Jaclyn Backhaus: The Creative Mind Behind Men on BoatsJaclyn Backhaus is a playwright, screenwriter, and educator from Phoenix, Arizona. She is a co-founder of Fresh Ground Pepper, a member of The Kilroys, and a playwriting professor at NYU Tisch school for the arts.
Some of her most notable plays include, Men on Boats, Out of Time, Wives, India Pale Ale, You on the Moors Now, all of which have been produced off-Broadway. Much of her work centers around generational diaspora of South Asian immigrants and the historical disparity between the known historical timeline and forgotten, underhistoricized peoples. |
Discover more about Backhaus and her work with Men on Boats:
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"If we were forced to keep to that sort of accuracy in the main stream of history, we would really only be learning the stories of a select few individuals. It would just limit our scope entirely. One thing that I hope that this show is able to do for people is make them wonder about that, just by virtue of who was cast in it."
-Jaclyn Backhaus, Questioning How We Tell Mainstream History with Men On Boats
Men on Boats and Unvoiced Histories
Indigenous Nations
One cannot talk about exploring the west without recognizing our nation's complicit history in the marginalization and oppression of the native nations of the land. While the expressed purposes were to advance scientific and geographical knowledge of the West, government sanctioned expeditions perpetuated the philosophy of Manifest Destiny, an ideology that European settlers had the God-given right to claim American lands as their own. While there were treaties signed between the U.S. and native nations, history shows that these treaties were often ignored and twisted to fit the benefit of settlers. This pernicious mindset lead to several laws being passed that took away native Americans' rights to their own land. In 1851, President Lincoln passed the Indian Appropriations Act, creating the reservation system. Natives were forced to live on defined areas of land and had to ask permission to leave. Many nations were displaced from their region and had to adapt to new climates and ways of living. The government even withheld food, water, and other resources as a further element of control. Many natives complied with these strictures, but even when some fought back, the protests would often end in bloodshed and many native casualties. To further the pain, settlers and missionaries sought to force the natives into new languages, clothes, and religion. These indigenous nations, particularly the Ute tribe, represent one unvoiced history in the John Wesley Powell expedition.
Women and Non-Binary Individuals
To understand the importance of Men on Boats' casting, it is essential to recognize the historical power structures that place cisgender, white men at the center of the narrative. Historical record and data often exclude women and non-binary individuals and their contributions to society. Recently, many theatre artists like Backhaus, following Lin Manuel Miranda's example in HAMILTON, have chosen to reimagine stories to include various voices that may not be apparent in the traditional tellings. Backhaus draws attention to the gender disparity in the United States' westward expansion history by casting Powell and his crew with different gendered and racial identities. This choice creates a wider scope of people that are now able to participate in the shaping of our nation's history.
One cannot talk about exploring the west without recognizing our nation's complicit history in the marginalization and oppression of the native nations of the land. While the expressed purposes were to advance scientific and geographical knowledge of the West, government sanctioned expeditions perpetuated the philosophy of Manifest Destiny, an ideology that European settlers had the God-given right to claim American lands as their own. While there were treaties signed between the U.S. and native nations, history shows that these treaties were often ignored and twisted to fit the benefit of settlers. This pernicious mindset lead to several laws being passed that took away native Americans' rights to their own land. In 1851, President Lincoln passed the Indian Appropriations Act, creating the reservation system. Natives were forced to live on defined areas of land and had to ask permission to leave. Many nations were displaced from their region and had to adapt to new climates and ways of living. The government even withheld food, water, and other resources as a further element of control. Many natives complied with these strictures, but even when some fought back, the protests would often end in bloodshed and many native casualties. To further the pain, settlers and missionaries sought to force the natives into new languages, clothes, and religion. These indigenous nations, particularly the Ute tribe, represent one unvoiced history in the John Wesley Powell expedition.
Women and Non-Binary Individuals
To understand the importance of Men on Boats' casting, it is essential to recognize the historical power structures that place cisgender, white men at the center of the narrative. Historical record and data often exclude women and non-binary individuals and their contributions to society. Recently, many theatre artists like Backhaus, following Lin Manuel Miranda's example in HAMILTON, have chosen to reimagine stories to include various voices that may not be apparent in the traditional tellings. Backhaus draws attention to the gender disparity in the United States' westward expansion history by casting Powell and his crew with different gendered and racial identities. This choice creates a wider scope of people that are now able to participate in the shaping of our nation's history.