Men On Boats
at Oakton High School

Reviewed on November 8, 2019

Julianne Cuevo
Flint Hill School
Submitted for publication to Cappies News

How far will you go to make history? And is that history yours to claim? In their production of Men on Boats, the students of Oakton High School tackled these questions as they made a perilous trek through the American frontier.
In the summer of 1869, ten men set out to explore the American southwest, particularly the Green and Colorado Rivers and the Grand Canyon. Led by naturalist and Civil War veteran John Wesley Powell, they charted hundreds of miles of territory, but not without plenty of hardship. Flash forward to 2015, when Jaclyn Backhaus used Powell's journals to create Men on Boats, a dramatization of the famous Powell expedition. But Men on Boats has a crucial twist: all the explorers are played by women. Amidst the play's drama and comedy, overtones of social commentary dare audiences to challenge their own beliefs about gender and American history.

The ensemble of ten explorers was entertaining and engaging to watch. Each actor did a great job embodying her specific character, and the chemistry shared by all developed them into a cohesive team, even in times of disagreement and distress. This was most evident in scenes on the river, where the danger posed by rocks and rapids called for intense emotion. The actors perfectly captured the terror of these scenes, making their journey more believable and every close call an immense relief. Throughout the show, their energy provided a balance of tension and heavy social commentary with moments of comedy, doing justice to the play's complexity.

Madison Shannon portrayed John Wesley Powell, successfully demonstrating Powell's struggle between the strength of his convictions and the unforgiving nature of the frontier. As the Grand Canyon increasingly threatens the lives of the team, Powell must make difficult, often unpopular decisions to accomplish the mission, and Shannon stayed true to her character while navigating these trials. She delivered admirably several emotional monologues, and her conflict with other characters including William Dunn (Becky Woolf) always felt authentic.

Other standouts from the ensemble included Sarah Bleier (Hawkins) and Aspen Harter (Old Shady). Bleier's hilarious facial expressions and physicality made Hawkins, the team's cook and designated snake-killer, an audience favorite. Her interactions with the other explorers, whether she was accusing O.G. Howland (Lindsey Cliff) of stealing tobacco or bonding with Hall (Rachel Rizzo) over being in the "Party Boat," were both funny and riveting. On the opposite end of the spectrum, Harter was strong and silent as Old Shady. While the other explorers would scream and thrash about in times of trouble on the river, Harter maintained a stoic expression, which was fitting with her character and satisfying to see.

Technically, the show was masterful. The crew used a real rock-climbing wall to create the textured walls of the canyon, transporting the audience into the Grand Canyon. The lighting team, led by Abby Cortez, projected beautiful lights onto the walls and ceiling, imitating the reflection of light off the river and onto the rocks of the canyon, further adding to the immersive experience. In addition, the student-composed music performed by Asa Nero and Nathan Guevara was incredibly impressive. The score complemented the action onstage, from the intense river scenes to the calmer, fire-lit nights.

The cast and crew of Men on Boats at Oakton High School traversed much more than the Grand Canyon; they explored one of America's most controversial periods through a variety of different lenses. Most importantly, they showed audiences that we must persevere, even in times of great danger. We might die, yes, but we also might live.

Maddy Rubin
Langley High School
Submitted for publication to Cappies News 2

Keep left, avoid the rocks, and hop aboard the Emma Dean! Venture into the canyon with Oakton High School's production of Men on Boats. Based on the 1869 Powell Expedition, Men on Boats chronicled the adventures of a scrappy crew of frontiersmen and adventurers as they made the perilous journey down the Colorado River and through the Grand Canyon. Written by Jaclyn Backhaus, this 2015 play reimagines the masculine conquest of the American West as a witty comedy featuring an all-female cast.

The leader of this expedition was the one-armed veteran of the Civil War, John Wesley Powell, played by Madison Shannon. Shannon's impassioned appeals to unity and sincere care for the men under her command had the audience ready to pick up an oar and join the expedition. The balance of stern authority and heart-wrenching humanity created a character who was strong enough to battle personal limitations, as well as the forces of the canyon. Other standout performances included Becky Woolf as William Dunn, the earnest and stubborn hunter, and Sarah Bleier as Hawkins, the expedition's cook whose notable moments included killing a snake with a coffee pot.

