'Almost, Maine' is a Family Event

Ask Jeff Knapp about "Almost, Maine," the current production going on at the Barn Theatre, and he will tell you it's a family show.

“There’s not a bad word in it,” Knapp added, “Which is uncharacteristic for me.  It’s sweet.”

Described in a press release from the theatre, as a midwinter night’s dream, “Almost, Maine” is literally a family show for Knapp. He is directing as well as designing sound. His wife, Mindy, is the costume designer, and their children, Emily, 7, Jack, 10, and Molly, 14, have all assisted in bringing this play to the stage.

“Molly’s working back stage,” Knapp said. “And I introduced Jack to the jig saw. Poor little guy is hooked.”

Knapp’s youngest, Emily, assisted her mom with costumes, helped to paint scenery, and recently viewed the final dress rehearsal giving her dad production notes over breakfast the next morning.

“Before the final dress, I wondered, “what is a seven year old going to get out of this play?’” Knapp said. “She loved it.”

Knapp said the show is a good date night or a good family night event.

The veteran thespian has spent 16 seasons with The Barn. He has been a director, performer, sound designer, board member, and president. He last directed “Accomplice,” by Rupert Holmes, at The Barn in 2007.

“Unlike many community theatres,” Knapp said. “The Barn has its own space. Many times you’re in a church basement or social room. I was smitten with The Barn the first time I auditioned here. It’s a great group of people.”

Since that first audition Knapp’s family has grown.

“With each child we moved to a bigger house farther away,” he said.  “We’re in Randolph now,” which is a thirty-five mile round trip commute. Add to that three months of rehearsals four to five times a week, in addition to helping to build the set and handling other technical aspects, and one show adds up to a great many hours.

Knapp owns a computer consulting firm. During the day, he visits clients throughout New Jersey and New York City. He is on-call 24 hours a day. Knapp is also the professional sound designer for the Playwright’s Theatre in Madison and the Shadowland Theatre in Ellenville, N.Y.

It was at Shadowland that Knapp had “the good fortune” to work with playwright, John Cariani, when Cariani directed “Almost, Maine” in 2009.

“I just, I fell in love with it,” Knapp said. “I knew the audience at The Barn would love it.”

“Almost, Maine” was the only play Knapp was willing to make time to direct this year.

The script is written so that four actors create 19 characters. The story is told through a series of vignettes, which Knapp described as: “Tender, serious, broad and funny. There are a lot of flavors to it.”

He and the actors worked on bringing both the poignant and the funny to light, and he is pleased with audience reactions so far.

“We’re getting big reactions,” he said. “It’s funny.”

“Almost, Maine” features four volunteer actors: Bridget Burke Weiss, a school teacher from Boonton, Tom Morrissey, a fireplace specialist from Rockaway, Jessica Phelan, a hair stylist from Mendham, and Craig Zimmermann, an engineer from Rockaway.

Performances run through April 2, on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., with 2 p.m. matinees March 27 and April 2. Tickets are $15 ($14 for seniors/students for matinees only). The Barn Theatre is located at 32 Skyline Drive in Montville.