Oct. 3 – 6, the College of William and Mary’s theater department put on its first production of the semester, “Men on Boats,” in the Phi Beta Kappa Memorial Hall Studio Theatre.
This approximately 110-minute performance is about the exploration and mapping of the Colorado River into the Grand Canyon, based on the journals of John Wesley Powell. The story follows 10 explorers, serving as a commentary on masculinity and gender roles, as well as colonization and how Americans have claimed this land in the American West as their own.
When visiting assistant professor of theater Abbie Cathcart learned about the possibility of directing “Men on Boats” this semester, they were ecstatic. Cathcart said they acted in a 2018 production of the show, an experience that provided Cathcart with a deeper understanding of their own identity.
“I wasn’t out as nonbinary at that point, and so this was the first show that I did where I was wearing men’s clothing,” Cathcart said. “That was a little bit of gender euphoria for me, which kind of helped me realize that I was NB.”
Beyond Cathcart’s personal ties to the show, they said they were excited to direct “Men on Boats” because it is a play that pushes actors to work outside of more contemporary styles of acting such as realism and naturalism, which have become increasingly popular in the past 30 years, especially recently with the rapid rise of popular social media apps.
“With the shows that they watch, with skits that they see on TikTok where the camera is like three inches away from the person’s face, students become really comfortable with micro-expressions, with keeping everything really close to home,” Cathcart said. “I felt it was valuable for them to explore a style of acting other than realism so that they can learn to turn the dial up and down.”
Performer Mayah Tiwari ’27, a double major in theater and sociology, noted a unique aspect of the production: the cast was made up entirely of non-men.
“The thing about ‘Men on Boats’ that made it different was that it specifically caters towards non-cisgendered white men, i.e., everybody in the cast is a non-cisgendered white man,” Tiwari said. “By casting non-men, we are in male drag, and we kind of bring this humor to the show, because we are trying to dramatize what the original expedition was like.”
Tiwari initially put herself forward for the role of O.G. Howland, when she selected a monologue from the show to deliver at the auditions. But at callbacks, which largely consisted of scene work and chemistry reads due to the ensemble-driven nature of the show, Tiwari was asked to read for William Dunn, Powell’s right-hand man.
Stage manager Reid Rasmussen ’27 mentioned that another way in which “Men on Boats” differs from past productions is the use of a traverse stage, which makes navigating the space more complex than usual.
“The staging is different than a traditional proscenium stage, so instead of just having the audience on one side, there are audiences on two sides of this stage,” Rasmussen said. “Instead of traditional stage directions, we’ve been using cardinal directions, so the audience is on the east and west sides. It’s very different in that you have to be more aware of more of your periphery.”
Cathcart highlighted how they felt strongly about performing “Men on Boats” on a two-sided alley stage as a way of challenging their students to explore blocking and performance beyond the classic proscenium.
“Those spaces require different muscle memory, different engagement with [the] audience, and so I felt like that was a valuable lab for the acting students, but also for the design students,” Cathcart said. “The stage configuration required them to also think about their designs in ways that they wouldn’t have.”
While rehearsing “Men on Boats,” Cathcart said the crew focused on creating a strong sense of connection among the cast, as the show is propelled largely by interpersonal relationships.
“It’s a highly ensemble-driven show, and so being able to work as a team in that way builds a lot of trust and a lot of camaraderie, a lot of things that actually tie in really nicely with the characters in the show and the kind of the overarching story,” Cathcart said.
Tiwari explained that working with this specific group of peers created a positive environment, particularly as actors worked toward telling the story of settler colonialism from a fresh perspective.
“The point of this show is to defy stereotypes and to defy norms,” Tiwari said. “During table work, we really talked about what our purpose was, what our goal was for doing this show, and our characters are all these white men who have been the narrators of history for decades — centuries. Anything in history about anybody other than a cis white man has been told to us by cis white men, and this is our opportunity to kind of take back the narrative and tell their story.”
Rasmussen noted that “Men on Boats” is first and foremost a comedy, but a comedy that additionally urges the audience to look beyond the surface of the historical narratives commonly presented to us.
“It brings joy while also allowing for introspection of how we tell the story of westward expansion,” Rasmussen said. “It’s glorified in a lot of ways, and I think this pokes fun at that in a really very tasteful way.”
After being an assistant stage manager for the production “A Year with Frog and Toad” last semester, Rasmussen was approached by their production manager about being the stage manager for “Men on Boats.” For this show, Rasmussen explained that they have loved taking on a more senior role in the production, particularly during tech and performance week.
“The stage manager is very much like the captain’s face of the ship because, at this point, the director’s job is done, and so I will continue through the rest of the show,” Rasmussen said. “I’m supposed to check things every night and make sure nothing’s been damaged or is faulty, and then I send out a report after each performance.”
Rehearsals for “Men on Boats” occurred throughout September, Sundays through Thursdays from 6-10 p.m., and the hours grew as the cast and crew approached tech and dress rehearsals, as well as performance week itself. Because of the time commitment, Rasmussen pointed out how they faced the challenge of balancing academics and extracurricular passions while in the bulk of rehearsals for the show. Nonetheless, they said the experience of being in “Men on Boats” was well worth the hours spent.
“I came here for school, obviously, but I would like to pursue theater professionally, and so it’s just kind of been finding the balance between balancing my responsibilities as a student,” Rasmussen said. “There have been a lot of late nights. I will not lie. I’ve been very fueled by caffeine for the past couple of weeks, but things have been going really well, and I’ve had a lot of help from members of the theater department. Everyone has been very incredible and very receptive to help.”
To mitigate fatigue, Cathcart shared that they endeavored to pace the rehearsal process so that the cast and crew could continue to perform at their maximum capacity for a sustained period of time.
Furthermore, Tiwari reflected on how she valued the tight-knit nature of the cast and the traditions they created together during the intensive rehearsal period. She described how the group often commenced each rehearsal with a mental check-in and warm-up game, and ended it by going to dinner together.
Before stepping onto the stage in front of a packed house, Tiwari and her fellow cast members played music in the dressing room and gave positive affirmations to one another.
“We all listen to music to get ourselves pumped up, and we give each other hugs, usually,” Tiwari said.
“Men on Boats” was sold out for every performance all weekend, and the final performance took place on Oct. 6. at 2 p.m. Rasmussen said that, although they will miss working on the show, the transient nature of the performing arts is what they love most about theater.
“My favorite part of any show is watching things grow,” Rasmussen said. “And it’s always so sad to see it come to an end, but I think that’s the most beautiful thing about theater; it’s temporal.”
