Tammy Dahlstrom Talks ‘Miracle Workers: Oregon Trail’ [Interview]

For an ensemble show, no part is too big or too small. No one knows that better than Tammy Dahlstrom, who plays Martha on Miracle Workers: Oregon Trail.

I recently spoke with Dahlstrom about the uncanny nature of this show which forces people to pause and think about their lives. Despite being set in 1844 America, people today can relate to the struggles of these settlers on the trail to a better life. 

With all the struggles facing Americans today, it is easy to see just how relatable a tale about relocation can actually be.

“In the 1840s, I think they didn’t want to leave their homestead, but they didn’t have a choice. They needed to find a better life. Everything back then was harsh. These people really were resilient,” Dahlstrom said. 

“This story of life or death is served up in a way that we can all relate. It even points the finger back at ourselves to remind us we don’t have it nearly as bad,” she added. 

That’s not to say Miracle Workers: Oregon Trail is trying to say people aren’t currently suffering. According to Dahlstrom, it’s merely a mouthpiece for “current social commentary” and that the show is “poking fun at current issues” in order to help us find humor amongst our suffering.

Ultimately, Tammy Dahlstrom believes that the reason this show really resonates with everyone is that at its core, the values ring true to all of us. “It’s a story of hope, love, and family from year to year. Anthology to anthology. Each season they really tackle [these values] for the setting they are displaying.”

Her character, Martha, really plays into that with her “steadfast, hearty, even-keel” personality. According to Dahlstrom, she is “hopeful that her family will get there in one piece and have a better life.”

“Ultimately it’s about hope. Martha is that hope from episode to episode. It’s what she represents for the group,” she said. 

One of the other really great things about this series is that the stories are told through the lens of diversity. No matter the time period, no matter the situation, there is always a diverse cast of characters.

“The diversity of the show from the beginning is a great trend we are starting to see in Hollywood. For example, Martha. Even back then as a white woman, she wouldn’t have been able to marry a black man, but [on the show] I do,” Dahlstrom noted.

While Miracle Workers is an ensemble show, there are definitely key actors who head up the team: Daniel Radcliffe and Steve Buscemi. Dahlstrom spoke at length about the energy they put forth on set and create for the cast overall.

“There was an instance where all these extras were piled into a covered wagon for a scene, and it was hot,” Dahlstrom recalled. She said Radcliffe was called away, but no one in the wagon was told what to do at first. She recalled how he realized they were all “still in the hot covered wagon so he ran across set” and told them they could get out.

Dahlstrom was quick to point out that it isn’t just Buscemi and Radcliffe who set the tone, but everyone else as well. She spoke candidly about her relationship with Jon Bass, who plays Todd this season.

“Jon [Bass] makes everyone laugh so much. It’s funny that he plays these characters who are jerks because he’s so unbelievably kind in real life. I told him ‘Jon you make me giggle all day long. Can you just follow me around for the rest of my life?'” Dahlstrom said.

“Everyone was truly working to help each other and move it forward. That spirit really lasted the whole entire production,” she continued. “It was like we were really living it. We’d spend all day with each other, go home and see nobody else. We were actually living it. Minus the covered wagon — that’s where I draw the line.”

Of course, I would have been remiss if I didn’t ask Tammy Dahlstrom about that scene from Miracle Workers: Oregon Trail Season 3 Episode 4, “What Happens in Branchwater.” I am, obviously, referencing the one where Radcliffe’s character strips down into chaps and a feather boa with some glitter to perform an animated rendition of “She’ll Be Comin’ Round The Mountain.”

“Watching Daniel perform that scene was amazing. We shot it and after we saw what he had done we all clapped and cheered. I remember going up to Dan afterwards and asking him how he did it,” she said. “He responded with ‘Fear is a great motivator.’ That’s something that has stuck with me.”

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*Featured image credit: Yves Bright

Be sure to catch Tammy Dahlstrom as the lovely Martha on Miracle Workers: Oregon Trail every Tuesday at 10:30/9:30c on TBS.

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