Bloom Bloom Pow

by Genevieve Simon

​Mag is back in their small Ohio hometown, juggling an underwhelming queer scene and and overwhelming mother. A dead horse won’t shut up about being dumped in the East River. And from the depths, an ancient being rises to take its rightful place.
​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 queer joy...

​Mag is back in their small Ohio hometown, juggling an underwhelming queer scene and and overwhelming mother. A dead horse won’t shut up about being dumped in the East River. And from the depths, an ancient being rises to take its rightful place.
​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 queer joy in the face of climate devastation.

keywords: dark comedy, queer dating, office politics, climate change, mother/child relationships, algae, midwestern

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Bloom Bloom Pow

Recommended by

  • Leah Plante-Wiener: Bloom Bloom Pow by Genevieve Simon
    “

    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!

    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: Bloom Bloom Pow by Genevieve Simon
    “

    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.

    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: Bloom Bloom Pow by Genevieve Simon
    “

    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.

    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
    trying as hard as possible to be "fine"
    impulsive, deeply private, quietly charming, at times deadpan, losing their grip on what is real
    24
    Any
    Non-binary,
    they/them
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      20s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Non-binary
  • Mom
    Mag's mom, concerned with safety, stuck in a loop
    50-65
    Any
    She/her
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      50s,
      60s
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Female
  • Dad
    Mag's dad, grateful for sunny days
    50-65
    Any
    he/him
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      50s,
      60s
  • Alice
    just moved here temporarily for work, a queer woman Mag likes, finds the beauty in life, might want something more than "casual"
    30s
    Any but preferably POC
    She/her
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      30s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      Asian, Pacific Islander, or Asian American,
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American,
      Indigenous, First Nation, or Native American,
      Latinx/o/a or Hispanic,
      Middle Eastern, North African, or Arab American,
      Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander,
      South Asian or South Asian American
    • Actor Gender Identity
      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:
    • Actor Age
      20s,
      30s,
      40s,
      50s,
      60s,
      70s+
  • 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:
    • Actor Age
      20s,
      30s,
      40s,
      50s,
      60s,
      70s+

Development History

  • Reading, Shadowland Stages , 2023
  • Residency, Arts on Site, 2021
  • Reading, The Tank, 2020
  • Workshop, corkscrew 4.0, 2020

Production History

  • University, Willamette University, 2025
  • Professional, New Georges, 2022

Awards

  • Ecodrama Playwrights Festival
    EMOS
    Finalist
    2022