Have you ever dreamed of what it’s like to be an explorer? Have you ever had an even more specific dream where you have wanted to know what it’s like to be on the crew of the first sailors to map the Grand Canyon and the Colorado River? No? Well doesn’t that sound awesome? Yes? Well I got the perfect activity for you.
The Notre Dame Theater department has always been a strong foundation of the performing arts scene at ND. Ever since I have been a student here, the program has managed a strict schedule of a few shows performed per year, a tremendous task considering the huge amount of love, care, and effort put into every production by the Theater Director Mr. Wollman. Each one requires a new set, cast, and two months of rehearsals. However, all of this work has paid off. Notre Dame has won countless theater awards including: First Place and Best Ensemble at CETA’s (California Educational Theatre Association) 2022 Festival for the show The Pliant Girls, CETA’s division one best play award for Peter in the Starcatcher, and best Lights at the Jerry Herman Awards in Hollywood for the spring musical last year, Curtains. The shows themselves are frankly amazing. The four shows performed last year, The Pliant Girls, Puffs, Curtains, and In the Other Room, were all great. I happened to be a cast member in Curtains and it was an amazing experience. That momentum has carried into this year with no sign of slowing down.
This year’s fall play, The Man Who Came to Dinner, was a huge success. This looks to be the case with the upcoming winter play, Men on Boats. The play encompasses the real wacky adventures of the 10 explorers that first mapped out the Colorado River, traveling through the Grand Canyon. With high-paced action, hilarious moments, and even live music, this play is surely to be a huge triumph. Summer Kastner 25’ is the lead in the production (playing Captain John Powell) and has big goals for the show. “[Men on Boats] is a really labor intensive show, so my goals and expectations are more like, as an ensemble cast, that we’re just gonna work together. Part of an ensemble cast is each person needs to hold their weight. What makes ensemble theater so cool is that every person has their individual story that connects to the whole picture.” I asked Summer to expand on the show being labor intensive. “Most people don’t expect theater to be intensive stuff…We’re going in boats, going down waterfalls, climbing’s cliffs, screaming at eachother, throwing objects, it is very much like a movie.” That is the action you can expect if you see Men on Boats live.
This production of Men on Boats is the annual show with a cast of only female actors. I asked thespian Ayla Shelby ‘25, on the significance of a female only cast. “It is an incredible opportunity to tell a story to an audience through a small cast of female actors that not only have a lot in common, but also a similar understanding of each other’s daily battles, bringing us so close together. This special level of bonding adds to our performances and I for one have built incredible friendships because of this.” She also has excitement for the show, echoing the same sentiments of Summer. “The show is a physically intensive, chaotic, quick paced emotional roller coaster, and I have learned a lot from the process.” She also expressed the difficulties of prostrating a historical figure. “Playing the role of a real human is a challenge so I hope that our research of the expeditions, explorers, and their personal lives will help us with portraying realistic representations of our characters.
Men on Boats will have three separate showings. Thursday November 21st at 7pm, Friday November 22nd at 4:30pm, and finally Saturday November 23rd at 7pm. You can find tickets on GoFan for $15 but hurry, they are selling out fast. If you decide to pop into the Black Box Theater one of those nights, you will greatly help our magnificent theater program. I hope to see all of you there to watch some men on boats.
