After many months of hard work and dedication from a talented cast and crew, Missouri State University T&D Department’s Men on Boats is ready to hit the stage!
In 1869, geologist and Civil War veteran John Wesley Powell leads an expedition to chart the Green and Colorado Rivers. Setting out with nine fellow explorers and four wooden rowboats, Powell chronicles the 930-mile journey from the wilds of Wyoming through the Grand Canyon. Inspired by his actual travel logs, Men On Boats imagines the wonder and hardships of the journey, and the courage and foolhardiness of this intrepid “band of brothers” — with an ingenious, contemporary, gender-bending twist! To delve into a behind the scenes look at the production of this show, we interviewed director Carol J. Maples.
When asked about the show’s content, Carol gave us insight into the underlying message of the show. “Jacklyn Backhaus’ original, hilarious, and delightful adventure dramedy, is about the conquering men out to chronicle the land in service of America, God, and Manifest destiny. Historically, the explorers were cisgender white males.” However, due to the playwright’s request, the T&D Department’s cast of Men on Boats is not. Carol asserted, “I personally love the opportunity it gives this particular cast of actors to play adventurers.”
“Men On Boats uniquely captures the thrill of adventure and the prospect of discovery, with the hope of being remembered. But the play’s larger theme speaks to inclusivity: Representation matters.”
While working on the cast of this production, Carol informed us that she has had a wonderful experience. “This is an amazing cast of actors who have embraced the opportunity to bring a new perspective to history. They have developed a true ensemble.” Carol hopes that in seeing this show, “the audience learns about the Powell expedition and that who tells your story matters. More importantly I hope they realize it is beyond past time to imagine how we think a story should be told, especially when it comes to representation.”
The representation of non-male actors in a male-dominated context gives the audience perspective as to what opportunities women have missed out on in history, and how we tell these stories from a traditionally male point-of-view. To hear more about this, we went to cast member Victoria Campos, who plays Robert Hawkins in the show. Victoria stated that the show is “a brilliant way to tell the untold history of non-men who could have had their own adventures if given the opportunity.”
Victoria has also had a wonderful time working with the cast and crew of this production. “Working with the cast has been a blast; we’ve all grown so close and built off of each other’s chemistry. We’re onstage nearly the whole show, so we get to see every character go through their own journey and change through their adventure.”
Performances for Men on Boats take place October 6th-8th and 10th-11th at 7:30pm and October 9th at 2:30pm in the Craig Hall Balcony Theatre. You can purchase tickets through this link: https://mpv.tickets.com/schedule/?agency=MISV_PLAGENCY_MPV&orgid=41949#/?event=Boats&view=list&includePackages=false.