Men on Boats' greatest strength was in the cohesion and chemistry of its ensemble cast. The camaraderie between these brothers-in-arms was on full display as the men clashed with the forces of nature, but also in the rare moments of peace between the white water. From the sheer panic displayed by the men as they wrestled with ropes and rapids to save their fellow explorers from a capsized boat, to the heart-felt moments shared around a flickering campfire. Each individual actor created a unique character with distinct mannerisms, and this realism helped create an immersive experience for the audience, who felt their hearts pounding as the cast cascaded down waterfalls and let out a collective sigh of relief every time the expedition safely ‘banked'.

Contributing to this immersive experience was the original score by Asa Nero and Nathan Guevara that artfully sets the tone for both high-tension scenes on the river and the moments of quiet majesty as the men admired the scenery before them. In addition to the score, atmospheric sound effects (by Jack Odell, Elliott Frank, and Grace Lionato) including the chirping of crickets and the crackling of the fire further immersed the audience. Impressively, the sound team was also able to create an echo effect that gave the illusion of voices reverberating against the steep walls of the canyon. The depth of the canyon was further alluded to by a creative lighting design (by Abby Cortez, Evran Walter, JJ Feeney, and Lisa Gaspari) which utilized rust and gold tones to demonstrate the majesty of the canyons. The technical elements worked seamlessly together to portray the awe-inspiring experience of being the first to encounter a whole new world.

Oakton High School's production of Men on Boats paired moments of genuine human connection with the tomfoolery and hijinks of young men, alone in uncharted territory. Playful and profound, Men on Boats is as awe-inspiring as the Grand Canyon and as unique as the men who ventured into the last pockets of the American frontier.

Stacia Datskovska
Langley High School
Submitted for publication to FCPS Community News

In American history, bold men have often claimed lands, named them after themselves, and basked in subsequent glory. But to what extent were their discoveries really original? And just how proportional was the glory to the real scope of their achievements? Oakton High School's production, Men on Boats, grapples with such existential ideas in their bitingly funny and profoundly ironic tale of exploration, camaraderie, and the oft-denied truth of human fallibility.

The play, published by Jaclyn Backhaus in 2017, features a rugged crew of men (portrayed by an intentionally all-female cast) who are sanctioned by the government to document their exploration of the Grand Canyon. Plagued by misfortunes, the men's experiences quickly extend beyond river rapids and canyons and into the complex terrain of self-doubt and jarring realizations of their own inflated heroism. Oakton's high-spirited performers captured the essence of the expeditionaries' masculinity while infusing it with uniquely-subliminal feminine characteristics.

Major Powell (Madison Shannon) is a macho leader who makes up for what he lacks in an upper-body appendage with his superb ability to bolster crew spirits. Through versatile and highly-attuned facial expressions, Shannon gave audiences a glimpse into the vulnerable side of Powell, while her self-assured stage presence granted cast members a metaphorical "rock" to grasp onto amidst many a physical one. Other inspiring performances included Becky Woolf as William Dunn, who was a more reserved foil to Powell's sheer intensity, and Jackson Smith as Bradley, whose buoyancy and ringing voice gave her character an appealing if unusual twist of childlike eagerness. Additionally, Sarah Bleier, playing Hawkins, never failed to incite laughter as her magnetic qualities of spunk and sass redefined traditional masculine constructs. Though it took a while for some cast members to truly warm up to their roles, once achieved, they were able to tackle the intricacies of their characters in true adventure-man fashion.

The show's lighting, directed by Abby Cortez and team, mirrored the ebb and flow of theexpeditionaries' emotions as it transitioned from playfully warm to intimate to menacing, never missing a beat. Props were also discerningly-placed by Matthew Kim and Seth Cortez; particularly noteworthy was the use of an artificial fire which illuminated Powell's face as he blew it out every night and symbolized his inevitable centrality in the plot. The props also conveyed action and tension — such as when each boat was almost-vertically cast down an imaginary waterfall, functioning solely by the cast member's bodily manipulation. The costume design (Abigail Soria, Sarah Madison, and Ava Fisken), if a little oversimplified, ultimately contributed to the show's implicit message that even after their impressive feat, most of the men went back to their previous destitution, while a new generation of explorers claimed they "discovered" the same lands and walked the same paths first.

