Almost, Maine

Synopsis

On a cold, clear, moonless night in the middle of winter, all is not quite what it seems in the remote, mythical town of Almost, Maine. As the northern lights hover in the star-filled sky above, Almost's residents find themselves falling in and out of love in unexpected and often hilarious ways. Knees are bruised. Hearts are broken. But the bruises heal, and the hearts mend—almost—in this delightful midwinter night's dream.

Impressions

Playing Marci in Almost, Maine was an incredible experience. It was my first production at University of California, Irvine and was a project put together entirely by undergrad students. I was in my second quarter of study at University of California, Irvine and was very heavily focused on connecting myself to the character I was playing, really bringing myself into the part. As an actor, my job is to tell my character's story honestly, which means finding those similarities and differences between us and finding the right balance of who this character is in relation to who I am. Marci and I have a lot of similarities, so it was easy to get to know her and find a good balance. As a working class mother with two kids who had been married for nine years, struggling financially as a student, and having been through a lot of pretty tough experiences myself, I felt very connected to Marci and was really grateful for the chance to tell her story. The biggest difference between us was the fact that, while she leaves Phil in the end, I would have stubbornly sat in that snow until we had figured everything out. My biggest challenge was overcoming the cadence of the script. John Cariani has a unique and specific voice in his writing that, when spoken, can sound artificial. But, his characters are very real people. So, what I did was get to know my character and my lines so well that the dialogue just came naturally. I wasn't reciting lines; I was just moving the conversation (or argument in this case) along with responses and reactions that are logical for Marci. I got to know so much about myself as an actor during this process and I am so glad I got to be a part of such a beautiful production.