by Kolton Fishback, Student Reporter
The first spring production is upon us: the Northwestern Theatre Department is excited to present a unique take on love and relationships.
The performance will be held in Herod Hall Feb. 20 and 21 at 7 p.m. and Feb. 22 at 2 p.m.
“Almost, Maine” is based on the life of John Cariani and a series of scenes about love and loss. The cast was set before Christmas break, and they have been working hard to make this a unique performance for the Alva community and the students here at Northwestern.
Mickey Jordan is designing the set for the play. He said they have spent three hours a night, five days a week preparing for the performance. Jordan is also one of the directors of the play.
The play takes place in the furthest point in North America in a tiny town.
“It’s called ‘almost’ because it’s not big enough to be a town, but not small enough to be a township,” Jordan said.
Jordan said they have spent countless hours in rehearsal to prepare for the play. He said the actors have rehearsal twice a week to practice their lines and make small adjustments if necessary.
The play has multiple directors for each scene. Jordan said it is great because you get a different perspective from each director. The amount of space is limited. Keeping all directors on the same viewpoint can be challenging at times, he said.
“Almost, Maine” deals with relationships and has a tremendous message about communication. The play consists of multiple scenes that show how we relate to each other.
Professor Kimberly Weast said the cast has practiced for around 18 hours a week. For every page in a script book, that adds up to at least 10 hours per page.
Their first rehearsal was the Monday before the spring semester started, so they encourage the public to come and watch a good show.
“This play will have people walking away and truly watching how they act and feel towards each other,” Weast said.
Maleah Schmitz tries to read her scrip daily. She reads around 30 minutes a day to keep the lines fresh in her head. Schmitz is acting in the scene called “Where it went” alongside Brenner Clark.
Her character is Marcy, a wife that is tired of her husband and is trying to find a “spark” in the relationship that is missing. Schmitz said that each scene has a different message, and she likes that aspect to the performance. She said it is interesting to have multiple directors for each scene.
“The play is like different love stories, and finding love where it’s not expected,” she said.