Introducing the Cast of Men On Boats

Ten explorers. Four boats. One Grand Canyon. Based (broadly) on the true adventures of the one-armed pioneering explorer John Wesley Powell and his intrepid crew, Men On Boats is a gleefully subversive play that capsizes the white male conquest narrative and discovers the beautifully fluid depth and courage of a wholly different landscape.

Third Rail is excited to feature ten extraordinary actors in this remarkable adventure story. Read on to meet the marvelous cast of Men On Boats, opening March 2nd!

Reserve Your Tickets to Men On Boats Today!


Meet the Cast!


Amy Driesler, Dunn:
“I’m excited to be a part of this adventure with nine female actors, a mostly female design team, a female director and female assistant director. The future is female!”

Gwendolyn Duffy, Bradley:
“It’s a hell of a ride, the odds are stacked against us and the stakes are very high. I think it’s going to be really empowering and hopeful to see a group of women coming together to survive.”

Stephanie Gaslin, Sumner:
” …we’re doing a play where I get to explore my feminine and my masculine self and do a male role…. it’s going to be interesting in that regard… it’s going to be fun!”

Jessica Hillenbrand, Hall:
“…as a woman and as an actor, so often being able to exhibit strength or claim space is something I am doing as a fight…and with this show, suddenly strength and capability and authority are just afforded me. I am a man on a boat. Okay. Now what?”

Jennifer Lanier, Powell:
“Men On Boats is a great opportunity to dive into lives of some of the explorers and exploiters of North America. As a Native American/African American woman, I am intrigued by the perspective of men who were so quick to discount the knowledge and experience of the native folks who lived in the areas they explored, who were so arrogant as to name places themselves. It will be interesting to explore those senses of entitlement as active choices in everyday life.”

Anya Pearson, Seneca:
“I am excited about Men On Boats because I am excited by women reclaiming the male narrative…. it is amazing. liberating, and thrilling to be a part of a story that is female-centric, female-driven, all female in cast and direction, and is intentionally subverting the patriarchy.”

Kerry Ryan, Goodman:
“I am very excited to collaborate with a room full of intelligent, committed, creative, and talented women.”

Josie Seid, OG:
“The audition process for this production was one of the most fun, challenging and empowering processes I have experienced to date…. Now I get to lean in even farther and tell this story from this feminist lens and it thrills me to contribute to something that has the power to alter the perceptions of how we view adventure.”

Shalanda Sims, Hawkins:
“I’m excited to be part of this all female cast… I’m happy that we get to be explorers and to work together with a talented group of women.”

Amber Whitehall, Old Shady:
“I’m really excited to be in the company of women. I’m excited because we’re working on it in this time when women are being heard every day telling stories of being exploited by people with power. And I hope that it will lead to this culture of dominance being interrupted so that all women will be listened to. And that we might all talk with each other as people, each of us valuable in our own unique ways.”