Mineola Actors Travel to "Almost, Maine" for Fall Play

After teaching at for the last 15 years and directing the fall theater productions for the last four, Matt DeLuca still has difficulty picking the right material.

“It’s very difficult to choose a play,” DeLuca said Thursday afternoon. “I think long term. Each year is something different from the last.” DeLuca previously helmed “The Crucible,” “Rumors” and “The Laramie Project,” which he says helped prepare the actors for more challenging roles.

“The best part of this job is getting to see the freshman grow up into full actors as seniors,” De Luca said. “One of the reasons I choose these plays is because it gives the kids a lot of skills that are necessary to develop for these plays.”

The fall production of “” can be best described as a series of shorter vignettes comprising the larger work. The romantic comedy is similar to “The Laramie Project” in that “everyone had a chance in the spotlight,” DeLuca said of the latter work.

A romantic comedy, “Almost” takes place in an isolated snowy mythical titular town where characters ponder love and loss, with set pieces and lightings pushed to their brightest in order to look like a huge snow globe.

“It’s a perfect segway into the holiday season because it’s so much snow,” DeLuca said. “You can’t help but to think about Christmas coming with all the snow.”

All of the casts are members of the Thespians honors society or are working their way into becoming a member. Each year there are different casts but there are a few who stick around throughout their entire high school career. DeLuca said,

Senior Siobhan Adams has been in all of DeLuca’s productions from the beginning of her freshman year, taking on the role of “Hope” in “Almost.”

“(He’s) helped me to see things in different ways so it helps me grow as an actress,” she said of DeLuca adding that she “definitely” wants to stay involved in theater after graduation. “I really loved Rumors [the most]; it was a comedy and it was crazy but it brought out a side of me that I didn’t know I had.”

Tickets for “Almost, Maine” are $9 in advance and $10 at the door for the performances on Friday, Nov. 18 at 7:30 p.m.; and Saturday, Nov. 19 at 2 p.m. and 7:30 p.m.

Cast of Characters

Pete

Patrick Patterson

Ginette

Jenna Maher

East

Andres Zaldivar

Glory

Stephanie Flaum

Jimmy

Eric Timlin

Sandrine

Michelle Senra

Waitress

Gabrielle Ward

Marvalyn

Melissa Dunlop

Steve

Russell Sullivan

Gayle

Emily Mahlmann

Lendall

Dylan Randazzo

Randy

Joe Massaro

Chad

Danny Willis

Phil

Joey Lao

Marci

Rebecca Bastos

Hope

Siobhan Adams

Man

Aldany Diaz

Rhonda

Neha Narvekar

Dave

Matt Eisen 

Download the movie