Trails, tribulations and declaration of love and relationships were depicted in a play on the Doudna Theatre stage Wednesday with a heart projected in the background.

“Almost, Maine” premiered Wednesday in the Doudna Fine Arts Center to illustrate the different affairs of love, using a play-on-words to present its different sides.

People were literally falling in love with each other, carrying around a broken heart and losing Hope.

Eight actors played 19 characters during 10 sub-plays to illustrate best friends falling in love, love at first sight, a strained marriage and being in a relationship but falling in love with someone else.

Ryan McCain, a senior theatre arts major, played three characters, which he said was a challenge for him.

He played East, a homeowner who has a strange woman outside his home with a broken heart; Lendall, a guy who planned to propose to his girlfriend when she thought he was not going to; and Phil, a father with a strained relationship with his family.

“I felt like all my characters were very different so I really enjoyed the challenge of getting to know each one of my characters and getting to understand how they were feeling,” McCain said.

Erin Kelly, a junior kinesiology and sports studies major, said she thought the play was comical and relatable.

“It kept my attention and were things that we are going to be going through eventually,” Kelly said.

Kelly said this is stuff that college students are experiencing, and the play helps give a funny note to that.

“We are going to be getting engaged and going through relationships and things like that,” Kelly said. “It definitely applies to our lives and what’s coming in the next step after we move on from here.”

McCain said the play was a good representation of relationships.

“It’s an interesting play because it goes through, not just love and romance, but all sides of relationships—not just the good, but the bad as well,” McCain said.

The play used wordplay like “falling in love” when two men go from being best friends to falling in love with each other. They fell repeatedly on the stage trying to reach one another after realizing their feelings.

Katie Edelmann, a junior art major, said she loved the comic element of the play.

“We were sitting there laughing the whole time,” Edelmann said.

She said the play was a good illustration of the different sides of love.

“It was good how it showed us that there are bad moments and fun moments,” Edelmann said.

Kelly said she liked the whole play, but liked a certain scene the most.

“My definite ‘OMG’ moment was when Danny ended up already being married, and Hope was just standing there,” Kelly said. “You were just kind of rooting for her; she finally realized what she wanted, and she came back for it and that she would get it.”

McCain said the wordplay added to the performance.

“They were subtle, but they were there,” McCain said. “I think that is part of the magic and all, really.”

Kelly said she enjoyed the wordplay in the performance.

“It was something that kept your attention, falling in love is something that everyone hopes for, and maybe if you’re lucky it’ll happen like that,” Kelly said.

Edelmann said she felt bad for some of the characters during certain scenes.

“There were part where I just wanted to go hug them, like with the kid in the laundry; I wanted to go hug him because I felt bad for him,” Edelmann said.

Edelmann said she has not had any experiences like those in the play but knows a friend who has.

“I kind of laughed a little bit, and there were a couple times I hit her and said ‘oh that is you,” Edelmann said.

Samantha McDaniel can be reached at 581-2812 or slmcdaniel@eiu.edu.