The curtain will rise on another production this spring at Innisfail High School.
Almost Maine is a romantic comedy that takes place in a small, unincorporated town in northwestern Maine.
“It's almost a town. It's Almost Maine,” said Rob Burton, arts and drama teacher at Innisfail High School. “The name of the town is Almost. Its population is 300 and it is set in mid-winter.”
Burton said the sleepy, small, country town is home to a variety of interesting, fun characters that are portrayed in nine scenes, including the prologue. Most of the scenes consist of two or three people, where characters are entwined in various stages of relationships.
“It's clever and it's really well played,” said Burton. “All of these stories are happening simultaneously at 9 o'clock at night in this little town of Almost, Maine.”
“I think they're going to love it. It's quirky, it's got a funny sense of humour to it and it is really, really funny,” said Burton on how he believes his students will react to putting the production together. “It's real people in extraordinary situations.”
This is the first extracurricular production at the school in two years, noted Burton. Drama classes he teaches often do a full-length play or a one-act play that they perform at festivals.
“This year, on top of what's being done in the drama class, I decided I wanted to do a full-length production outside of the class,” said Burton. “Any kid from Grade 9 to Grade 12 is invited to audition.”
Auditions for the play are being held this fall, said Burton, pointing to the “amazing” response from students thus far.
“I've got about 25 to 30 kids auditioning for 19 parts, and I've got about 20 kids or so signed up for tech responsibilities (including set construction, makeup, stage management),” he said. “The reception here has been amazing.”
Burton chose this play because of its unique script, humour and popularity among high schools in North America.
“It's contemporary, it's intelligent, it's fun and it's easily accessible,” said Burton. “It is the most commonly produced play in North America right now. I think it is being played in just about every high school in the States these days,” he added.
One factor that may contribute to the play's popularity is the fact that there are several equal parts with no main characters or lead parts.
“There are a bunch of students in a bunch of different scenes,” he said. “They are fairly evenly weighted.”
Burton is using a new approach in producing the play this year.
Students cast in particular parts read through their scripts early this fall. They check in every couple of weeks and must memorize their parts over the next two to three months, before rehearsals begin in January.
“When students come back from Christmas vacation in January we hit the ground running,” said Burton. “It will be four days of rehearsals and they will have to come to the first rehearsal with their books memorized.
“I've never tried this approach before but I'm really looking forward to it,” he added, noting rehearsals continue through January and February before the production is presented in mid-March.
Several performances of Almost Maine will be presented on March 11 and 12, 18 and 19. This includes evening performances and a matinee on March 12, with five shows in total.
