Kissing in a play while wearing a mask? Sounds like a nearly impossible task, but it has been one of the many challenges that cast members in Potomac’s spring play have faced. 

This year’s spring play, Almost, Maine, is composed of nine short acts that all take place in a small northeastern town around 9:30 pm. The play includes aspects of magical realism, including magical transformations, which appear throughout the plot.

“The story sort of comes to a turning point, something happens for real, but some magical transformation occurs along with it,” said Director and Ensemble Theater teacher Michael Bergman.

“I think just the whole concept of the play, in general, is super unique,” added junior VPAC student and cast member Andrea Villafuerte.

The play is made up of small acts, so only two or three people are on stage at once. This allows for the cast to easily adjust to Covid restrictions.

Another difficult adjustment that the cast had to make was acting with their eyes instead of their whole face. 

One of the funnier struggles the cast faced during rehearsals was kissing with masks.

“There are a couple of kissing scenes that had to be redone safely,” explained freshman cast member Jack Morgan.

Impressively, the cast was extremely flexible and adapted the play to allow in-person rehearsals and performances. 

“The actors learned to understand what they had to do with their bodies to give the appearance of kissing,” explained Mr. Bergman. “The audience can’t really see that they’re not actually kissing,” Jack commented.

Although striking a balance between safety and performance quality was difficult, the cast was resilient and found creative ways to incorporate the more intimate moments in the final performance. 

This year’s spring play was the first in-person play in over a year, and it highlights not only the cast and crew’s talent but also creativity through these unprecedented times.

“It’s going to be a lot of fun with quick scenes, super heartwarming characters, and really cute stories,” said Andrea, before the show.

Almost Maine, by John Cariani, was performed in the Engelhard Performing Arts Center on May 14 and 15. Directed by Michael Bergman, the actors were Andrea Villafuerte, Ariana Ghafouri, Catherine Carroll, Elisa Germanis, Emily Raman, Ethan Norton, Genevieve Evans, Grace Sumner, Isabel Engel, Jack Morgan, Leo Marin, Shelby Thompson, and Sofya Donets. The crew included Alejandra Monzon and Rachel Robbins.