Thingamajig Theatre Company 2019

Director Melissa Firlit, Scenic Design Laura Moore, Lighting Design EK Bush, Photos Curtesy of Kirk Speer

Men On Boats is a gender and race bent re-telling of the first government sanctioned expedition into the Grand Canyon by John Wesley Powell and his Crew. A note from the playwright: “The characters in Men On Boats were historically cisgender white males. The cast should be make up entirely of people who are not. I’m talking about racially diverse actors who are female-identifying, trans-identifying, genderfluid, and/or non-gender-con- forming.” For this piece, Director Melissa Firlit wanted costumes that could help show the transition of time as the expedition plays out, as well as serve as a visual reminder as the explorers seem to lose control and wear out. This was acheived with layered looks and multipurpose accessories, as well as close collaboration with actors during rehearsals about what they could achieve in a fluid show with little time offstage. Visually, emphasis was put on textures such as leather, fur, wool and corduroy, and rather than put our non- male-identifying actors in drag, they were costumed in clothes that men would traditionally have worn at the time without doing anything to disguise the body the actor lives in day to day.