Men On Boats at Graceland University

Men on Boats is a hilarious, theatrical experience about the Powell Expedition traversing the Grand Canyon in 1869. The year 2020 has thrown its fair share of wrenches into the theatre community but the obstacle is the way! Graceland University tells this incredible story while not giving up on the medium for which it was intended - Theatre.

This is the story of a historic event with modernized language and a cast of amazingly talented women. Women have been traversing the Colorado river for decades and there are many stories of heroism and bravery, so why tell this story? The reason is simply because this is not an uniquely male or female story. It is a human story. We live in America in 2020 and we know the realities of unequal pay, gender discrimination, and sexism. This story is an opportunity to hear an amazing story with brave, courageous, funny, and occasionally terrified characters told with the voices of women who likewise are brave, courageous, funny, and occasionally terrified.

Major Powell (Daryn Nowlin) is a strong, one-armed leader who fearlessly faces danger. He is accompanied by his brother Old Shady (Sophia Lopez) who is few on words and loves standing, "like a tree in the breeze". Also joining the expedition is brother duo OG Howland (Naomi Long) and Seneca Howland (Lacey Harder), the dynamic clown duo of Andrew Hall (Kinsey Collins) and William Hawkins (Georgia Seagraves), proper British gentleman Frank Goodman (Clara Cleland-Leighton), famous explorer John Sumner (Riley Newendorp), argumentative William Dunn (Dakota Jones), storyteller Man (Kyla Cox), and the youngest member of the expedition George Bradly (Ashley Gress).

While this performance is not happening in front of a live audience, no theatricality is lost and no crutches of cinema are used. In their world, a boat can still be represented by a 2 x 4 balanced on a log and a snake is created by rope. Jaclyn Backhaus has given a great gift with the script and with direction by Darrell Johnston and the incredible precision of the actors, the story is vibrant, engaging, and hilarious. This virtual experience is an active participant in the evolution of theatre. Men On Boats is a marriage of film, theatre, comedy, physicality, and is an exciting new way to experience theatre.


Direction by Darrell Johnston. Stage Management by Passion Shaffer and Alecia Bennett. Design by Kris Kirkwood, Kimberly Manuel, Tracy Salter, and Hunter Bouverette.

Watch this show by visiting https://youtube.com/gracelanduniversity and check for updates at https://www.facebook.com/GUVPA on Facebook, gracelandu_theatre on Instagram and @GracelandUVPA on Twitter.

Authors

• Jaclyn Backhaus