The second show of the Sock ’n’ Buskin (SnB) year opens this month, following their production of Much Ado About Nothing.
Third-year English student Sarah Ashton directs her rendition of John Cariani’s Almost, Maine. The Charlatan caught up with Ashton and asked her some questions about her show and her involvement with Sock ’n’ Buskin.
The Charlatan (TC): What is Almost, Maine about?
Sarah Ashton (SA): Almost, Maine is a series of nine vignettes about different aspects of love. Each vignette takes place on the same snowy Friday night in the town of Almost, Maine, as the Northern Lights shine above the town. The show takes on love in a very real sense. The stories are very character-based, as the characters are so human, and we get to see them experience all the different parts of love right in front of us.
TC: What does love mean to you?
SA: What a question! I would say love is when someone gives you their gloves when your hands are freezing, even though they’re just as cold.
TC: Why did you choose Almost, Maine?
SA: I first saw it back when I was in Grade 11, and I immediately fell for it. It made me laugh and cry and I knew I had to put it on someday.
The more I introduced it to people, the more they agreed that they’d love to see it or work on it. Amazingly enough, one time, a friend and I were just reading scenes from it aloud late at night in the library, and a group of total strangers gave us a round of applause after we finished one. That really helped me know I was making the right decision putting it on.
TC: You said the show is very character-based. How has that influenced your directing?
SA: I’ve gotten the actors to do lots and lots of character work. They know their characters inside and out, beyond just their motivations—they know their favourite books, movies, and so on. In rehearsals, I’ve given the actors opportunities to bring their own offers to the scenes.
I really want the heart of the play to come from them, and the best way I’ve found to do that has been collaboratively, piecing things together with them. And they brought so much to it!
TC: What has Almost, Maine meant to you?
SA: I’ve gotten to work with some really great people on this show.
My team, Sarah Sheils and Natascha Sekerinski, are two of my best friends and are wonderful to work with. SnB really is a friendship company and I’ve been really happy to see that bond being made in this show too.
TC: Why should someone go see Almost, Maine?
SA: The show is a really nice escape from whatever else is going on. It’s something that will put a smile on peoples’ faces and the audience will see themselves in the characters. Just getting to watch love for a while can be really comforting.
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Image provided
