On March 31 and April 1, The Philaletheis Society, a Vassar student theater group, presented “Almost, Maine,” a play written by John Cariani that first premiered in 2004. Directed at Vassar by Lou Griesman ’24, “Almost, Maine” is comprised of nine vignettes exploring love and loss in a small town in northern Maine.
A unique rom-com, “Almost, Maine” has become one of the most produced plays in the last 10 years, per the production’s website. Throughout the vignettes, the ideal of love sometimes takes on an absurdist, physical form. A character carries around her broken heart in a paper bag, another one tries to give back her partner’s love, gathered up in stuffed trash bags. Griesman remarks, “This play shows so many different kinds of love, and so many different paths to love…that I love!”
Griesman was drawn to the sweet, wholesome tone of “Almost, Maine,” believing that there haven’t been enough light-hearted Vassar productions recently. Griesman says, “We don’t need any content warnings for this, and that’s so nice because that means people can sit and just enjoy themselves. I want people to feel like they’ve had a really unique experience. I want them to feel warm and welcome.”
“Almost, Maine” is the first play Griesman has directed at Vassar, though the process has been made smooth by a great team and support network. Griesman comments, “It’s really nice to be able to work with people who are your creative soulmates.” Griesman also pulled from their experience writing plays to inform their directorial decisions.
Cast member Avery Nahf ’26 commented on their acting experience in the play, saying, “I really enjoyed the variety that I got from playing all these mini scenes rather than only one character.” They also said that Griesman really pushed the cast as actors and helped them with their technique, spending some rehearsals focusing on acting exercises. Nahf explained that this was especially helpful in a show where every scene includes only two characters, saying that this intimate acting experience helped them grow as an actor.
Assistant stage manager Grayson Bullard ’26 also remarked on Griesman’s interest in cultivating a good environment for the cast and crew, noting, “I think with this show, more than others I’ve been involved in, our director was more interested in the journey than the destination.” Nahf added, “It was one of the most friendly casts I’ve ever had. It was an overall very positive experience, both in what we created and the community we created along with it.”
The play was originally planned to be presented in Blodgett Courtyard. Though setting up and taking down the set every rehearsal was an added challenge, Griesman was committed to the location because of the play’s connection to the outdoors, with some scenes taking place under the stars. They added, “One thing that I really love about Vassar is that there are a lot of spaces that we can use for theater that wouldn’t typically get used for theater.”
Bullard explained that when the production crew saw rain in the forecast about a week before the show, their first plan was to string a tarp over the courtyard. Yet with predictions of high winds, on the morning of the first show day “Almost, Maine” was moved to the Villard room. Griesman commented on the move, saying, “I like that [the Villard room] is definitely more enclosed and can feel a little bit more cozy than the outside, but I do miss the external facade of Blodgett courtyard and I do miss the feeling of being outside.”
On their performance days, the Villard room was transformed into an intimate venue, with lights strung around the room. Audience members sat on couches and blankets spread on the ground, and were welcomed into the space with a hot cocoa station and homemade stickers. During the play, audience members were as engaged as you might be watching a rom-com in your living room with a friend: They held their breath, looked across the room at friends, laughed out loud and let out a collective “awww” at the moment when two people you were rooting for finally get together.