Play ‘Almost, Maine’ presented virtually by student directors

The student directors of the Ripon College theatre program will present a unique streaming event of the play “Almost, Maine” from Friday, April 30, through Saturday, May 1. It will be available for viewing at ripon.edu/maine.

“Almost, Maine” is a comic, warm-hearted view of one night in the very small town of Almost. It examines loss and love. The play is one of the most highly produced contemporary American plays. Each of the 10 directors will present one scene from the play, and the scenes will be linked together to form the full play. This is being presented as a Zoom reader’s theatre and will feature a wide array of student performers.

The scenes are:

• “Prologue,” “Interlogue,” “Epilogue,” directed by Lindsey Wigand ’22 of West Allis, Wisconsin
• “Her Heart,” directed by Wil Bridenhagen ’21 of Neenah, Wisconsin
• “Sad and Glad,” directed by Billy Stiggers ’22 of Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• “This Hurts,” directed by Maria Reber ’21 of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
• “Getting It Back,” directed by Katy Dano ’22 of Hubertus, Wisconsin
• “They Fell” (male version), directed by Logan Zeinert ’22 of Wittenberg, Wisconsin
• “They Fell” (female version), directed by Breana Smits ’22 of Oshkosh, Wisconsin
• “Where It Went,” directed by Dakota Marlega ’21 of Waupaca, Wisconsin
• “The Story of Hope,” directed by Jeneva Lindsey ’21 of Juneau, Wisconsin
• “Seeing the Thing,” directed by Mattie Ryback ’22 of New Berlin, Wisconsin

Appearing in the production will be Evan Jensen ’24 of Janesville, Wisconsin; Samantha Schaefer ’22 of Janesville, Wisconsin; Ethan Hansen ’23 of Franksville, Wisconsin; Adam Scholze ’22 of La Crosse, Wisconsin; Abbe Lane ’22 of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin; Andy Ratayczak ’23 of Cedarburg, Wisconsin; Ethan Mans ’24 of Ripon, Wisconsin; Lanie Kish ’22 of Jefferson, Wisconsin; Rebecca Steinkamp ’23 of Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin; Levi Keen ’24 of Twin Lakes, Wisconsin; Christian Schmidt ’23 of Green Bay, Wisconsin; Sarah Nakis ’23 of Lake in the Hills, Illinois; and Brooklyn Hogan ’22 of Barneveld, Wisconsin.

The crew features Devon Giesler ’22 of Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin; Kylie Zenz ’23 of Fitchburg, Wisconsin; Benjamin McFarland ’24 of Harbor Vitae, Wisconsin; and Derek Veltstra ’24 of Sherrill, Iowa.

(Photo, left to right in each row: Jeneva Lindsey, Katelyn Dano, Logan Zeinert; Dakota Marlega, Mattie Ryback, Wil Bridenhagen, Breana Smits; William Stiggers, Maria Reber, Lindsey Wigand)