By Bob Goepfert
Entertainment contributor
SARATOGA SPRINGS, N.Y. — Michael McDermott, who is directing “Almost, Maine” at Home Made Theater, insists the comic-romance that is offered in a series of vignettes is the perfect play for today’s anxiety-filled audiences.
“Almost, Maine” consists of a series of nine short plays, seemingly unconnected except for the theme of love and its location, the fictional community of Almost, which is in Maine.
Actually, the town is more mythical than it is fictional as it is populated by plainspoken vulnerable people who discover love, lose love and come to understand love. It’s a place where shoes fall from the air to signify a failed relationship, where people carry large garbage bags of old love and one woman carries a bag filled with pieces of her broken heart.
It’s a romantic place where strangers become friends, friends become lovers and lovers turn into strangers.
McDermott says, “I was raised in a small town and while the stories might sound unusual, they capture the spirit of a community where people love, trust and care about each other.” He quickly adds the metaphors in the play are not typical of what one might find in real life – be it in an urban or rural community.
However, he claims they add a charm that softens the reality that love can be sad. “What I really love about the play is it finds the uplifting joy in life.”
One reason he is so confident in the audience’s favorable response to the show is the soothing effect it has had on him and his cast.
McDermott works in the New York State Attorney General’s Office as Director of Legal Education and Professional Development. It is a demanding, stress-filled office in normal times, and the past few months have been anything but normal.
Says McDermott, who is also a cancer survivor, says, “No matter how stressful my day, I always leave rehearsal feeling good.” He claims that comes from working on material that is relaxing. “It generates both gentle smiles and some big laughs. It’s a play about the foolishness and joy of love.”
McDermott is not the only person in the company finding relief from a stressful life by working on “Almost, Maine.”
Toni Anderson-Sommo of Glens Falls recently had a fire in her home and discovered the toxic nature of the fire will keep the family out of their home for about a year. She considered dropping out of the show, but the support of the company encouraged her to stay and she says working on the material has been a therapeutic escape for her.
All the performers play multiple roles, so McDermott did lessen her load by adding another actress to the original six-person cast, relieving her of some pressure during this stressful time.
Caring for each other and finding the joy from the material is keeping the rest of the cast unified and focused, despite external problems with a venue change.
Home Made Theater has been performing in the Little Theatre in Saratoga State Park since 1986. But, because of the age of the building the ventilation system is not appropriate to handle audiences during the COVID pandemic. For the 2021-2022 season the shows will be performed at the Dee Sarno Theater in the Saratoga Arts Center at 320 Broadway. Instead of the normal three weekend run, there will be only seven performances over two weekends between September 24-October 3.
McDermott gushed with pride for the resiliency and kindness of his cast. The normal procedure for Home Made productions is to rehearse on the stage of the performing space. For this show they had to find outside rehearsal space and will have a short time to block the show at the arts center.
Complicating the procedure of working in a foreign environment is “Almost, Maine” is being performed in the round, demanding that sight-lines are clear from all points in the audience.
Says McDermott, “It’s challenging, but fortunately the work calls for a sparse set. All but one of the scenes use only two-characters and all are on a bench. This lets us have actors sit with someone always facing the audience.
“Thank God, I have a cast that is both talented and experienced. They refuse to be fazed by any problem. It sounds odd to say, but it’s been a remarkably blessed experience.”
He insists the audience will leave feeling the same way. “How can you not feel good spending a night filled with love?” he asks.
“Almost, Maine,” produced by Home Made Theater at the Dee Sarno Theatre at the Saratoga Arts Center, 320 Broadway. Performances 8 p.m. Sept. 24-25, Oct. 1-2.; 2 p.m. Sept. 26, Oct. 2-3. For tickets call (518) 587-4427 or go to homemadetheatre.org
Proof of vaccination is mandatory and masks must be worn inside the theater.
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