
Almost, Maine
By John Cariani
On a clear, moonless night in the middle of winter, all is not what it seems in the remote town of Almost, Maine. As the Northern Lights hover in the sky above, Almost's residents find themselves falling in and out of love in unexpected and hilarious ways.
Playing October 1–11, 2026 in the Masquer Theatre in PARTV Center.
ALMOST, MAINE was developed by The Cape Cod Theatre Project.
ALMOST, MAINE is presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals on behalf of Dramatists Play Service. www.concordtheatricals.com
Performance Schedule
- Thursday, October 1 @ 7:30 p.m.
- Friday, October 2 @ 7:30 p.m.
- "Meet the Creatives" talkback following the performance
- Saturday, October 3 @ 7:30 p.m.
- Sunday, October 4 @ 2:00 p.m.
- Thursday, October 8 @ 7:30 p.m.
- Friday, October 9 @ 7:30 p.m.
- Saturday, October 10 @ 7:30 p.m.
- Sunday, October 11 @ 2:00 p.m.
How to Purchase Tickets
Additional Audience Information
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The School of Theatre and Dance acknowledges that these are the aboriginal territories of the Salish and Kalispel people, a number of who are our colleagues, students, and friends. We honor the path shown to us in caring for this place for the generations to come.
*Es mistéʔes qe es lʔ, ci łu l ,T,atʔ̓ ayaqn u Qlispélixʷ sqlixʷúʔulexʷs t Nłʔaycčstm Kʷtis Snacx̓ ̣łqe̓ ym̓ ín. Qe es putʔem łu Sqélixʷ m̓ im̓ éʔeye̓ ms x̣ʷl ,olqʷštulexʷ łu x̣ʷl ,qł sqlqelixʷ.
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The School of Theatre and Dance recognizes that art can provoke; therefore, during the course of this performance, patrons are empowered to leave if themes or situations make them uncomfortable.
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Ticket Type
Advance Price
Day-of-Show Price*
General Admission
$25.75
$27.50
Senior (60+)
$22.50
$24.50
Youth (12 and Under)
$22.50
$24.50
Griz Card/Student ID
n/a
$16.50
* Day-of-Show pricing includes box office convenience fee.
You can also purchase a ticket package and save more in advance! Visit the GrizTix website for more information.
All tickets are general admission, with group rates and reserved seating available for parties of 10 or more. Contact bernadette1.sweeney@umontana.edu for more information.
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The School of Theatre and Dance is committed to creating welcoming events. The following is service is available at all performances in the Masquer and Montana Theatres:
Assistive Listening Devices
The Masquer and Montana theatres each have an FM assistive listening system for patrons who are hard of hearing. Earphones and neckloops are available at the Box Office for checkout during performances. Patrons will be required to leave a credit card or the number of their active Griz Card until the equipment is returned.
In addition, each theatre production sold on Griztix will feature an advertised performance (generally a weekend matinee) featuring both of the following:
Audio Description
Audio description is a service for patrons who are blind or have low vision. Through an inconspicuous FM receiver, the listener hears a description of the visual elements of the performance between lines of dialogue. Patrons will be required to leave a credit card or the number of their active Griz Card until the equipment is returned.
CART Captioning
CART stands for Communication Access Realtime Translation for the hearing impaired. CART provides a written, verbatim account of what is being said live in the theatre in realtime and displayed on a screen located in a reserved section of the theatre.
If you have questions or would like to request other reasonable accommodations for this event, please contact (406) 243-4051.
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More information on parking and construction-project impacts to campus can be found on the University’s Facilities Services webpage.
During evenings and afternoons when Theatre and Dance performances are the only events on campus, patrons can find convenient parking in the P, Z, and N lots. Please visit UM's parking map page for details.
Parking can be difficult during performances that coincide with events at the Adams Center. P and Z lots are used for reserved and paid parking. Patrons are welcome to purchase parking at their discretion.
Limited free parking is available in the N parking lot between PARTV and the Law School to the North and the College of Education and the School of Music to the South and along Maurice and 6th Street. These spaces may be shared with other events in the College of the Arts and Media so we recommend coming early to get your spot.
Parking during Football Games is not open to Theatre and Dance patrons. We recommend arriving early, taking the free campus shuttle, or parking in the University District.
