With this being the school’s 30th year open, theater director Brooke Phillips wanted to put on “Almost Maine”, one of her favorite shows that have been done two other times. It premiered on Feb. 6-9, which on opening night alone had a full house.
The tickets were $8 for students and $15 for adults. The show took place in a small town called Almost located far up in Maine. It’s about multiple different love stories between different people, and how those peoples relationships changed during the show. As a smaller show, it was held in the black box so everyone was closer and it created an intimate theater experience.
“All I knew was I wanted to do it in our little theater because it’s more intimate and it’s great for like a close-knit play about love; I wanted to feel real like date-like,” Phillips said. “We decided to keep it feeling close and I worked with my students to figure out a new design that’s different from what we’ve done before. We went with this idea of a snow globe and we had this big circle opening. Most people might not realize that’s what they’re looking at, but when you hear us, say what it was you say, oh yeah, it looks just like a snow globe.”
In order to bring this beloved playback, Phillips knew she wanted it to be special. So it took a whole team of lighting and sound crews to make this as magical as possible. There were crazy light designs which show cased northern lights, big open skies, and even home style lighting; also well-timed music and well-played sound cues.
“Opening night for us is just watching when people start to come in so that we can start playing our show music,” junior sound lead Alexis Vore said. “Then pretty much after that, it’s just we wait till the thumbs up to start feeding it out. and then we do all of our sound effects, uh based on what the lighting is doing and then also the lines that the actors are giving us.”
Being behind the scenes is already difficult as they have to pay attention to what’s going on all around the stage, but as difficult as it is it’s also very rewarding. Being a part of how the scene sounds and all that companies it. The actors are the ones that are “leading” the light and sound crew to when the scene needs to end. However, there’s always another side to it, as the actors on stage have such a different way of looking at the show.
“Being in “Almost Maine” was such an interesting experience compared to other shows because myself and the other actors only interacted with one (sometimes two) other actors,” sophmore NatalieRyen Rockwell said. “I played Rhonda, a rough and tough lady who didn’t want to mix work and personal matters. It becomes awkward for her when Dave, her coworker, confesses his feelings for her but she soon reciprocates those feelings.”
Being on stage is a joyful experience and an honor for those acting. They put all their energy into making the show entertaining and inviting. And that they did. With all the hard work they put into the show its great to know that it was enjoyable for everyone.
“I enjoyed it a lot,” sophomore Brianna Jochims said. “I went because my friend was in the play and I wanted to watch her perform. I didn’t know what it was about beforehand but I thought it was really funny.”
With the success of this production, the theater program continues to demonstrate its commitment to bringing meaningful, innovative performances to its community. As the school celebrates its 30th year, “Almost Maine” stands as a testament to the enduring power of theater to connect, inspire, and entertain. Now that it’s done it’s safe to say whether you’re on stage, behind the scenes, or even in the audience, every single view is a unique experience for everyone.
