Blow Up, Pop!
A First Look At This Year’s One Act Play Festival: Olivia Wiebe’s “Blow Up, Pop!”
This year sure is a special one! From April 30th to May 3rd, Harper Joy Theatre has the pleasure of presenting the Biennial One Act Play Festival as its final production of the season. This unique show is set to feature three one-act plays that are entirely written, directed, and performed by Whitman students. With only a couple of weeks until opening night, I was lucky enough to get in contact with Olivia Wiebe and Leo Patrizio, both of whom are working hard to bring one of these wonderful plays to life.
Olivia is a current junior at Whitman studying Theater. Her play—entitled Blow Up, Pop!—will make its debut during the One Acts Festival. Described as a horror, a drama, and a comedy all in one, Blow Up, Pop! follows a mother and daughter as they navigate the mother’s recent purchase of a sex doll named Michael. When asked about the process of writing such an unconventional story, Olivia mentioned some discomfort. “Writing [Blow Up, Pop!] was super fun and so uncomfortable, but entirely on purpose,” she says. “Something that inspired me to write this show was the feeling of weakness that I feel like we all get sometimes—when we think that nothing we do individually matters to the big picture. I wanted to write a play that sort of explored that feeling of [helplessness]."
Pictured: Olivia Wiebe ‘27
Leo Patrizio, a sophomore studying Theater and Film & Media Studies, is working alongside Olivia as the show’s director to bring these ever-important themes to the stage. “As a director, it's my job to give shape to the events and the world of the play based on the script. I work closely with the actors, designers, and the playwright to bring that world together cohesively,” they say. Leo’s direction certainly seems to be effective. The rehearsal process for Blow Up, Pop! has been going along swimmingly, and the cast and crew are at the point where they can really start having fun with things. “My favorite part of directing is finding the right thing to tell an actor, or the right acting exercise, that brings the scene to life. I currently find myself at that stage in the rehearsal process, and it is amazing to watch the actors find their moments and breathe life into the play,” Leo says.
Pictured: Leo Patrizio ‘28
Photo by Patrick Record
Harper Joy’s One Act Festival is all about pushing students beyond what they’ve done before. Indeed, Olivia and Leo both mention the novelty of this experience. “I’ve had some experience writing plays before, but never to the extent that I worked on Blow Up, Pop!” says Olivia. “Personally, this play creeps me out majorly! But it’s also an absolute blast!”
As for Leo? Being able to work on a show like this has taught them an incredible amount. “Directing Blow Up, Pop! has been such a fun and valuable experience,” they say. “This show has given me the opportunity to work with actors with different levels of experience, which has taught me how to slow down and really think about the process of putting a production together so that I can communicate that to my cast effectively. Whether [our audiences] take this play to be about gender roles or technology or just a silly story of a sex doll gaining sentience, I hope it makes them feel something, and I hope it makes them think something new.”
Olivia echoes this sentiment. She wants her play to be memorable in more ways than one. “I hope that people walk away from this show feeling slightly scandalized and hopeful about their own ability to inspire change, even when the odds seem stacked against them.”
Wow…who knew a show about sex dolls could be so profound?
It’s clear that this year’s One Act Play Festival is set to be a show unlike any other. Olivia and Leo are just some of the phenomenal students making this show what it is, and we hope everyone will take the time to come out and support the wonderful work of their peers. Tickets for the One Acts are available now, and can be found here. You won’t want to miss it!
Still not convinced? When asked to describe her play in one word, Olivia said “gelatinous”. Now, I have no idea what a gelatinous play looks like, but Patrick Record from the Whitman Communications Office sure does! Check out his photos to get a sneak peek at Blow Up, Pop!
Photo credit: Patrick Record
Photo credit: Patrick Record
Photo credit: Patrick Record