Men on Boats - FSHA Fall 2022 Production

WELCOME

Welcome family, friends, and guests to this production of MEN ON BOATS by Jaclyn Backhaus. There are no men or boats or water in the play, but our Theatre Tologs have faced the challenges with determination and purpose.

Special thanks to our Theatre Director, Miss Mac, who brings out the best in our students, to Johnny Burton and the Stagecraft students who built the Grand Canyon for our cast of adventurers, and to all the designers and crew members who make this undertaking possible.

Thank you for supporting the Arts at FSH. Enjoy the production!

DIRECTOR’S NOTE

Welcome to MEN ON BOATS, an expedition through the white-water rapids of the Colorado River, told with humor, irreverence and the undeniable energy of ensemble acting. This show was chosen because it is a story bravely told, both collectively and creatively. Together, we faced the challenge of a show called MEN ON BOATS with no men and no boats. We confronted seven scenes that race through the rapids, and staged deathdefying moments through the Grand Canyon on a 20’x30’ stage with no water and no special effects.

The cast has been immersed in embodied acting, using every muscle to convey the perils and thrills of this adventure. The power of the cast’s imagination is as rich and vibrant as that of our explorers from 1869. They shout and cheer, they tangle and challenge one another nose to nose, they capsize and fight their way back onto the boats, they PERSIST. With the same determination as the ten adventurers in Powell’s boats, these young actors have rehearsed relentlessly amidst college applications, Round Square trips, retreats, debates and more. They are smart and daring, absolute proof that there is more to our country’s history than the white cisgender man’s story.

Who should tell these stories? Lin-Manuel Miranda’s lyrics from HAMILTON ask us: “Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?” At FSH, the students portray all the roles regardless of gender and tell all the stories. We admire the sheer daring and nerve of this cast of adventurers: Powell, Dunn, Sumner, Hawkins, Hall, Bradley, Old Shady, the Howlands and Goodman. As we traverse the Colorado River and navigate its sharp turns, whirlpools and rocks, we grapple with Manifest Destiny and the cruel removal of the indigenous people. We explore history and endeavor to understand what we can’t abide. Our playwright, Jaclyn Backhaus, alludes to these themes, spinning boats past these milestones and letting the audience reflect and opine on the difficult truths of America’s Story. The cast members have investigated the facts and read the journals of their characters, preserved by various historical associations from museums in Utah to the Smithsonian in Washington, DC. They found photographs to link them to the roles they inhabit and discovered many fascinating facts of these men’s lives before and after the great expedition.

Having gone on my own expedition during the 2021-22 school year, I am back on the Hill and excited to be making theatre with student actors and crew members once again. As always, we present our plays secure in the knowledge that our humanity is bound up in yours and we thank you for being in our audience. Ubuntu.

Oars up, Jane McEneaney

By Jaclyn Backhaus

DIRECTORS & DESIGNERS

Director Jane McEneaney Technical Director John Burton Scenic and Prop Design John Burton Costume Design Rosalida Medina Lighting Design Matt Richter Sound Design Cricket S. Myers, Graciela Tiu Dialect Coach Adam Michael Rose Assistant Director Amelia Comer Costume Technician Mia Murillo ‘23 Graphic Design Subplot Studio Program Design

Scott Higdon Parent Liaisons Sue Gray, Heather Lillard

FOTA President Liana Yamasaki

Running time is 95 minutes. There will be no intermission.

Latecomers will be seated at a suitable break or scene change.

As a courtesy to others, please set phones to silent mode. This show includes gunshots, near drownings, alcohol use, mild language. All weapons depicted in this production are theatrical stage props.

PHOTOGRAPHING AND/OR RECORDING OF THIS PRODUCTION IS STRICTLY PROHIBITED.

MEN ON BOATS is presented by special arrangement with Broadway Licensing, LLC, servicing Dramatists Play Service collection. (www.dramatists.com).

Playwrights Horizons, Inc. and Clubbed Thumb produced MEN ON BOATS in New York City, 2016. Initially developed and produced by Clubbed Thumb in 2015.

Flintridge Sacred Heart Academy, Department of Visual and Performing Arts, presents

John Wesley Powell

William Dunn

Ace Lillard

Ava King

Dale Hancock George Young Bradley

John Colton Sumner

Carissa Klaus Walter “Old Shady” Powell

Emma Peralta

O.G. Howland

Frank Goodman/Mr. Asa

Andrew Hall

William Robert Hawkins

Kana Park

Meadow Mota Seneca Howland

Leigh Weeks

Gianna Lucio

Sara Green

Just Jim

Riley Piken

Tyler Frey Johnson

NOTE ON CASTING: The characters in MEN ON BOATS were historically cisgender white males. The playwright mandates that the cast consist of folks who are racially diverse, female-identifying and/or gender expansive.

