Chances are you heard about the school’s production of Mean Girls last year, and a good portion of the school regularly attends sports games. But what can you say about the one-acts, produced every fall by Center Stage, the WHS theater program? If you haven’t seen one of these shows, you’re missing out.

Almost, Maine, written by John Cariani, is a series of one-acts set in northern Maine. It explores many different forms of relationships, each of them being between two people. The stories all connect in some way, which brings these independent acts together to form a play. Drama teacher, Ms. Jaz noted that this show “is really about love and loss for two people.”

While Jaz, the director of Center Stage, is the advisor of the show, each of the one-acts is directed by a junior or senior who has been part of the theater program for multiple years. Jaz said that she is looking forward to seeing the upperclassmen’s first “semi-professional directing job”. 

Last year, the school’s fall production was Love/Sick, another series of one-acts by John Cariani. Viewers like sophomore Addie DeCoste loved the play, and so Jaz decided that another one of Cariani’s works would be a good choice for this year’s show. In Jaz’s opinion, Almost, Maine is “even more well-written” than Love/Sick.

After watching Love/Sick, Addie DeCoste was inspired to take part in the one-acts, herself. When she first looked at the script of Almost, Maine, she was immediately allured by what she describes as, “the comedy-romance aspect and the cozy setting of the play” as well as the “realism of the scenes”.

Now, DeCoste has taken on the role of Ginette in Almost, Maine. Since rehearsals started, she and her fellow cast/crew members have been working hard on Mondays and Tuesdays after school. DeCoste has been focusing on tuning into Ginette’s emotions, which will help her deliver her lines in a convincing way. She has been taking note of any feedback she gets from her student director, Abbie Northrup, in order to help her character evolve. DeCoste commented, “I think there’s a stereotype that the acting part is a naturally occurring thing that comes easy when in reality it comes from many practices and trial and error”.

Jaz has a similar outlook, and she wishes more people would give Center Stage actors credit for all the work it takes to deliver meaningful performances. She explained “how hard and time-consuming it is to put on a production,” and that the cast and crew have equal “dedication and commitment and camaraderie and work ethic that a lot of our athletic teams have.” She urges more people to come to productions and show their support.

According to Jaz, Almost, Maine is appropriate for middle school-aged students and up. She believes that any audience could relate to this play because of the variety of relationships that it portrays. Since each scene shows a relationship at a different stage, anyone can watch this show and find characters who are facing similar struggles as themselves. According to DeCoste, Almost, Maine “combines the awkward stages of love, while also incorporating the deep and serious side.”

For just two days, Friday, November 8th, and Saturday, November 9th, Almost, Maine will be showing at Westborough High School. In the WHS Bi-Weekly News, Center Stage president Abbie Northrup explained that tickets will be sold during lunch, so make sure to listen

to the announcements to know when they will go on sale. Tickets could possibly be sold at the door, but don’t count on it. For the fall play, the audience is seated on stage, at arm’s length from the actors. This creates an intimate and enchanting experience, but it also means that seating is very limited.

If you like romance, and comedy, or just want a reminder that you are not alone, take the opportunity to see Almost, Maine. Never again will this unique group of actors tell a story quite like this one. As DeCoste puts it, “It really is a magical play about love, and the way our cast acts will really make this play stand out.”