Even though it’s his senior year, Michael Courtney is not afraid to try new things.

This is Courtney’s first year as a drama student and when auditions were posted for the fall play, Almost, Maine, he decided to go for it. He auditioned for a few of the male characters in the play, but was hoping for the part of East.
When the cast list went up, he was excited to see his name – right next to East.

East is a repairman and he has a love-at-first sight kind of relationship with Glory, who is played by senior Adrianna Anderson.
       
“My funniest memory at rehearsal is when rehearsing with the understudy of Glory (played by Elizabeth Sadusky); I had to go in for a forceful kiss. I didn’t really know what to do so I yelled  ‘RAWR’ and went for the kiss,” said Courtney.

Almost, Maine is a quirky romantic comedy, filled with love in all of its forms. As they say, art imitates life and in a twist, there are two couples who are in the  cast of the show.

Adrianna Anderson and Adam Whitt have been dating since last year, and Sarah Roppe and Micheal Courtney had started dating just before auditions. The irony is that Anderson was cast opposite of Courtney (as Glory and East) and  his girlfirend Roppe  plays opposite of Whitt (as Gayle and Lendall).

In the play, the characters East and Glory kiss and Gayle and Lendall kiss, but the students keep it professional.
“I don’t think of it as me kissing Adrianna. It is East kissing Glory,” said Courtney.

Another new comer into the theater department is Adam Haluptzok. This is also his first play and audition. He also got the part in the play he wanted.

“My audition went really good. I read over the Chad and Randy scene so many times before auditions that I almost had it memorized. I really wanted the part of Chad.”

Haluptzok plays Chad, a cocky kind of guy who has a deep secret. Haluptzok got really nervous when he auditioned and he still gets nervous in rehearsal. He said that Mrs. Mo sometimes has to tell him to calm down because Haluptzok tends to get really shaky.
“You have to know who your character is before you can be them. I have to try to make Chad my second identity,” said Haluptzok.

Over 70 students auditioned for 19 parts and in the end 19 lead actors and 12 understudies were cast in the show which will be performed November 1 – 3 at 7pm and November 4 at 2 pm.

Courtney was thrilled to be among those cast and feels he’s found a new place to belong.

“I just want to act and I want to keep on acting,”  he said. “It’s fun.”