Almost, Maine Interview with Eliza Lane

In this interview with PHUHS sophomore, Eliza Lane, the depths and details of PHU’s most recent theatrical production, Almost, Maine, are discussed.

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Almost, Maine is the heartfelt play about a fantastical town called Almost, Maine, which is filled with various stories of diverse love on a whimsical winter night. The play is comprised of loosely related tales that spotlight different couples all in the same town, navigating their way through the journey of love. The following interview was with Eliza Lane (’24) who played Ginette in Almost, Maine. 

 

What was it like to prepare for this play?

“The show was on a super tight timeline so a lot of the process was hurried and a bit chaotic. Plenty of long hours in the theatre, but it’s also super fun to be around such amazing people doing something you love,” Lane said

 

What do you think is the purpose of combining multiple, separate stories that are virtually unrelated short plays into this play?

“Interestingly enough, the stories aren’t totally unrelated. Obviously they all center around love and relationships so they’re connected in that way, but there’s another thing. During Ginette’s [one of the characters in the play] walk around the world, she passes each place where the scenes are playing out. She watched tiny snippets of each, and it’s watching these that motivate her to keep walking all the way back to Pete. It’s subtle, and the audience would never know it without extra research, but Pete and Ginette tie all the stories together, which is super cool. They are somewhat disconnected though, and I think it helps to display the many different kinds of love, how it begins, progresses and sometimes ends, all at the same time. The isolation helps to narrow that focus to two people in a single moment, which can be difficult to do with an interwoven cast,” Lane said.

 

How do you think the metaphors used in the play add to the story?

“As an English nerd, I absolutely love the symbolism in the play. I think the most evident is the Northern Lights, which appear just after the climax of every scene. They represent a lot of different things, from love and happiness to rather depressing revelations, but I think as a whole they represent peace. There’s a red motif in the set and costumes for the show, which of course symbolizes love but also links the characters together just as Ginette’s walk does. There’s a light/dark motif that occurs in tandem with the Northern Light, and I think it helps to develop characters who the audience doesn’t really get a chance to know due to the setup of the play,” Lane said.

 

Do you identify with your character Ginette, and in what ways?

“Yes! All of the characters in Almost, Maine are adults, except for Ginette and Pete. I play my age in the show, which is cool because I think everyone our age can relate to her scene and the awkward navigation of feeling and exploration of love and relationships that comes with being a teen. Ginette is a dreamer, just like me, and I love that her loyalty extends, quite literally, to the ends of the earth. She’s still figuring things out, but she’s got the right idea, and I think (and hope) we’re similar in that way,” Lane said.

 

How do you think this play relates to high schoolers in general? 

Almost, Maine is both glorious and awful in that each character appears only once, with the slight exception of Pete and Ginette. It means the audience has a harder time connecting with the characters in the long term, but it’s amazing in that it allows us to explore so many different aspects of love in one experience. The immediacy and gradualness, the awkwardness and naturalness, the joys and woes and the whole shebang. Some of us might not like to admit it, but high schoolers are all navigating love in some capacity, and everyone’s experience is different. I believe Almost, Maine is about the closest you can get to encompassing the enormity, intimacy and duality of all different kinds of love that we as high schoolers are not quite sure how to wrap our minds around yet. Given the number of different situations and dynamics we showcase, I’d be willing to bet that most people can relate to at least one scene or character. Even if they couldn’t, they probably enjoyed watching Chad and Randy repeatedly fall on their faces,” Lane said.

 

Congrats to the PHUHS Drama Program on their successful production.