Studio arts junior Morgan Kelly and economics senior Derek Tisler run through a scene during rehearsal Dec. 3, 2013, in the RCAH Theatre located in Snyder-Phillips Hall. Roial Players will be holding performances Dec. 5-8 in the RCAH Theatre.
With hopes of easing students’ sleep-deprived and stress-induced days leading up to finals is theatrical group Roial Players offering magical romance and poignancy in the form of the play “Almost, Maine” — showing Dec. 5-8 in the RCAH Theatre at Snyder-Phillips Hall.
The romantic-comedy, written by John Cariani, is made up of almost a dozen vignettes, or short scenes, that follow several residents in the fictional town of Almost, Maine, as they fall in and out of love in strange ways.
After seeing the play, English junior Steven Neal and his co-director Lauren Gaynor, an English sophomore, decided to bring it to MSU because it was something he said touched both of them.
“It’s a mixture of both comedy and a little bit of tragedy,” Neal said. “There’s sad elements and happy elements and it fuses all together to show the journey of love.”
After selecting the play in April, Neal and Gaynor decided to follow the whimsical original word for word, hoping to recreate the emotional realism they experienced when first seeing the play.
With no particular characteristics in mind, Neal and Gaynor held open auditions for the play, welcoming actors of all majors, both experienced and novice.
“We wanted to make it really relatable, we did a lot of character work with the actors,” Neal said. “Some people blew us away on the first day, others were good, but we knew we could shape and mold it to be the exact way we envisioned it.”
Playing one half of a love-lost couple, theatre junior Kara O’Connor said she was happy to earn the role of Gayle — a character she could easily connect with.
“She comes into her boyfriend’s house, after she has been dating him for 11 years,” O’Connor said. “You have to put yourself into the position of the character and think about how it would feel if your boyfriend, who you’ve been with for such a long time, just stopped loving you and putting yourself in that scenario.”
The way the joys and perils of love are displayed within the play is what Neal said makes it unique — encouraging all students to come out and see the play for two reasons.
“One, this show is heartwarming and great and everyone involved has worked their butts off and poured their heart and soul into this show,” he said. “Two, with all of the hard work, we’ve created a show that’s magical and warm that will just make you feel good after watching it.”
The show is Dec. 5 at 9 p.m., Dec. 6-7 at 8 p.m. and Dec. 8 at 1 p.m. for $5.
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