has its own nuances,” Roberts said.
For the show, Myely Martin, a student composer from the music department, wrote original music for scene transitions and underscoring.
“She did a great job really capturing the essence of this small, cold town. She’s got some guitar. She’s got some harp. The Northern Lights appear multiple times. There’s a magic moment with the lighting, and she has created this beautiful soundscape for that,” Roberts said.
The designers help bring to life this town through elements such as the lights and sets.
“We’ve got snow. We have a frozen pond where people skate. We have the local dive bar. We’ve got the little inn or boarding house. This is a very quintessential small New England town. I think our production team has nailed it,” Roberts said.
The costumes also fit with the season. The actors wear pieces such as winter coats, snowmobile helmets, beanies and gloves.
“There’s a scene where the couple is snowmobiling. They try to have an intimate moment, but they have layers and layers on. It’s hilarious to see how they maneuver… We have a scene where this couple has been skating on the frozen pond, and the young man who’s playing in that scene had never worn ice skates before. When he was in costume fittings, we had to get him used to the ice skates….Some of them have never worn winter boots. Some of them have never really spent any time with snow. We were talking about how if you sit down in snow, if you get up, you have to brush yourself off. You have to make sure that it doesn’t soak into your pants,” Roberts said.
Roberts grew up in New England, and her mother lives in Maine. She has experienced what the winter months are like in that part of the country, but many of the students have not.
“I’ve had to talk to them about how you hold a snowball and how you walk in your skates… I think it was serendipitous in that I am a native New Englander. A lot of this is very familiar to me,” Roberts said.
Roberts said the show does a good job in presenting what a small town in Maine is like.
“It represents northern Maine in its isolation but also in its small community feel. The community itself really depends on each other. It’s almost a microcosm of how the world should be. Everybody has each other’s back. Everybody is supportive. Everybody knows a little bit of everybody’s business, which can always be a little annoying, but I think it’s nice… People know everybody. Everybody’s got a very unique personality. Everybody still feels responsible for one another. With the dynamic in the world and in the country today. I think this is something that’s going to be welcome,” Roberts said.
While they are in character, the actors act as stagehands, helping with the scene transitions.
“It’s a small town, so I’m setting it up as they’re all helping each other out all the time… It’s gives us an opportunity to show that community, even if it’s not part of the actual scene,” Roberts said.
University of Arizona School of Theatre, Film and Television’s Production of “Almost, Maine”
WHEN: Thursday, Feb. 26 to Sunday, March 8
WHERE: Tornabene Theatre, 1025 N. Olive Road, Tucson
COST: $35 adult admission, $33 for seniors, military and UA employees, $5 student rush tickets available for high school and college students
INFO: tftv.arizona.edu