About the play: Welcome to Almost, Maine, a place that’s so far north, it’s almost not in the United States. It’s almost in Canada. And it’s not quite a town, because its residents never got around to getting organized. So it almost doesn’t exist. One cold, clear, winter night, as the northern lights hover in the star-filled sky above, the residents of Almost, Maine, find themselves falling in and out of love in unexpected and hilarious ways. Knees are bruised. Hearts are broken. But the bruises heal, and the hearts mend—almost—in this delightful midwinter night’s dream.
Directorial Team
Director: Michael Ennis
Michael began his theatre journey in his native Ireland as a teenager many moons ago. Upon coming to Frankfurt in 2007, he quickly got involved with FEST and has been involved in many productions, such as: The Mousetrap, The Zoo Story, Death in Heels, Cinderella (Panto), A Time for Farewells, The Devil with the 3 Golden Hairs, Breakaway (writer and director), Our Country’s Good, The Lonesome West (producer), Death of a Salesman, Vanja and Sonya and Masha and Spike (director and actor), The Cherry Orchard and Rabbit Hole (director). Apart from his involvement with FEST, Michael was also involved in productions of The Crucible and Othello with the English Theatre Frankfurt drama group and Accidental Death of an Anarchist with the ECB theatre ensemble.
Assistant Director: Emma Merritt
Emma was always a “theater kid,” albeit a painfully awkward one to whom very few theatrical skills came naturally. Thanks to many patient directors over the years, she built out her repertoire with a variety of parts in all shapes and sizes. Since joining FEST in 2022, alongside her on-stage endeavors, she’s also gotten to try her hand at makeup, producing, set changes, and tech. This time, she gets to take on the enigmatic director’s perspective. In doing so, she hopes she to pass on at least a fraction of the grace and inspiration that her directors gave her over the years. As always, she thanks the cast and crew for their hard work and creativity. She also thanks her ever-supportive wife, the best fan anyone could ask for.
Cast
Mehmet Oğuz Akgeyik as Lendall & a Man
Oguz grew up in Istanbul, Turkey. During his childhood, he participated in numerous school plays, always loving his time on the stage. Later on, he took a break to focus on his academic path as an engineer. After settling in Frankfurt in 2023, he decided to explore opportunities to get back on stage and was able to reignite his passion for this artwork by joining several theater groups in 2023 and since then he has acted in The Empty Frame with Tiyatro Frankfurt. He performed in the musical Lysistrata and the garden show Love’s Labour’s Lost with Shakespeare Frankfurt. Also, he has already been part of two shows (The Cherry Orchard and Trifles) with the FEST, and he is looking forward to being part of his third production with Almost, Maine.
Thomas Dewitz as Pete
Thomas was born in Cologne and started acting as a teenager when he played in a theatre adaptation of Michael Ende’s Momo. Over the years, he played anything from butlers and bakers to French tourists and Roman emperors in various productions, including Oliver Twist and Hôtel des deux mondes. He made his first journey into English theatre with the group Trier English Drama when he was a student in the mid-2010s as a part of The Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. Living and working in Frankfurt since 2023, he found the wonderful people from FEST who gave him a new home for his passion for acting and his love for the stage. Thomas has been involved with FEST on- and offstage in productions such as Gaslight, Pygmalion, and Sorry, Wrong Number, and is looking forward to many more projects in the future.
Marija Dumančić as Ginette & Sandrine
Marija is a daydreamer from Croatia. As a high school senior, she wrote a comedy piece ‘Put me zove, moram poci’ with her best friends and made her first steps on the theatre stage by playing it in 2017. She joined FEST by the end of 2023 for the production of The Cherry Orchard by Chekhov. Marija also played for ESOC Theatre Group in Darmstadt in two productions: The Last Day Of School by Ian McWethy and Degas C’est Moi by David Ives. She was also part of this year’s Fringe at FEATS in Hamburg. Whether diving into classics or contemporary plays, she loves bringing characters to life.
Hazem Elessawy as Jimmy
Hazem comes from the land of the pharaohs. He doesn’t take his camel to work, though, nor does he live in a pyramid. He discovered the world of theatre in his junior year at the American University in Cairo and fell in love with it thanks to one enthusiastic professor. He appeared on FEST’s stage multiple times: as God in Rich Orloff’s Can This Marriage Be Saved, Fred Narracott in Agatha Christie’s And Then There Were None, Happy Loman in Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman, Freddy in Bernard Shaw’s Pygmalion, and Hal in Woody Allen’s Old Saybrook, which represented FEST at the 2024 Festival of European Anglophone Theatrical Societies in Antwerp. He also currently serves as the Chair of the FEST Committee. Hazem is a full-time cinephile, booklover and wannabe writer. In his free time, he “engineers” his way out of embarrassing situations.
Terry Fernbach as East & Phil
Terry moved to Germany in 2011 after having lived throughout the Upper South and the Midwest in the United States. Terry appeared as Norman in FEST’s production of Old Saybrook in 2024, which marked his return to theatre after a decades-long hiatus to pursue a career negotiating minutiae in contracts. Before the hiatus, Terry had attended Ohio University’s B.F.A. Theater Performance program, performed in theatrical productions by The Sunset Players and The Footlighters theatre groups in the greater Cincinnati area, and appeared in television public service advertisements. Terry also represented FEST at the Festival of European Anglophone Theatrical Societies (FEATS) 2024 with Old Saybrook. Terry also performed The Ballad of Guiteau in FEST’s evening of one-act plays, People Like Us Don’t Kill, marking the first time he ever sang on stage for a production.