At the close of the play, the spotlight promptly focused on a character that had nothing to do with the expedition, allowing audiences to go on pondering the limits of human achievement and the deceptive nature of glory long after the last line was said and the last bow was taken.

Caroline Jareb
Centreville High School
Submitted for publication to Patch.com

As the lights faded, music of the western frontier swelled, and the audience was placed in a time of exploration and the unknown. Oakton High School's Men on Boats by Jaclyn Backhaus followed a diverse crew commissioned by the government to explore the Colorado River in 1869. It is loosely based on the real expedition of John Wesley Powell and although the characters were all men, it was written to be played by all women.

Madison Shannon played Powell, the one-armed leader of the crew. She delivered her monologues of leadership and empowerment extremely well and her character's motivations were clear. The play portrayed camaraderie and conflict through this expedition and Becky Woolf's character William Dunn along with Shannon brought both of these elements alive on stage. The characters of Old Shady (Aspen Harter), Bradley (Jackson Smith), and Hawkins (Sarah Bleier) had the audience bursting with laughter. The variety of personalities on stage created jokes everyone could enjoy. Their energy kept the audience engaged, especially during the scenes in the river. Their facial expressions as they fell down waterfalls and swirled into whirlpools kept the audience on the edge of their seats, wondering if they would survive. The cast also did an amazing job of portraying the opposite gender. They had both masculine and feminine traits and made it easy to believe they were men, not simply women playing men.

The technical aspects of the show were clearly carefully crafted as they allowed the audience to truly see the landscape of the uncharted territory being explored. The papier mache walls brought a unique texture to the stage that was emphasized by the LED lights shining from below. The lights created interesting shadows on the walls and made it look like real rocks and cliffs. The colors of the walls and lights worked together to create a consistent and gorgeous color palette. The lighting, designed by Abby Cortez, Evran Walter, JJ Feeney and Lisa Gaspari, immersed the audience into the show and built intensity during certain scenes by shining lights into the audience as the cast looked out at the Grand Canyon in awe and using swirling colors when boats were lost. The most outstanding achievement of this show was the music composed by Oakton students Asa Nero and Nathan Guevara. It enhanced every aspect of the show and whenever it played, it fit extremely well. It grew and died down when needed, and allowed the audience to feel the tension and emotion of each scene. There were consistent sounds including fire crackling When there was no music. It made the audience truly feel as though they were immersed in nature as nature is never silent.

At the end of the day, shows are made up of individual components. During performances, they are put together to create something the audience will enjoy. The individual pieces of this show worked together incredibly well and emphasized each other in unexpected ways. These aspects helped keep the audience along for the ride. It was as though they were in a fifth boat, and also men on boats.

Renee Ritchey
Fairfax High School
Submitted for publication to Insidenova - Sun Gazette

"We won't know it's the right choice until we make it." Geared with four boats, enough whiskey for a village, and ten ragtag volunteers, Oakton High School waded into the uncharted territory of the American Frontier in their riveting production of Men on Boats.

Written by Jaclyn Backhaus, Men on Boats is loosely based on the travels of the one-armed Major John Wesley Powell as he surveyed the Colorado river and what is today known as the Grand Canyon. The show made its debut Off-Broadway in 2015 with a small, all female cast where it was applauded as a commentary of the macho-masculine adventuring of the time.

The face of this expedition was Powell, (portrayed by Madison Shannon) the fearless and earnest (one-armed) leader. Shannon's skill as an actor was established when shifting from moments of unbridled optimism to emotional and powerful monologues, revealing the struggles and triumphs of the expedition. While strong on her own, Becky Woolf as Dunn commanded the stage and challenged the authority of Powell, creating palpable tension on stage. Woolf's commitment to her steadfast character worked in tandem with Powell's impassioned mission. The two engaged the audience through their early wholesome relationship consisting of sweet moments of searching for peaks to name, and humbled the audience when the two began to question the rationales of each other.

