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The news site of Glenbrook South High School.

The Oracle

The news site of Glenbrook South High School.

The Oracle

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Almost Maine delves into many sides of love

What do getting hit with an ironing board, shoes falling from the ceiling and tons of kissing have in common? Well, they’re all about love, they all take place at 9 o’clock on a Friday night and it all happens in a quaint little town called Almost, in Maine.

South’s spring play this year, Almost Maine, includes all of these events, and, according to the cast, is unlike any play they have ever done.  With about nine different scenes and 20 cast members, this play shows the simple yet complicated idea of love.

The show, which premiered April 25, is a unique one that has many challenges for the cast, according to director John Knight. It is a series of romantic comedy one-act scenes all about falling in love, falling out of love and trying to figure out what love really means.

“It’s about love in all of its many forms,” Knight said. “All of the characters experience some of the awkwardness, joy and confusion of love.”

Junior Allie Kahan plays a girl named Gail who has been in a relationship for 11 years. Just like many of the other cast members, Kahan’s character is trying to find out  exactly what love is.

“[The play] is a lot more intimate and a lot more personal,” Kahan said.

One of the main differences from previous plays at South is the way the stage is set up.  The house, or area of the auditorium where the audience usually sits, will not be used.  According to Knight, the crew is building the seating on the stage using two risers which will face each other as the actors perform in the middle.

This is called stadium style, like a football game, and Knight believes it will add to the intimacy of the play.  Much like a bowling alley or catwalk, the performing area is about 8.5 feet wide by 35 feet long.

According to junior Kevin McDermott, he’s glad he is able to be a part of a play like this.

“Everyone’s in one scene and the character doesn’t come out again so you just see different scenes,” McDermott said.  “It’s kind of cool because they all kind of relate to each other, but they are nothing alike so they never have any interaction.”

While the stage set-up is one task Knight is trying to accomplish, he plans to include the Northern Lights as another main focus of the show.  The play takes place on a night when the Northern Lights occur, and Knight hopes to harness their effects as an important theme.

“These Northern Lights bring with them some sort of magical love powers [in the play],” Knight said.  “[It’s] really an exciting and unusual challenge.”

While many cast members are used to working with drama teacher Beth Barber, they all agreed that Knight is a great director as well.

“I’ve actually worked with [Knight] a lot,” junior Matt Miller said.  “Personally, I love working with [him] because he really knows what he wants.  He’s very specific with directions so it makes the process go by a lot faster.”

Although the cast gets along well, according to Knight, the cast has faced some challenges in rehearsals.

“Since [the play] is about love, it has a lot of kissing,” Knight said.  “Part of the intimacy has been trying to get the scene partners to feel comfortable enough with each other to kiss and to make it feel natural.”

Miller agrees that the big kissing scene can be hard to practice.  Miller’s scene partner is junior Raina Payne, and according to him, the one-on-one rehearsals with her are a lot of fun.

“It’s also awkward because we have to kiss,” Miller joked. “Once we got that out of the way, it’s just like stage kissing so it’s not a big deal.”

Senior Nicolette Tantillo, who plays Villian, feels that this play will be able to relate to many different people.

“[The audience] will definitely be able to relate to one of the scenes in some shape or form,” Tantillo said. “It really hits all the aspects of relationships, the positives and negatives.”

Knight agrees and said that he and his cast love the play and can’t wait until opening night.

“If [people] want to see something different, if they want to see something that celebrates […] the wild unpredictability of love, they should come see this play,” Knight said.

 

 

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