Ornela Giolla as Glory & Hope
Ornela was born in Albania and grew up in Greece, and has been based in Germany since 2015. She has performed in several productions with Frankfurt English Speaking Theatre (FEST), including Death of a Salesman (The Woman), The Cherry Orchard (Dunyasha), Trifles (Mrs. Peters), and Pygmalion (Bystander, Cab driver). With Shakespeare Frankfurt, she took on the role of Dull in Love’s Labor’s Lost. Ornela also appeared as “Squish” in the iconic Cell Block Tango number from Chicago. In addition to her stage work, she has participated in numerous theatre workshops, continually honing her craft and deepening her passion for performance.
She’s very excited to continue her acting journey on stage with Almost Maine.
Julie Ng as Gayle & Rhonda
Born in Manila, Philippines, Julie moved to Germany in 2011 and now lives in the Taunus with her family and dogs. An accountant for Source For Alpha AG by day, she is FEST’s Secretary at night. Julie’s first-ever experience on stage was as Cassandra in FEST’s production of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike in 2023. Since then, she supported FEST as Costume Manager for The Cherry Orchard and as Producer for Old Saybrook, Rabbit Hole, and Gas Light in 2024. She co-produced FEST’s 2025 Spring offering, Pygmalion, and played the Parlourmaid for all performances. Her latest role was that of Jennifer in The Realistic Joneses. She thanks her family, friends, and all those who support and believe in the Performing Arts.
Julia Orenbakh as Shelly
Julia Orenbakh has taken several years of online acting classes with a professional Russian actor and regularly attends acting workshops in three languages. She played Manja in The 30s. Mysticism at the Russian-speaking Theater Depot and Natasha in The Blizzard for FEST’s evening of one-acts, People Like Us Don’t Kill in 2025. She has also appeared in films and TV series in small speaking roles and as background, including Die Zweiflers, Ein Fall für Zwei, Blindspot, Klandestin, Staatsanwalt, Tatort, and others.
Sandra Regenbogen as Marci
Sandra started treading the boards with FEST at 28, staying true to her characteristic of “late bloomer with a vengeance”. Theatrical experience includes musicals, pantos, drama, comedies, staged readings as well as original scripts. She has worked with various groups in Frankfurt, Wiesbaden, and Darmstadt, covering a bit of voice over/dubbing and filming along the way. 2023/24 marked a highlight with a part in schauspielfrankfurt’s Macbeth under Timofey Kuliabin. Sandra has recently performed for FEST’s Pygmalion and The Way of All Fish and is now putting on her winter gear to become part of the magical place that is Almost, Maine.
Michelle Sellmann as a salty Waitress & Deena
Ellie is a Frankfurt native with a lifelong passion for theatre, sparked by playing a clueless king in a primary school play. She earned a BA in Drama Studies and English from JGU Mainz, while acting in several short films and training in different dance styles. She took a break from plays and pirouettes and joined the corporate world, currently working in an administrative job in an EdTech startup. But an old flame never dies, so she joined FEST in 2024. After doing Costumes for Pygmalion, Ellie served as a Producer and was part of the Interludes cast (Cell Block Tango, The Ballad of Guiteau) for People Like Us Don’t Kill.
Alice Thomas as Marvalyn
Alice is originally from the Rhine-Main region. She has always had a keen interest in theatre and drama, and started out early with school plays, reaching dramatic heights with the role of Dracula’s mother in the musical Dracula Spectacula at the age of 14, followed by a few more plays. During her studies, Alice played Honey in Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, but after that, life and the desire to discover the world got in the way. After more than 15 years abroad, Alice returned to Germany in 2017 and has since rediscovered her love for theatre with FEST. After first supporting numerous productions backstage, Alice was back on stage after a decades-long hiatus in spring 2024, playing Sheila in FEST’s production of Woody Allen’s one-act play Old Saybrook, followed by the role of Mrs. Eynsford-Hill in 2025’s FEST production of Pygmalion. She is excited to take on the role of Marvalyn in Almost, Maine, and can’t wait to be part of this amazing tale of love, love, and love!
Renard Yearby as Steve & Dave
Renard Yearby is an award-winning slam poet and spoken word artist. He began his acting journey in 2018 and since then, has performed in various productions, including: The titular character in Shakespeare Frankfurt’s production of Othello; The award-winning production of Blue Door by Tanya Barfield at the Amelia Earhart Playhouse(AEP); The Drawer Boy by Michael the AEP the Wiesbaden Performing Arts Center (WPAC); Every Brilliant Thing by Duncan MacMillian and Jonny Donahoe at WPAC and The Mountaintop by Katori Hall, where he portrayed Martin Luther King Jr. at the AEP. Renard was last seen reprising his role in the remounting of Othello with Shakespeare Frankfurt. He is a member of the Shakespeare Frankfurt Ensemble and Frankfurt English Speaking Theatre.
Production Crew:
Producers: Aleksandra Galaganova & Julie Ng
Stage Manager: Isabelle Krier
Set Design: Martha Reece
Set Design Assistant: Corrine Chan
Light and Sound Tech: Patrick O’Sullivan
Costumes: Ana Zubak & Rebecca Pollack
Props Master: Мayank Parânzpé
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