Bloom Bloom Pow by Genevieve Simon

Bloom Bloom Pow is a climate-doom-comedy. This rural queer adventure is an underwater romance. It’s a workplace nightmare. It’s a devastating reminder that we can’t fix our parents. But good news -- the algae’s growing bigger every day! Oh wait, that’s bad news for us. Inspired by the Creature from the Black Lagoon, toxic algal blooms in the Great Lakes, and phone calls with your mom, this highly theatrical...
Bloom Bloom Pow is a climate-doom-comedy. This rural queer adventure is an underwater romance. It’s a workplace nightmare. It’s a devastating reminder that we can’t fix our parents. But good news -- the algae’s growing bigger every day! Oh wait, that’s bad news for us. Inspired by the Creature from the Black Lagoon, toxic algal blooms in the Great Lakes, and phone calls with your mom, this highly theatrical play celebrates resilience and joy in the face of climate devastation.
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Bloom Bloom Pow

Recommended by

  • Leah Plante-Wiener:
    9 Apr. 2024
    “ A wondrous, big-hearted, hysterical piece. Simon has an incredible imagination. A play about climate change written with urgency, empathy, and deeply relatable angst. Long live the Dead Horse! ”
  • Greg Romero:
    5 Feb. 2024
    “ There is so much I love about this play. I love the play's huge imagination, its bravery, its wildness, all the theatrical surprises, and it also emotionally wrecked me. And I love that it centers LGBTQ characters in such an awesome, truthful way. I have been banging the drum since my first read of this play for more folks to get to know BLOOM BLOOM POW because I think we will all be better when more people are reading and producing plays like this one. ”
  • Shaun Leisher:
    7 Jul. 2023
    “ Simon has crafted an absolute sensory overload of a play in the best way possible. A look at climate change that moves at breakneck speed and has so much potential for stage magic. Bold and brilliant. ”
View all 6 recommendations

Character Information

The role of MAG must be cast with an actor who is nonbinary, or gender non-conforming.
All other roles (except MOM and FLOYD) can also be played by non-cis identifying actors.

This play is built for characters to be doubled or tripled. The only character that cannot double with anyone else is MAG.

For example:
Mag
Mom/Lake Superior
Dead Horse/Keke/Lake Ontario
Creature/Algae
Alice/Lake Erie
Floyd/Oscar/Lake Michigan
Frances/Dad/Lake Huron

  • Mag
    24,
    Any
    ,
    Non-binary, they/them
    trying as hard as possible to be "fine"
    impulsive, deeply private, quietly charming, at times deadpan, losing their grip on what is real
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      20s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Non-binary
  • Alice
    30s,
    Any but preferably POC
    ,
    She/her
    just moved here temporarily for work, a queer woman Mag likes, finds the beauty in life, might want something more than "casual"
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      30s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any actor of color
    • Gender: 
      Female, Non-binary
  • A Dead Horse at the Bottom of the East River in New York City, circa 1832
    a know-it-all, quite charming, revels in filth
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      Any adult age
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Any gender
  • Mom
    50-65,
    Any
    ,
    She/her
    Mag's mom, concerned with safety, stuck in a loop
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      50s, 60s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • The Creature
    elegant and trustworthy, carries a warning for Mag, a shapeshifting vision, quite grounded
    (also plays a Barista and a Gynecologist)

    This character can be played by an actor of any race, however it cannot be the ONLY character played by a POC-presenting actor.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      Any adult age
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Any gender
  • Dad
    50-65,
    Any
    ,
    he/him
    Mag's dad, grateful for sunny days
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      50s, 60s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Any gender

Development History

  • Residency
    ,
    Arts on Site
    ,
    2021
  • Reading
    ,
    The Tank
    ,
    2020
  • Workshop
    ,
    corkscrew 4.0
    ,
    2020

Awards

Finalist
,
Ecodrama Playwrights Festival
,
EMOS
,
2022