Sarah Bleier as Hawkins found moments of wise humor to break the astringent tension that flourished throughout with large vocal and facial reactions. Aspen Harter as Old Shady also utilized those moments, instead with dry humor and a stoic persona. While the two rarely interact, their antipodal humor brought levity to the journey.

As the cast traversed through the perils of shipwreck, waterfalls, and snakes, the brotherhood of this expedition remained throughout. Whether our fearless team worked in conjunction to enhance the drama of riding the rapids of the rivers, or to divvy up the much sought after whiskey, the dynamic cast seamlessly remained engaged with each other. This tight-knit band even displayed their bonds when the entire ensemble passed around a single apple to eat on stage.

The technical elements were immensely successful in drawing the audience into the world of the play. Oakton's savvy lighting skills, headed by Abby Cortez, Evran Walter, JJ Feeney, and Lisa Gaspari utilized lighting on stage, illuminating the canyon with blues and purples which strikingly reflected off the orange and brown tones of the set, giving a chilling and eerie feel. The tech class managed to install a wall with rock climbing fixtures built in. While certainly not an easy task, the set held up as the actors demonstrated its functionality. Costumes by Abigail Soria, Ava Fisken, and Sarah Madison effectively toed the line of masculinity without portraying the actors as caricatures. It is evident that the tech elements collaborated to blend this historic-based piece with a modernist touch.

Notable was the score (developed and performed by Asa Nero and Nathan Guevara) which tied together the excitement and tension of the performance. The orchestrations aided in invoking fearful tones, joyous victories, and enriching solemn moments throughout. In conjunction with the score, the sound team (headed by Jack Odell, Elliott Frank, and Grace Lionato) blended the music with the ambient sounds, such as chirping crickets and crackling fire, enhanced the drama of the play.

A period shrouded in mystery, forgotten as the nation continued to progress, was brought into light once again as Oakton High School embarked on their expedition of Men on Boats.

Simon Van Der Weide
Flint Hill School
Submitted for publication to Connection

What cruel fate befalls the first government-sanctioned expedition to chart the Colorado River? Oakton High School's production of Men on Boats brought audiences aboard their harrowing white-water journey down that perilous river.

Men on Boats is a 21st-century re-imagination by Jacklyn Backhaus of Major John Wesley Powell's 1869 voyage down the Colorado River. This play follows the one-armed Major Powell and his nine companions as they navigate the Colorado River and face the possibility of death on the frontiers of the American West. Backhaus powerfully subverts gender roles by trading the originally male rafters of the 19th century for an all-female cast. Bringing a modern perspective to such a classic story of exploration and adventure, Men on Boats artfully walks the line between the world of its composition and the world of its old canyon walls.

Dominating the stage, Madison Shannon (John Wesley Powell) never faltered in her portrayal of the imposing Army Major and brought his character to life. Even with one arm hanging useless at her side, Shannon managed to convey meaning and emotion through her physicality and a dynamic use of tone. Whether climbing the rock wall with one arm or settling a dispute over tobacco rations, Shannon did not hesitate to entice the audience into the Grand Canyon or to have them stop and stay awhile.

Other standout performances were given by Becky Woolf (William Dunn) and Sarah Bleier (Hawkins). Serving as a foil to Shannon's strong leadership, Woolf represented the voice of rationality and wonder with bold and shameless aplomb. While Woolf developed the more grave conflicts and imbued the air itself with tension, Bleier often set the audience laughing with her witty and engaging one-liners. Bleier captivated the audience with consistently relatable emotions that ran the gamut from disgust to terror.

Of course, this show would not be complete without all of the men on the boats, and Powell's entire 10-person company carried themselves with unique personality and dedication. From the first scene to the last, each rafter brought something new and different to the stage at every available opportunity. Especially notable were Aspen Harter (Old Shady) and Jackson Smith (Bradley), whose silly antics aboard their boat were quite amusing.

