Soon To See The Stage: Sienna Roberts’ “Electric Earth”

“I’m really pleased with the end product and I can’t believe I actually get to see it performed. It’s really a dream come true.”

With less than a week until the One Act Play Festival opens, things are getting busy around Harper Joy! Dozens of hardworking student directors, stage managers, and performers are working tirelessly to bring the work of their fellow student playwrights to life. Ahead of opening night, we were lucky enough to hear from one of these playwrights about the experience of seeing her work go from page to stage.

Sienna Roberts, a current junior studying Theater at Whitman, is the playwright of Electric Earth, one of the student plays being featured in this year’s One Act Play Festival. The fact that Sienna’s play even exists is remarkable. She mentions being incredibly unfamiliar with playwriting—however, with the arrival of faculty fellow Mylan Gray and a playwriting class to Whitman this year, that all changed.

“Not only had I never written a play before, I had almost no experience doing creative

writing of any kind,” she says. “The opportunity to take the playwriting class last semester was very exciting to me since it’s the one area of theater that I don't have any experience in, and although it was intimidating, I saw it as a good challenge for myself. The process was definitely difficult at times, but I was so excited about my vision for [this play]”.

Pictured: Sienna Roberts ‘27

Electric Earth follows two characters, Spitz and Tar, who spend all day plugging in wires. Tar is content with their life as is, but Spitz wonders if there’s something more for them to find. Sienna describes how absurdist influences shaped the relationship between her two characters. “I was heavily inspired by absurdist plays such as Waiting for

Godot and The Dumb Waiter, so the relationship between Spitz and Tar became very

reminiscent of [the characters in those shows],” she said. “I’d say my play is very unique as a whole due to its style. I set out with the goal to write an absurdist play, and out of that grew a world distinct in both in its physical attributes and the ways in which the characters interact and behave.”

Despite the strangeness of Electric Earth, Sienna hopes that its underlying messages reach audiences. “I knew I wanted to write about something I really cared

about—which for this show, ended up being climate change. One thing I didn’t expect , though, was all the other topics and problems that ended up being touched on as well,

such as modern-day work culture and the dangers of inaction.” Theatre is nothing if not resistive, and Sienna’s play evidently continues the centuries-long tradition of confronting important issues through storytelling. “When I wrote this play last

semester I had no idea other people would even be interested in it, let alone want to

perform it!” she adds. Clearly, Electric Earth has a message worth sharing, and Harper Joy is proud to have it come to life in the one and only Friemann Theatre.

Sienna is beyond excited to see her play performed alongside the other two shows featured in the One Acts Festival. “One thing I love about this trio of plays being performed together is that they’re all incredibly unique. Each has such a strong sense of style and artistry”, she says. “They’re very different from one another, but you can really see the hard work and passion that’s been put into each one.” 

Harper Joy’s One Act Play Festival is truly a production unlike any other. Its inclusion in this year’s season is invaluable to students and audiences alike, and Sienna’s story of creativity and overcoming stands as a testament to the wonderful opportunities this production brings. From April 30th–May 3rd only, stop by the Friemann Theatre for a chance to see Sienna’s Electric Earth, as well as the work of student playwrights Olivia Wiebe and Jaiden Thompson. Tickets are available here and at the door!