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48 maconmagazine.com | April/May 2024 STAGING ADVENTURE Imagine a group of 19th-century explorers charting a course down a rushing river. Naturally, hijinks ensue. This is the thrust of "Men on Boats," a comedy by Jaclyn Backhaus based on a real-life adventure, with one twist – all the explorers are played by women. Mercer Theatre staged the show this spring as a sharp commentary on gender roles. "The irony of me sitting here is that I kind of am the face of the problem," laughed acting professor Scot Mann, who directed the play. "The way [Backhaus] wrote it, she's taking what's usually a very patriarchal story about men like Colonel Powell – she's taking the narrative away from them and giving it to people that didn't have a voice at the time. By putting non-male identified people in these roles, she's examining them from a different angle, while honoring the history." It's just one of many ways the theatre program fills Tattnall Square Center for the Arts with high energy, thought-provoking performances for the broader community. The actors involved believe it's impacted their view of history, too. Olivia Scott plays Colonel Powell. She shared, "It kind of brings up the issue that these men claim they founded all this land, when it was already occupied by Indigenous nations. We're not really mocking [the explorers], but bringing awareness on a topic not a lot of people think about." "It's a framing I hadn't thought about," added performer Janhavi Kulkarni. She says that portraying masculinity has been fun and enlightening. "We're literally putting ourselves in shoes we never would have been in and walking around." With a toothpick in her mouth, a banjo in her lap, and a cowboy hat, Kenlea Davis chuckled. "It's a transformation," she chimed in. Kenlea Davis settles into her character of Ol' Shady before a dress rehearsal.