Almost, Maine – Letter from the Director

6 April 2019Salvatore Interlandi, Senior Drama Director

Early on, as a young actor and then young director, I struggled to identify with my own voice. That changed when I saw my first John Cassavetes’ film; they weren’t flashy or big budget thrillers or something you could eat popcorn to. In fact, the films were clunky, clumsy, and technically all over the place but the experience was emotional, raw, and unforgiving. If I was going to make work, then I wanted to do that! Watching these films helped me clarify the meaning and power of art to me: I wanted to make work about people, people with problems, in crisis, awakening to their lives, living on thresholds and being forced to step up and be open. The opportunity to choose this season’s senior play is one I did not take lightly. I wanted to find something that the students could truly connect to; a play they could really dig into and stretch themselves. I believe one of the most essential lessons for any young creative person is the ability to find a piece of themselves in the work, so they can work from a pure and honest place. Oh, and I wanted to find something with a wee bit of magic in it too. So, when I came across John Cariani’s Almost, Maine and I felt like it was an instant perfect fit. It is a non-traditional choice, a series of nine vignettes revolving around love, broken hearts or hopeful ones, stagnation, and complacency challenged by desire. Each tale is a peek into the experience of loving someone, including themes of guilt and regret, disconnection and miscommunication. Most of the characters have a difficult time expressing themselves or saying what they really mean; will these characters accept the limitations of their own humanity? Will they forgive, accept, commit, go deeper for the one they love? How far can love stretch us? Cariani’s quick-witted and emotionally revealing dialogue weaves in all of these questions – with crescendoing stage directions that build an otherworldly tension through magical moments, almost as if a greater force is operating. Speaking of love – my wife is the smartest person I know (she also helped me edit this letter). She says that you can boil down every action in life to a base motivation of love or fear. One interpretation of Almost, Maine is the interplay of fear and love – every character spirals around both forces throughout each scene. Will they succumb to fear? Will they be propelled by love? Will they feel the fear and do it anyway? We all know how easy it is to make choice after choice driven by fear – fear of lack, fear of not being enough, fear of change, even the fear that things will never change. I hope the brave souls in the world of Almost, Maine – embodied by the equally courageous cast before you, moves you, inspires you and mirrors to you the potentiality of living beyond fear – the magic of vulnerability, the fool’s wisdom of being led by love. Hell, it’s led me here to Vancouver Island from NYC. Huge gratitude is owed to the crew and creative team: Laura Interlandi, Sally Smith, Alan Johnson, Soleil Mannion, and particularly Don Armitage and his Theater Pro Team. Thank you to Edna Widenmaier and Bud Patel for giving me this opportunity. I am, of course, tremendously proud of this cast; they have committed wholeheartedly to delivering honest performances on this journey to bring you this tale of love, romance, and heartbreak. They have embraced my message, deeply immersed themselves into Cariani’s text and created characters and relational dynamics that feel real. To the cast, particularly to the seniors, I hope you take the metaphors present in Almost, Maine to heart beyond your Brentwood career: regardless of where you go and what you have – the magic and power is within you. Remember to keep stretching yourself and find out everything you are capable of – oh, and “Keep your head up.” Now on with the show. Salvatore Interlandi, Director

Where Students Choose To Be