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We ask that you follow all directives from staff and house management. If you do not wish to follow current guidelines, please do not attend.
Phones/Alarms
If you carry a cell phone, pager, watch, or any other device with an alarm, please make sure it is turned off. Texting during the performance is prohibited.
Photographs and Recordings
The photographing or audio/video recording of any performance, or the possession of any device for such photographing or recording inside the theatre, is prohibited without the express permission of the School of Theatre and Dance.
Refreshments
Our concession counter is open before the performance and during intermission. Please enjoy your refreshments in the lobby and do not bring food or drink into the theatre.
Tobacco
Tobacco use is prohibited in or on property owned, leased, or used for specific events by the University or any of its components.
Digital Program
Director: Pamyla Stiehl
Scenic Designer: Scott Woods**
Costume Designer: Kendra Miller**
Lighting Designer: Alden Lamson*
Sound Designers: Layton Buckley, Chae Clearwood, Oscar Hunt, Alex MacDonald, Cannon Pearson, Courtney Phillips
Properties Designer: Ray Contos
Stage Manager: Brooklyn Stuart
Original Music: Julian Fleisher
**Partial fulfillment of the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre (Senior Project)
*Partial fulfillment of the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre (Junior Project)
Cast (in alphabetical order)
Glory / Deena / Hope: Alyssa Crist
Jimmy / Lendall / Man (Daniel): Noah Everett
Marvalyn / Shelly / Rhonda: Eloise Kelley
East / Steve / Dave: Marin Masar
Sandrine / Marci: Sydney Tuchel
Ginette / Waitress (Villain) / Gayle: Danica Urbanec
Pete / Phil: Michael Uzzi
Understudy
Sammy Bohannon
Setting
Almost, Maine is a small town in far Northern Maine that isn't actually a town and that doesn't quite exist.
The action takes place over a period of about seventeen minutes, happening concurrently for each scene in separate Almost locales during a cold, clear, moonless, slightly surreal Friday night in the middle of winter.
Scenes
Prologue: Pete and Ginette
Her Heart: East and Glory
Sad and Glad: Jimmy, Sandrine, and Waitress (Villian)
This Hurts: Marvalyn and Steve
Getting It Back: Gayle and Lendall
Interlogue: Pete
FIFTEEN-MINUTE INTERMISSION
They Fell: Deena and Shelly
Where It Went: Phil and Marci
Story of Hope: Hope and Man (Daniel)
Seeing the Thing: Rhonda and Dave
Epilogue: Pete and Ginette
Note From the Playwright
The Northern Lights are brilliant, ribbon-like, otherworldly displays of light. Northern Mainers are fortunate: they live just inside the southernmost tip of an area in which the Northern Lights regularly appear. Growing up, I remember being treated to a Northern Lights show at least once a year.
The Northern Lights occur when the atoms become "excited." During the solar storms, plasma (ionized, or charged, particles) from the sun is sent streaming toward the earth. As it enters the earth's atmosphere, it collides with atoms, and excites them—that is, it moves their electrons into higher-energy orbits. Those electrons want to return to their normal lower-energy orbits, and when they do so, they release energy in the form of tiny packets of light called photons. When enough photons are produced, the brilliant light display that is the aurora borealis hovers in the sky. When the aurora fades, it's because the affected atoms have returned to their grounded state. Almost, Maine is a play about people who are normally very grounded, but who have become very excited by love … and other extraordinary occurrences.
