Newsfeed
Printer-Friendly Mode“Almost” brings mended hearts, comedy
November 1, 2010 —
Under the northern lights and winter stars, hearts were broken, mended, and shown how to love in the small town of Almost, Maine.
“Almost, Maine” showed that love is for everyone and can sometimes be found in the most unlikely places. The play, which ran last weekend in the Black Box Theater, was co-directed by students Karli Jenkins and Jessica Rockwell.
“The stars create a little bit of magic, and that magic creates a little bit of love,” said Jenkins, a theater sophomore.
Actors Erin Ciesielski, Ray Deeren, Jeff Domagala and Brittany Frost each played multiple characters in the eight vignettes that made up the show. Each story took place on the same day at 9 p.m. under the stars.
Humor was sprinkled throughout the show as the characters fell in and out of love. There were plenty of symbols and word play on names.
In one of the stories, Glory (Brittany Frost), was watching the northern lights in a man’s yard to mourn the death of her husband, Wes. The owner of the house (Jeff Domagala) came outside to figure out what she was doing when he found her carrying around her broken heart in a bag. He took it from her, telling her that he was a repairman set on fixing her heart. His name was East.
In the end, she said, “Goodbye, Wes. Hello, East.”
The simple set, designed and built by theater junior Sarah Drum, was adapted by the props and actors to be several different places in Almost for the different vignettes.
The show was a production of the Through Line Theatre Ensemble, an RSO aimed at giving students a variety of theater experiences.
David Rzeszutek, lecturer of theater, suggested the play to Jenkins, president of Through Line, who immediately fell in love with the script.
Jenkins said she had an army of people, including ones she doesn’t even know, who helped make the production possible.
“Everyone put their heart and soul into all of it,” she said. Jenkins said she was glad to see the cast receive a standing ovation and recognition that she felt they deserved. She added that it was ten times more gratifying to see her cast get the ovation than if she were on the stage recieveing it herself.
Jenkins said not many sophomores get the opportunity to direct a show, and it was a tricky but enlightening task.
“As a peer director, you have to flirt the line [between] director and friend and you can’t cross into either one,” said Jenkins.
Although it was harder than she expected, Jenkins said she was pleased with how the show turned out.