Almost, Maine

PROLOGUE-SCENE 4

Reading Check

1. The backdrop is the sky above Northern Maine on a clear and cold night. There is no moon, but the stars are visible. (Prologue)

2. “[A]nd closer” (Prologue)

3. Unlike all the other states in the continental US, Maine touches only one state. (Scene 1)

4. East tells Glory that the town was never organized as an actual town. (Scene 1)

5. Glory’s heart in a bag (Scene 1)

6. Her bachelorette party (Scene 2)

7. The love that Gayle gave to Lendall (Scene 4)

8. “Transitional aurora” (All scenes)

Short Answer

1. The play opens with Pete and Ginette sitting on a bench, watching the Northern Lights. Ginette takes a risk and tells Pete she loves him, to which he responds the same way. In her excitement, she talks about how “close” they are, but the moment is ruined as Pete uses a snowball to embark on a discussion regarding what “closeness” really means; he proposes that if one considers the shape of the sphere, two people sitting close together are actually the farthest from one another they can possibly be. (Prologue)

2. Glory pitches a tent on a property, which turns out to be East’s, in order to see the Northern Lights and finally say goodbye to her dead husband. When East initially sees her, he is outwardly skeptical of her presence; he eventually reveals that he has fallen in love with her and tries to woo her throughout the rest of the scene. (Scene 1)

3. Sandrine runs into Jimmy in a bar. After they awkwardly attempt to catch up, Sandrine reveals that she is getting married and that she is at her bachelorette party. Jimmy, who still carries a torch for Sandrine even though she left him, is hurt but tries to hide his pain. She sees he has a misspelled tattoo on his arm that says “Villian” that he got as a way to punish himself after Sandrine left him. Sandrine is sad to hear this news but eventually she leaves him and returns to her bachelorette party. (Scene 2)

4. Steve does not have the ability to feel pain, so he lists actions and items he observes other people feeling pain from. In his conversation with Marvalyn, he deduces that she does not really love her boyfriend because she is with him on a Friday night and has kissed him. (Scene 3)

5. Although Lendall’s “love” for Gayle is greater in quantity than Gayle’s, Gayle is under the impression that he does not love her because he paused when they spoke about marriage. (Scene 4)

6. The scene ends with Lendall revealing that he purchased Gayle a ring and was planning to propose to her. As the scene ends, the stage directions indicate that they embrace and sway together under the starry sky. (Scene 4)

INTERLOGUE-EPILOGUE

Reading Check

1. Sally did not approve of his smell. (Scene 5)

2. Considering the strength of his feelings for his friend Randy or a potential romantic relationship with him makes Chad too weak stand. (Scene 5)

3. A frozen pond (Scene 6)

4. Marci says it is a planet, not a star. (Scene 6)

5. Marci drives away from the pond without Phil. (Scene 6)

6. “Story of Hope” is actually a story of Daniel’s loss. (Scene 7)

7. By walking away and not looking at it for a while, then revisiting it (Scene 8)

8. It starts to snow. (Epilogue)

Short Answer

1. Pete waits on the bench with the snowball beside him. He turns to look in the direction in which Ginette left, making it clear that he is waiting for her. His brief actions echo the open-ended conclusions of the prior scenes and connect to the themes of Love and Disconnection. (Interlogue)

2. In speaking about his failed dating life to his friend Randy, Chad realizes that he not only deeply cares for his friend but also is in love with Randy. He professes his feelings for Randy, causing his friend discomfort, until Randy realizes that he loves Chad as well. (Scene 5)

3. Although both scenes take place at the same time in the same place, they offer different versions and moments on the trajectory of love. For example, Randy and Chad are just recognizing their feelings and falling in love, while Marci and Phil, a married couple, are falling out of love. (Scenes 5-6)

4. Marci takes her husband, Phil, ice skating in order to celebrate their anniversary, hoping that he can somehow jar his memory of where they first met. They bicker about their relationship, with Marci accusing her husband that he does not pay attention anymore and Phil accusing Marci of lying about her true feelings for him. The scene ends with her getting in the car and driving away. (Scene 6)

5. Hope travels 163 miles in a taxi from the airport in Bangor, Maine, in order to respond to her former boyfriend’s proposal from many years ago. She is surprised to see a man that she does not recognize at her boyfriend’s house; however, after he addresses her by her name, she realizes that it is her boyfriend. She learns that he is married just before he says goodbye and closes the door. Hope does give her answer of yes, but he is no longer listening. (Scene 7)

6. After a snowmobile ride together, Dave gives Rhonda a painting he made for her. He encourages her to guess what the painting shows and begins to reveal his romantic feelings for her. Rhonda is surprised and defensive, eventually sharing that she has never been in a relationship before, that she does not know about her feelings for him, and that she cannot discern the image in the painting. They kiss, which soon leads to more passionate displays of affection; Rhonda sees the image for what it is just before they go inside her house. The audience can finally see that the painting is of a heart. (Scene 8)

7. The play ends with Pete and Ginette’s story. Continuing on from the Interlogue, Pete is alone with his snowball when Ginette enters the stage from the opposite side. Nonverbally, she reveals that she has been all the way around the world, and the two reunite to look at the stars. (Epilogue)

8. Although the Prologue, Interlogue, and Epilogue all center on the same pair (Pete and Ginette), the Prologue consists of dialogue, while the Interlogue and Epilogue are stage directions that reveal character actions without dialogue. (Prologue, Interlogue, Epilogue)