PRESQUE ISLE, Maine – Eleven high school students from across Aroostook County recently took part in a unique two-week Summer Theater Camp, which culminated in two staged readings of the play on which they were working – playwright John Cariani’s newest play “Not Quite Almost”. Ten took part in the acting aspect of the camp, while one focused on the technical aspects of putting on a play.
These students worked directly with Cariani, a Tony Award nominated actor and playwright who has performed in plays and musicals on and off-Broadway, as well as in several movies and television shows. As a playwright, he is best known for his first play, “Almost, Maine”, which has received nearly 6,000 productions to date and has been translated into over a dozen languages. Like “Almost, Maine”, his play “Not Quite Almost” is a collection of loosely connected short plays about love and loss in Aroostook County, this time geared around young people.
In addition to Cariani, students had the opportunity to work with Dan Burson, a Portland-based professional director who directed the reading of “Not Quite Almost”, as well as Anita Stewart, artistic director of Portland Stage Company, and Tyler Micoleau, a Tony Award-winning lighting designer. The camp was coordinated by Valerie Black and Elaine Sipe, who both have a long history of directing high school plays and are also former high school classmates of Cariani, who is originally from Presque Isle.
“The camp was amazing,” says Black. “The chance to work with professionals at such a high level is like nothing that young people usually can expect. Working with John on the script and with Dan in direction of the character development and vocal skills in presenting in this way was amazing. Students worked daily with scene partners and also in full cast. They took notes from the director and were expected to practice every night using the notes and often rewrites of the scene they were working on.”
Those rewrites were based on invaluable feedback from the students on what felt authentic and real to them. Cariani spent hours after each rehearsal incorporating their insight into the still evolving script—which continued to change through the final presentation on Saturday. Their feedback is now a living part of this play as it is being finalized for its world premiere next April at Portland Stage Company.
“These students are the age and location from the play, so their voices are great. They’ve given us a treasure trove of information to work with,” said Burson, director and dramaturg (someone who helps develop the play with the playwright). “I think this also expanded their horizons about what being in a play can be, with an experience much different than, say, a high school musical.”
The camp concluded with staged readings (the actors in character but reading from the script) on Friday evening, July 26 and Saturday afternoon, July 27 in front of an intimate live audience.
“The performances were excellent, and the students came together with John and Dan after each performance to get feedback from the audience that will help John to further develop his play,” said Black.
The sale of tickets for these performances were generously donated to the Rotary Club of Presque Isle in support of the Rotary Amphitheater project. The $1,500 gift was made in honor of Dan Ladner, the influential theater and choral director John worked with in high school.
The Summer Theater Camp was funded with local grants from Partners in the Arts and the Turner Foundation, as well as a generous donation from Gallagher Insurance. The Library Trustees allowed the visiting professionals to stay at the Library House. Thanks to the support of these groups, students did not have to pay to participate. “The coming together of the community to help make this once-in-a-lifetime event was greatly appreciated,” said Black.
“The most exciting part of all of this is that … we aren’t finished yet!” said Cariani. “We plan to continue this process when Portland Stage Company premieres “Not Quite Almost” in April and May of 2025. We hope to have the students who participated in the reading in Presque Isle attend the opening of the play in Portland and participate in discussions during which they will be able to share their experience in Presque Isle and explain their role in developing this new play.”
