One just wasn’t enough for the Lee’s Summit West High School Drama Department.</p><p>This month, the school will run two plays, “Almost, Maine” and “Is He Dead?”</p><p>“Almost, Maine,” written by John Cariani and directed by drama teacher Ben Martin, explores love and relationships in nine vignettes set in the fictional village of Almost, Maine. Martin and five students discovered the play during the International Thespian Festival this summer in Lincoln, Neb.</p><p>“We were looking for one (play) that really emphasized acting and showcased our seniors,” Martin said. After auditions, it turned out that all but one member of the cast is a senior and they feel the pressure to produce an exceptional show.</p><p>“There’s a lot depending on us to bring as much as we can,” senior Erin Huffman, who plays “Gayle” in the vignette “I Want it Back” said. “We feel we have a lot riding on us.”</p><p>Martin said the characters and relationships in the play aren’t one-dimensional. They are sentimental and bittersweet, comic or even doomed to fail.</p><p>“The trick is to try to play it as real and honest as possible,” Martin said.</p><p>Huffman said the seniors can see each other’s progress and development since their freshman year. Four of the cast members acted together in their first freshman play.</p><p>“We’ve come such a long way since ‘The Grapes of Wrath,’” Huffman said. “It’s nice to see us all together again.”</p><p>She admits it is strange to be seniors now, to be the leaders the underclassmen can look up to. “Just yesterday we were the freshman watching the seniors. We’ve put so much into this program,” she said, “I think we have a lot we can leave behind.”</p><p>Yet, while the cast of “Almost, Maine” is almost entirely seniors, “Is He Dead?” is a younger cast faced with the challenge of producing a comedy. Written by Mark Twain, the little-seen play – this is the first high school performance in the Kansas City metro – is a classic farce that still deals with love, but in comically over-the-top fashion.</p><p>The story revolves around artist Francois Millet. In love and wanting to marry, but with little money from his paintings, Millet is convinced their worth will increase upon his death. A plot is then hatched to fake his death. Disguised as his sister, Millet watches the success of the plot, but soon finds it’s difficult to enjoy ones success once you’re dead.</p><p>“It’s got great satirical moments in it,” Martin said.</p><p>The play is directed by Martin’s former student and 2003 Lee’s Summit High School graduate Charlie Piane. “I haven’t worked with high school kids since high school,” Piane joked. “It’s definitely a challenge.”</p><p>He said one of the challenges for the actors is that the production is very physical – especially for his lead, senior Rob Glauz, whose character spends much of the play as a woman.</p><p>“He’s running in a dress and high heels,” Piane said.</p><p>“Almost, Maine” opens at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 6 at the Lee’s Summit West Performing Arts Center, located at 2600 S.W. Ward Rd., with a second performance Saturday, Nov. 14, alternating with “Is He Dead?” which opens at 7:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 7, with a second performance Friday, Nov. 13. </p><p>Tickets can be purchased online at www.westsidestage.com or at the door. Tickets are $7 for adults, $6 for students or a ticket for both shows can be purchased for $10.</p><p><i>To reach Journal reporter Julie Scheidegger, call 816-282-7016, or e-mail jscheidegger@lsjournal.com</i>