A note from the author:
“Almost, Maine is a collection of love stories—many of which involve life-changing kisses. But—portraying love in the age of COVID-19 is quite different from portraying love in the pre-COVID-19 era. So our actors will not be kissing in tonight’s performance—for safety’s sake. Which means that we had to figure out how to portray kissing on stage—when our actors can’t kiss. And I think we have figured it out! We have found our own creative and theatrical way to represent these kisses—so that our actors are safe—and so that you know when there is kissing in tonight's performance so that the stories we’re telling make sense. And—we want you to know that this isn’t how Almost, Maine is normally performed. Normally, the actors would just kiss when kissing is called for. But we’re excited to reimagine how to portray all the kissing in this play as we tell its stories of love—in the time of COVID-19."
So…mask up. Stay physically—but not emotionally—distant.
And have fun.
And try to remember what life and love were like before the time of COVID-19.
And know that life and love will hopefully return to pretty close to what they were before the pandemic.
Stay hopeful.
Thanks so much.
John Cariani
A note from the Director:
In alignment with State and District COVID-19 guidelines for performance, we have taken the following precautions with this production in order to ensure the safety of cast and crew, while still allowing for a performance opportunity:
- We auditioned via Flipgrid video submissions
- We rehearsed via Zoom Breakout rooms
- When we got permission to return to campus, we rehearsed outdoors, with masks, 6 feet apart.
- Crew members wore gloves when touching an item that was shared by another.
- Temperatures were taken at every in-person rehearsal and recording
- Actors brought props and costumes from home and did their own make-up (with coaching from the costume and make-up crew).
- Actors only removed masks during a scene performance recording (once) on stage, outdoors, when exerting energy, and remained distant, with the exception of if the students were already in a cohort/pod with permission of parents.
- Microphones were used so as to avoid using vocal projection. Microphones were assigned to individuals and not shared. They were disinfected each night.
- If a prop was shared, gloves were used, and the props were disinfected.
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