—John Cariani
Production Staff
Production Manager: Jason McDaniel
Fight/Intimacy Choreographer: Mark Plonsky
Fight/Movement Captain: Alyssa Crist
Intimacy Captain: Noah Everett
Sound Design Coordinator: Mike Post
Assistant Stage Manager: Aaron Prati
Technical Director/Scene Shop Manager: Brian Gregoire
Charge Artist: Alessia Carpoca
Scene Shop Staff: Wilder Ayer, Ray Contos, Aricin Tjaden, Scott Woods
Carpentry and Paint Crew: Hailey Barto, Iris Bruce, Brenna Ernst, Destiny Ford, Greta Garza, Aaron Going, Kendel Puccinelli, Grace Rainey, Riley Sebby, Annika Smith, Lucy Taylor, Isabel Tempel, Melissa Van Der Veen
Prop Shop Staff: Annika Loewen
Costume Shop Manager: Jordan Draper
Costume Shop Staff: Madisyn Covington, Gene Eggert, Ollie Martinez, Kendra Miller, Sam Olson, Sara Wheeler
Costume Construction Crew: Ellie Ames, Abigail Baldwin, Iris Baxter, Kiyaa Brown, Lexi Chase, Cece Dewey, Gene Eggert, Logan Dickinson, Helen Goeke, Annika Loewen, Keira Patterson, Aricin Tjaden, Emmie Wahlberg, Sammy Zarate
Head Dyer: Gene Eggert
Light/Sound Shop Manager: Mike Post
Lead Electrician: Aricin Tjaden*
Light Shop Staff: Courtney Phillips, Aaron Prati, Maisie Wellman
Light Hang and Focus Crew: Cleo Harvey, Spencer Johnson, Ollie Martinez, Maurice Michels, Sam Olson, Hayden Sherwood, Michael Uzzi, Maisie Wellman
Light Board Operator: Casper Meyer
Sound Board Operator: Spencer Johnson
Scenery/Props Crew: Ollie Johnstone, Maddie Verity
Wardrobe Crew: Olivia Anderson, Katy Brookman, Apollo Elrod, Sofie Wright
House Managers: Madison Covington, Jackie Kleinsasser, Sam Olson
*Partial fulfillment of the Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre (Junior Project)
Special Thanks
Camille Wagner, to whom this production is dedicated and to whom we send our friendship, support, and love
Saxon Holbrook
UM Theatre and Dance Students Supported by
Bucket Brigade Scholarships; Charles Ross Capps, Sr., and Agnes Ranjo Capps Scholarship; James Caras Family Scholarships; Sarah Crump Memorial Scholarship; Dance Impact Scholarships; Alexander and Virginia Dixon Dean Scholarships; Janice Stenslie Foster Endowed Scholarship; William P. Gillespie Scholarship; Riki Gordon Scholarship; Donal Harrington Scholarships; Bill Kliber Endowment for the Arts Scholarships; Jim Kriley Memorial Scholarships; Mary Cardell Moore and Robert and Florence Cardell Awards; Ivan Morrison Endowed Scholarship in the Arts; Mott Ranch Scholarship in the Arts; Odyssey of Our Stars Scholarships; Sarah Ottley Memorial Scholarship; Outstanding Achievement Scholarship; Patron Scholarship; Sheila M. Sullivan Scholarships; Thespian Scholarships; UM Dance Days Scholarships; The Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation Dance Scholarship; The Dennis and Phyllis Washington Foundation Theatre Scholarship; Dick and Marith Willis Scholarships; Steve Wing Endowed Scholarship; May Carol Zeman Scholarship
You can make a difference for Theatre and Dance students and productions … visit the UM Foundation giving page to find out how!
Faculty and Staff
College of the Arts and Media
Jennifer Cavanaugh, Dean
School of Music, Theatre, and Dance
Co-Directors: Jim Smart, Bernadette Sweeney
Faculty
Margaret Baldridge, Anne Basinski, Joanna Berg, Kevin Berg, Kelly Bouma, Jeff Brandt, Alicia Brischli, Alessia Carpoca, Laura Clague, David Cody, Adam Collins, Nancy Cooper, Sarah DeGrandpre, Ashley DeGroot, Brooklyn Draper, Jordan Draper, Heidi Jones Eggert, Johan Eriksson, Madeleine Folkerts, Seely Garrett, Brian Gerke, Brian Gregoire, Brenda Griggs, Kevin Griggs, Chris Hahn, Meagen Hensley Shapiro, Stevie Hirner, Aliya Kerimujiang, Ben Kirby, Chris Kirkpatrick, Bryan Kostors, Michael Legg, Tara McFarland, Royce McIntosh, Katie Martin, Luis Millán, David Mills-Low, Mike Monsos, Faith Morrison, Rachel Oliver Young, Aneta Panusz, Mark Plonsky, Mike Post, Sam Purvis, James Randall, Hannah Ransom, Tarn Ream, Owen Ross, Joel Schnackel, Tommy Sciple, Laurel Sears, Andrew Smith, Pam Stiehl, Rob Tapper, Margery Whatley
Staff
Sharon Collins, Erin McDaniel, Jason McDaniel, Bayley Mickolio, Mario Puccinelli