GREENFIELD — As theatrical performances go, Greenfield-Central High School Drama’s production of “Almost, Maine” is the embodiment of the oft-repeated phrase “the show must go on.”
With little more than week left before performances, the director and at least one cast member out due to quarantine, acting rehearsals, set-building, costume try-on and tech rehearsals go on. The kids wear masks, but are mic’d. If someone is out, another actor stands in for them.
Director Carolyn Voigt touches base with her student director, Brynn Elliott and her set designer, Dennis Cole every day before rehearsal as they tag-team responsibilities for the show.
“We’re kind of done,” Voigt acknowledges. “Lights and sound are done, lines are down, costumes are done. The only thing I’m missing is the videotaping.”
Voigt and crew have spent the past two weeks regularly videotaping the show as a fail-safe measure in case — in the unforeseeable but very possible case — of someone’s absence (due to COVID-19) on a performance night. The plan is that if someone is out on the night of a performance, they can insert a video of a particular scene into the show and move on without a hitch.
The show, “Almost, Maine” is collection of nine ten-minute plays that explore love and loss against the backdrop of small-town Maine and the Northern Lights.
Voigt chose this script because she felt it was something that was realistically possible given the situation: social distance requirements, the need for small group settings, and possible frequent absences.
“In each scene, there are two or three actors,” Voigt explained. “The scene partners are pretty much the only people they’re interacting with.”
Voigt began rehearsing in November and continued through Christmas break.
“Luckily, we had so many weeks to work on this show,” Voigt said. “So many kids were quarantined. We had an iPad loaded with Google Meet that floated around so the kids that were in quarantine at home could be part of rehearsal.”
After Christmas break, rehearsal attendance evened out a little, and rehearsals ran more smoothly.
“Every once in awhile,” Voigt said, “we’d have a rehearsal where no one was gone, and it was magical.”
As the cast for this show was small, so, too, was the backstage crew managed by assistant director and set builder Dennis Cole. The smaller, but just as dedicated group worked to create the mood-setting Northern Lights effects for the set.
Cole’s crew assembled a motley collection of artificial Christmas trees along the back wall to simulate the Maine woods and attached small colored lights to the branches with rubber bands. The color-changing lights, originally meant to create a soothing atmosphere for sleeping, rotate around creating a realistic shimmer of blue and green.
“The tree gang,” as Cole calls them, “all have to turn on the lights at the same time.”
As student director, junior Brynn Elliott isn’t daunted at all to be assisting Voigt and directing her fellow students.
“Everyone takes directions really well,” Elliott said. “A lot of them are my friends. They also look at me as a director and take my notes.”
Elliott’s theater experience dates back to her kindergarten days in the CrazyLake Drama camp, followed by six years in KidsPlay and summers with the Hancock County Children’s Theatre. Elliott has also performed at the Civic Theatre and in CrazyLake Acting Company summer musicals.
When asked if she’d learned anything as assistant director, Elliott didn’t miss a beat before responding with “patience.”
“When things don’t go your way, you just have to be patient and accept it,” Elliott said. “Stay calm and persevere. Stuff happens; we’ve had people quarantined, and you just have to roll with it.”
It’s clear that the entire cast and crew has been learning to ‘roll with it’ during this show. Rehearsing in masks (the actors will be mic’d for the show) and cast absences combined with the normal stresses of live theater keeps everyone of their toes — even in the small town of Almost, Maine.