From the rock-textured walls of the set to the illuminated stars of the night sky, Oakton High School's production immersed the audience in the outdoor environment of the Colorado River. Crickets chirped, fire crackled, and sunset hues gleamed across the horizon in a dazzlingly coordinated display of technical prowess. Even the boats themselves echoed their 19th-century origins, continuing the minimalist tradition of simple wood that has followed this show from its roots.

With the first bars of their overture, Asa Nero and Nathan Guevara – who not only composed but also performed their own music – brought an element of sophistication to the show. Their insistent rhythms during the tumultuous rafting sequences and atmospheric piano during the more heartfelt moments provided a strong foundation for the acting onstage.

The cast and crew of Oakton High School's production of Men on Boats brought this modern tale to life with inspiring talent and exceptional execution.

Taegan Pratt
Robinson Secondary School
Submitted for publication to Fairfax County Times

Whether you enjoy comedies or dramas, musicals or contemporaries, the students of Oakton High School provide something that will float your boat! Their captivating performance of Men on Boats on Friday, November 8th, was both moving and fun, a breath of fresh air for the whole audience.

Men on Boats, a play by Jaclyn Backhaus published in 2017, tells the story of John Wesley Powell and his team of explorers setting out to chart the Grand Canyon in 1869. As these men maneuver their way through the treacherous Colorado River and the ragged land around it, they face many interpersonal struggles and learn to look out for one another. Oakton High School performed this show from November 7 to November 9.

To pull the audience into the atmosphere of the Grand Canyon in the 1800s was a brilliantly constructed and lit set. Both beautiful and practical, the set, designed by the Oakton High School Tech class, including Joshua Manhoff, Colleen McGuire, Emerson Wilson, and Alina Tilton, incorporated unique features such as a working rock wall and several textured walls that could be used in combination with lighting in order to create new looks. Lighting, designed and run by Abby Cortez, Evran Walter, JJ Feeney, and Lisa Gaspari, was creative, reflective, and downright immersive in the way that it seemed to wash away reality and expand the world of the show. Jack Odell's expert sound design completed the illusion of the Grand Canyon overtaking the theatre- not only did microphones work perfectly, but a range of distinctive sound cues were used in order to bring detail to the performance. The chirping of crickets, the crackling of a fire, the gurgling of water, and the hissing of snakes contributed to the immediate, authentic feeling of the play. Overall, the technical aspects of this show worked cohesively in every way, mirroring colors, feelings, and tones in such a way that made the whole show feel genuine and fluid.

In support of the fantastic technical elements was the breathtakingly talented cast. A group of honest, grounded actors, the all-female cast took on an unusual challenge by playing male characters. While this obstacle could overwhelm many high-school aged actors, the students of Oakton High School handled it with grace and poise, careful balancing masculinity and femininity and producing a feeling that was just absolutely, powerfully human.

With a comfortable, dynamic chemistry between them, each member of the cast still managed to truly distinguish their character and his personality. Madison Shannon, playing John Powell, conveyed her role as the leader with well-delivered lines and engaging monologues. She characterized her role with an unassuming authority and a powerfully motivational way of speaking to her crew.

Countering Shannon's more serious nature, actresses Sarah Bleier (Hawkins), Aspen Harter (Old Shady), and Jackson Smith (Bradley) provided the show's comic relief. Bleier's zealous expressions and mannerisms, as well as her hilarious line delivery made her a crowd favorite, and Harter's stoic facials and dry humor were amusing and seemed to get funnier the longer the show progressed. Smith's enthusiastic acting and bubbly excitement contrasted adorably with Harter's deadpan humor, making the audience laugh with delight over each of their interactions. Elizabeth Paul (Bishop) and Vinee Verma (Tsauwiat), too, contributed humor to Men on Boats. Sassy and sarcastic, they offered a lighthearted and satirical political commentary on Native American issues that had the audience howling.

The cast and crew of Oakton's Men on Boats truly enthralled their audience. Their balanced, natural, and heartfelt production was a joy to watch. It is apparent from watching it that this show was approached by a deeply capable, sincere, and imaginative group.