Almost Maine

Urbana High School’s winter play, Almost, Maine, caused a sensation at UHS. Written by John Cariani, the play featured quirky couples’ relatable love stories in the seemingly inexistent area called Almost. The show consisted of 10 short vignettes, telling stories of multiple couple’s problems, devotions, and heartbreaks.

Kitty Schwartz, freshman at Urbana High School, describes Almost, Maine as “a play about a singular moment in time when people fall in and out of love.” Schwartz played Marcy, a middle-aged woman going through a rough patch with her husband. She explains, “My particular scene involved a struggling married couple who find that the love that had for each other had been worn away by their hardships,”

Along with freshmen like Schwartz, Urbana’s play featured many new actors, like senior Ellen Beverly, who had her first Urbana High School play experience this winter. Beverly says, “It was easy to feel comfortable with everyone. The returning actors encouraged newcomers with welcome arms. Everyone acted awesome on and off stage!”

Aside from the wonderful acting, Almost, Maine’s scenery was minimal but quite effective. The stage was covered with fake snow and giant trees on each side of the stage, made by UHS Drama director, Timothy Broeker’s, father. The giant trees encompassed the stage, creating a bubble around the actors to convey that each vignette was stuck in a snow globe.

Junior Dominique Allen, actor in Almost Maine, explains, “I think the minimalist scenery added a feeling of alienation that winter brings. This helped the audience to focus more on the stories and the characters.”

The wonderful acting and scenery shed light on Urbana High School’s developing drama program, which is budding with great actors. Make sure to check out the winter play next year!