SETTING

Ten explorers. Two settlers. Four boats. One Grand Canyon. MEN ON BOATS is the true(ish) history of an 1869 expedition, when a one-armed captain and a unique crew of loyal volunteers set out to chart the course of the Colorado River.

This play is based largely on John Wesley Powell’s journals of his 1869 expedition, published as The Exploration of the Colorado River and Its Canyons.

LAND ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

We, the cast and crew of MEN ON BOATS, acknowledge that we present this play on the unceded lands of the Tongva, Gabrielino, and Kizh peoples, specifically the lands of the Hahamog’na band of the Tongva tribe. We honor with gratitude the land itself and the people who have stewarded it throughout the generations. We also acknowledge the lands of the Ute Tribe who were the first known people to inhabit Colorado. By recognizing the claims of the Tongva and Ute to their lands, we accept our responsibility to learn about the continuing traditions of these communities and also commit ourselves to being better stewards of the lands we inhabit.

historycolorado.org/ute-indian-museum | gabrielenoindians.net

LOBBY DISPLAY

The cast members have adorned the lobby with oars bearing historical information about the real-life characters they portray. We encourage you to spend time before and after the show learning more about the members of the Powell Expedition of 1869.

SPECIAL THANKS

S r. Carolyn and Sr. Celeste for your commitment to the advancement of creative expression through the visual and performing arts.

Tolog Catering and Café for nourishing us in the dining hall this week.

The Facilities Team for responding to our many needs.

Scott Higdon for spearheading the marketing efforts to celebrate this production.

Sarah Mackenzie for introducing us to the white-water rapids and the nuances of rowing.

Heather Kent, VAPA Department Chair, for your leadership and guidance and The VAPA Faculty for your advocacy and support.

The Team: Johnny, Cricket, Matt, Rosa, and Amelia for following me up the Hill and joining forces to share your artistry and professionalism with the FSH theatre students.

Loyola Marymount University for generously loaning us props and stage elements.

Arlene Romero for managing our box office.

Rita Cofield for professionally mentoring our stage managers and preparing them for Tech Week.

Destiny Hammond for volunteering to assist Rosa with costumes.

Sue Gray and Heather Lillard for serving as FOTA’s Theatre Parent Liaisons and tending to all the details to support our cast and crew.

Liana Yamasaki, FOTA President, and the members of FOTA who support all arts events by coordinating volunteers and managing tickets, merchandise, flowers, hospitality, parking and publicity. We are grateful to have such dedicated and passionate assistance.

Our extraordinary Theatre Parents who transport their children to and from, provide snacks, run lines, and offer endless encouragement.

Most of all, I wish to thank the Cast and Crew for dedicating themselves throughout the rehearsal process and persevering through aching muscles and exhausting Saturday marathons. You bring strength, passion, laughter and song to this wild ride. Thank you for rising to the Ubuntu ethic and demanding the most of your creative selves.

Finally, I offer my utmost thanks to Sam Mooney for his watchful eye and guiding spirit and I dedicate all that I do to the memory of my beloved voice teacher, Barbara Maier Gustern.

Friends of the Arts welcomes you to the Hill!

Friends of the Arts (FOTA) is a parent board that supports the visual and performing arts at Flintridge Sacred Heart. FOTA plans and manages various activities for theatre and dance performances, concerts and art show, including box office, publicity, hospitality, merchandise, flowers, and parking. The proceeds from merchandise, flowers and refreshments sold at today’s performance enable FOTA to provide financial support each year for the theatre, dance, choral, music, ComedySportz and visual arts programs.

All parents are welcome to support and be a part of FOTA. If you are interested in joining us, we would love to have your help. We invite you to get involved with the work FOTA is doing to support our talented artists at Flintridge Sacred Heart!

Upcoming visual and performing arts offerings

Purchase flowers for your favorite Tolog when you arrive, and we will hold them until after the show for you. We have large and small bouquets as well as single stems and cards. Our Arts merchandise is also a popular gift for your Tolog artist of for yourself. All proceeds support the work of FOTA throughout the year.

Send a message and treat to someone special backstage before the show. Visit our merchandise table in the lobby, and for $2 you can send a note and treat of encouragement or good luck that will be hand-delivered backstage. All proceeds for this show benefit the theatre department.

Before each performance, FOTA provides desserts, coffee, tea and lemonade in the lobby. All donations for refreshments help support FOTA’s work and the visual & performing arts department. Please enjoy your snacks in the lobby or venture outside to the back patio and enjoy the breathtaking view.

No food or beverages are allowed in the Mozilo Family Theatre.