Almost, Maine

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Almost, Maine—Scene 9”

In this activity, students will write a scene in the style of Cariani’s play.

Imagine that playwright John Cariani has asked you to write a new scene for an upcoming Broadway revival of his play Almost, Maine. Working in small groups, develop a scene between two characters that maintains the integrity of Cariani’s characterization and style of writing.

• Remember that your scene is a brief interlude between two characters who interact with the backdrop of the Northern Lights in the town of Almost, Maine.
• Demonstrate Cariani’s themes of Love, Disconnection, and Guilt/Regret in your scene.
• After drafting the script of your scene as a group, select two members to perform the scene for the class, with the other group members working as directors.

After the scenes are performed, compare the scenes and discuss their similarities and differences. What are some common approaches to the topic of love?

Teaching Suggestion: It may be helpful to review scene elements (such as stage directions, setting, cue pickup and cutoff, and script formatting) and plot structuring devices (such as conflict, rising action, and climax) before students draft their scenes. Brainstorming exercises to generate fresh ideas regarding character relationships and understandings of love may be a beneficial step. Invite students to incorporate magical and mystical qualities into their work, based on Cariani’s approach.

Differentiation Suggestion: For an approach that focuses on the production and performance aspects of drama, students might exchange their group’s script with another group’s in the class. This will allow actors and directors to study and analyze a provided script, make production and characterization choices for performance, and perform the scene (either “off book” or “on book”) with the playwrights present. Discussion after performances can focus on scene interpretation and drama performance as a storytelling technique.

Use these essay questions as writing and critical thinking exercises for all levels of writers, and to build their literary analysis skills by requiring textual references throughout the essay.

Differentiation Suggestion: For English learners or struggling writers, strategies that work well include graphic organizers, sentence frames or starters, group work, or oral responses.

Scaffolded Essay Questions

Student Prompt: Write a short (1-3 paragraph) response using one of the bulleted outlines below. Cite details from the text over the course of your response that serve as examples and support.

1. The nuances of romantic Love are often illuminated through the use of situational irony in the play.

• Which scene best incorporates the use of irony in revealing its messages about love? (topic sentence)
• Analyze and discuss the specific ways in which the playwright utilizes irony in the scene. How does irony inspire and instruct the audience member about Love?
• In your concluding sentences, summarize the ways in which irony is a fitting literary device for the overall conflicts and topics in the play.

2. Ginette and Pete appear in the Prologue and reappear in the Interlogue and Epilogue.

• What does Ginette and Pete’s narrative symbolize in the play? (topic sentence)
• How do Ginette and Pete’s short scenes communicate or connect with the numbered scenes? How is this narrative’s symbolism meaningful in the context of the whole work? Analyze and discuss at least 3 examples from the play that support your topic sentence.
• In your concluding sentences, explain how this set of scenes helps to develop the theme of Disconnection.

3. One familiar trope of stories about love is the idea of a happy ending.

• Does Almost, Maine have a happy ending? (topic sentence)
• Determine the 3 strongest examples of character decisions, actions, or reactions to substantiate your claim. Analyze and discuss these examples using evidence from the text in support of your topic sentence.
• In your concluding sentences, evaluate the strength and clarity of the playwright’s overarching message about Love based on the play’s ending.

Full Essay Assignments

Student Prompt: Write a structured and well-developed essay. Include a thesis statement, at least three main points supported by text details, and a conclusion.

1. Cariani sometimes uses words like “perhaps” and “maybe” in the stage directions. How does this freedom of choice align or not align with the overall message of the play? In a 3- or 5-paragraph essay, explore the significance of the open-ended directions in the script and how these connect to the stories’ conflicts and themes. Use a variety of examples from different scenes to support your ideas.

2. Some scenes in Almost, Maine include elements that border on magical realism or absurdism. What effects do these elements likely have on the reader/audience, and how do they reinforce the themes and subject matter? In a 3- or 5-paragraph essay, analyze and discuss the playwright’s decision to include these unrealistic elements. Use details and examples from the text in your discussion.

3. Choose and compare two characters from different scenes. How are their motivations similar? How do they each approach the interaction of their scene, and how do their respective approaches help to illuminate or complicate the themes of the play? Support your ideas with rationale from the text in a structured paragraph.

Multiple Choice and Long Answer Questions create ideal opportunities for whole-text review, exams, or summative assessments.

Multiple Choice

1. Which of the following words best describes the location of the play’s setting?

A) Remote

B) Urban

C) Central

D) Isolated

2. Which of the following reasons best describes the function of the symbol “// ” in the characters’ dialogue?

A) A reminder to take a pause

B) A code for enunciation

C) A reference to the sound designer to start music

D) A cue for the next character to begin their line

3. Which of the following ideas best summarizes what the scene between East and Glory represents?

A) The need to resist adultery

B) The ability to move on from the past

C) The importance of remaining celibate

D) The necessity of staying true to one’s words

4. Which of the following words best describes the interactions between all of the play’s couples at some point in the scene?

A) Altruistic

B) Argumentative

C) Awkward

D) Angry

5. Which of the following literary terms best describes the effect of the waitress’s name in Scene 2?

A) Irony

B) Paradox

C) Dichotomy

D) Allusion

6. Of which of the following ideas does Steve struggle to understand the associated nuances?

A) Love and hatred

B) Fear and pain

C) Love and lust

D) Introverted and extroverted

7. Which of the following adages best describes the misunderstanding that Gayle has with Lendall?

A) Actions speak louder than words.

B) Pride cometh before a fall.

C) Better safe than sorry.

D) Familiarity breeds contempt.

8. Which description best suits the relationship between Chad and Randy by the end of their scene?

A) Permanently asymmetric

B) Purely platonic

C) Newly romantic

D) Deeply apathetic

9. Which of the following grammatical components is crucial for the pace of Cariani’s dialogue?

A) Verb tense

B) Parallel structure

C) Punctuation

D) Pronunciation

10. Generally, how do the characters respond to the magical, mystical, or non-realistic elements in the plot?

A) With curiosity

B) With bewilderment

C) With disgust

D) With degradation

11. Who, primarily, is the intended audience of the stage directions and playwright’s notes?

A) Other playwrights

B) The cast of the production

C) The audience for the show

D) The director of the first production

12. Danny tells Hope, “And that’s…killin’ hope the long, slow, painful way, cause it’s still there just hangin’ on, never really goes away. And that’s…kinda like givin’ somebody a little less air to breathe every day. Till they die.” (Scene 7) Which of the following literary devices are used in this line?

A) Allusion and metaphor

B) Humor and synecdoche

C) Metonymy and paradox

D) Personification and simile

13. Which of the following aspects of the play unite all the characters’ scenes?

A) The time of day

B) The place in town

C) The happy endings

D) The marriage proposals

14. How does Scene 8 (Rhonda and Dave) link to the prior scenes?

A) By referencing the previous characters

B) By hinting at a sequel

C) By confirming the suspected endings of all scenes

D) By indicating the death of the protagonist

15. Which of the following styles does Cariani most often use to emphasize conflict between two characters?

A) Argumentative discourse and shouted dialogue

B) Alternating physical and verbal altercations

C) Frequent interruptions and overlapping conversations

D) Emotional displays and heightened language

Long Answer

Compose a response of 2-3 sentences, incorporating text details to support your response.

1. How does the play allow for flexible casting? How can the size of the cast affect the production of the play and the experience of the actors?

2. How do the specificities of the setting connect with the plot and purpose of the play?