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The Playwright: John Cariani John Cariani was born in Brockton, Massachusetts but grew up in Presque Isle, Maine sense the age of eight. Presque Isle served as the inspiration for his play “Almost, Maine”. In addition to his work as a writer Cariani is a stage and screen actor best known for his Tony Nominated, and Outer Circle Critics Award Nominated role in the Broadway revival of Fiddler on the Roof” as Motel. Other stage credits include Speed in “Two Gentlemen of Verona”, Jimmy in “Basetville, Maine”, and Vergas in “Much Ado About Nothing”. In addition to his stage work he has made appearences on TV shows like Num3ers and Law and Order as well as films such as Robot Stories and Scotland, PA.

Reviews about “Almost, Maine” In the initial Off Broadway run “Almost Maine” the show, actors, script and writer all received negative reviews entertainment weekly name it one of the worst shows of 2006 and after only a month long run on Off Broadway the show was cancelled. Though the show was a commercial flop at first, it began to gain momentum through educational, amateur and regional theatres due to its flexibility in cast size, likable characters and a storyline that has mass appeal. Many reviews of “Almost Maine” have many similar themes. Most reviewers found that due to the short length of the scenes that it was a huge challenge for actors to portray any backstory or real sense of character to the audience and they were left with many questions. The Pittsburg Paper goes on to say “My gripe is that Cariani never lets us see how their previous romances began.” The New York Times had a similar review saying “They cannot lend much depth to characters who aren’t long enough to make strong impressions; some of the sketches have the patience-straining effect of overextended acting exercises.” To spite harsh criticism of “Almost Maine” many critics enjoyed the heart of the story and the language. Chicago Beat Theatre specifically “Humor is almost born, not from the lines, but in the space between the lines as characters contend with what direction to go in the pursuit of romance.” The Pittsburg City Paper struggled with the same issues of distinct characters as the New York Times but loved that each characters emotions were big and easy to relate to. In 2010, 4 years after the first harsh review the New York Times again wrote about “Almost Maine” but this time praising the positive such as the ease of using the piece in educational theatre and the opportunity it creates for either a small or large cast.

The Northern Lights The northern lights, or as they are scientifically known as, Aurora Borealis and Aurora Australis, are colored lights seen in the extreme northern and southern hemispheres. The foundation of the northern lights starts at the Sun when solar activity produces a cloud of gas. When one of these clouds of gas heads towards Earth it collides with Earth’s magnetic field to form the lights of gas we see in the night sky. The Northern Lights are usually seen closer to the poles but have also been seen on occasion near the equator. media type="youtube" key="PaSFAbATPvk" width="425" height="350" media type="youtube" key="qIXs6Sh0DKs" width="425" height="350" align="center"

media type="youtube" key="fG72YvqbGG0" width="425" height="350" Legends and Beliefs of the Northern Lights The Northern Lights has also been a focus of many legends among Eskimos and American Indians as well as tribe throughout Canada. The Point Barrow Eskimos considered the Northern Lights evil spirits and feared them so much that they carried weapons with them to ward off the evil lights, while another tribe in Wisconsin considered the lights an omen of war. The Algonquain Indians believed it was a huge fire built by “The Great Spirit.” There are many tribes and groups that have similar beliefs of the Northern Lights as the characters in “Almost Maine”, that they were spirits in the sky.

Geography/Climate/Culture “Almost, Maine” which is located 163 miles north of Bangor would be located near Aroostook County in Northeast Maine. The play is set in winter which would place it in the month of January. The average temperature in January is around 8 degrees with about 24 inches of snowfall and winds averaging 11 to 12 miles per hour. The play makes reference to Echo Pond which is located in Peaks Island which is a little over one hundred miles east of Portland, Maine. Throughout the state and specifically along Highway 95 there are signs that read “Maine-the way life should be.” Many of these signs do exist and are placed throughout the state like the one pictured below.



Language
 * “Quit Running your suck”- This is a very derogatory phrase that basically means to stop talking and be quiet.
 * “Jeezum Crow”- A very polite way to take the Lord’s name in vein.
 * Pointillism- a painting technique in which dots of color are placed in a pattern to form an image. An example can be seen below
 * [[file:pastedGraphic.pdf]]

WIND: The area that Almost is placed in has its harshest winter weather in January and the average wind speed during that time is between 11 and 12 miles.