News Post

St. Joseph’s Academy/Catholic High School Black Box Theater Productions presented Almost, Maine as its fall production. The drama ran November 6-9 in the Black Box Theater of the Academy Arts Center. 

Written by John Cariani, Almost, Maine is a play about love, friendship, isolation, melancholy, hope and, ultimately, the search for human connection. The story takes place in the fictitious town of Almost, a place that is so far north that it’s almost not in the United States. Audiences experienced laughter and tears as eight vignettes were played out by a cast of 20 students.

Lori Kaiser directed the production. “Black Box Productions finished the run of John Cariani’s Almost, Maine with rave reviews from the adults and students in the audiences,” she said. “The show ran for five performances as audiences were moved to uproarious laughter and some tears, as well. The show was highly successful and exceptionally well received. The cast and crew had so much fun rehearsing and performing the show that they did not want to see it end.”

Senior Janie Elliott, president of the Black Box Company, portrayed Sandrine and Rhonda. “What I enjoyed the most about this production was the realness of this show,” she said. “It is very reminiscent of life as seen through the ups and downs in the play. There are moments that make you want to laugh, moments that make you sad and moments that make you sympathize with a character. I loved feeling the true emotions of the characters and feeling the audience’s reactions to them. What made this process so special was the bonds that were created in the cast. It’s a show with a smaller cast, and that led to many friendships and bonds growing closer. The most important thing that I hope the audience took away from this performance is that everyone has their own story and their own problems they are dealing with. Every scene had new characters, a new plotline, a new story, showing that you never know what someone else is going through because everyone has their own perspective of life.”

Senior Louisa deBlieux played the role of Marci. Preparing to portray the character was challenging, she said. “For Almost, Maine, the rehearsing process was very different from other productions I’ve been in,” she said. “Each story is its own little production with different tones and writing. Each scene was its own little play, in a way. I found it challenging to experience the frustration and anger my character felt because she’s dealing with a very adult, very real issue: marital problems. It took time, and real emotions came into play with a lot of my acting. I loved seeing how each story tied into each other. All scenarios happen on the same night, and the different overlaps and hints were fun to pick apart and find with each watch. I hope the audience left the theater feeling loved and happy. All the stories are about love, and I hope each story sparked a memory or caused laughter from the audience.”

Junior Lexi Myers portrayed Deena. “Throughout the process, I enjoyed being able to convey many different stories to the audience,” she said. “I loved hearing the audience’s reactions to the lines we said and the actions we performed. I also enjoyed the community made up of all my loving friends. I hope the audience took away how much we liked preforming for them.”