WHAT Theatre will put on “Almost, Maine,” the group’s second production of this academic year, at Schine Underground this weekend.

The play is a series of short scenes discussing love and other relevant topics. According to the event page, “Almost, Maine” is a “vignette-style show that tells the heartwarming and heartbreaking stories of nine different couples all from a small town in Maine.”

The play starts at 8 p.m. on Friday and 7 p.m. on Saturday.

The play was selected and pitched by director Victoria Pla, who has previously performed for and is now on staff for WHAT Theatre, a theater group that allow students of all majors and years to perform in a musical in the fall and a play in the spring. Although she had never heard of the play before, Pla said they chose it because it fit their budget and because it contained themes she was looking for — heartwarming and sentimental.

“A lot of people are truly going to enjoy the stories,” said Pla, a sophomore advertising major. “Even if you stripped away everything — the costumes, the set — it would still be good, because the stories themselves are so raw.”

Pla ran auditions for and selected the 19-person cast. This was difficult for her to do, she said, because she is also a performer and therefore knows firsthand how it feels to be cut from a cast.

However, Pla was able to follow her gut and choose what she said is an excellent cast. Casting finished at the end of January, and rehearsals began soon after.

Since the play is broken up into shorter scenes, most actors only rehearsed once or twice a week, with Pla working intimately with them to get the perfect show.

“I like that you get such direct feedback,” said Jake DeHahn, a cast member and sophomore industrial design major.

DeHahn stumbled upon WHAT Theatre’s table at the student involvement fair and immediately wanted to get involved. He said he was happy to find a theater organization that offered acting outside of musicals. In “Almost, Maine,” he plays the character Pete. He said all of the characters in the show are very distinct and unique and their stories range from funny to emotionally sappy.

“I have acted my whole life,” he said. “It’s something I love.”

Alexis Cardwell, president of WHAT Theatre, compared the play to the popular movie “Love Actually.” She has been the president of WHAT for the past year and a half, and has worked to fulfill her mission of expanding the organization.

Since Cardwell become president, WHAT Theatre has begun to produce musicals. Cardwell said that many students’ have limited opportunities to perform beyond their freshman year. She said they want to give people the opportunity to act throughout their time in college.

The idea of producing musicals was an immediate success — Cardwell also said the shows brought huge crowds in and paved the way for more opportunities for the organization in the future.

“It will establish that we can do plays as well as musicals,” Cardwell said on why she is excited to see WHAT Theatre’s first, full tech rehearsal for a play, after two semesters of musicals, fall into motion. “We basically do all of this so everyone in the club and everyone watching has a nice time.”

Throughout the rehearsal process, Cardwell has done a bit of everything, from building sets to putting mics on cast members to going on food runs.

“They call me ‘club mom,’” Cardwell said. “I take care of everyone and makes sure what needs to happen, happens.”

Funding for WHAT Theatre and its productions comes from a combination of Student Association, ticket sales and fundraisers. Pla said that funding has to get approved before any rehearsing takes place, to make sure a play is financially plausible.

As for the opening itself, most participants both on and off the stage are simply excited to show off their hard work.

DeHahn said he can’t wait to show people the play they have been working on for months. “Anything can happen,” he said.

Published on March 30, 2016 at 10:31 pm

Contact Hanna: hrhorvat@syr.edu