Editor's Note: This story was published in the May 2025 issue of Akron Life.
Gum-Dip Theatre Co-artistic Director Katie Beck doesn’t want audiences to think of the theater’s original Akron bicentennial play as a history lesson.
“I want it to have these aha moments,” she says. “And one big theme in all of that that I’ve been thinking about is also trying to highlight these moments of collective action, when collectivism actually helped us progress.”
The play, titled "Blimpulse," was commissioned as part of Akron’s bicentennial celebration and will be performed July 31 to August 2 at 8 p.m. and August 3 at 2 p.m. at Waters Park. It follows Gum-Dip’s ethos: The theater aims to tell stories relevant to the Akron community it’s called home since 2015.
“Gum-Dip Theatre creates plays and facilitates happenings in order to engage the community artistically and genuinely by uplifting their stories in creative ways,” says Beck. “We believe that theater is a tool for social change when the conditions are right.”
Directed by Beck, co-written by Tessa Gaffney and Jeff St. Clair and developed through partnerships with other artists, the play is based on years of research, as well as community interviews. Beck’s research utilizes library materials and books, including essays from "Akron at 200: A Bicentennial History." Using parody and satire, the play is comprised of a series of sketches that span from the Akron area’s Indigenous history to its present day. Beck focused the work on little-known aspects of the area’s past.
“I think highlighting those lesser-known pieces helps people see themselves in it and then can also sort of drive this underlying message of we’re better together,” says Beck. “We all know Alcoholics Anonymous was founded here, but a lot of the reason that that organization exists is because of the women behind it.”
Alongside historical figures like Sojourner Truth, the piece will also include the history of the Innerbelt, the rubber industry and the toy manufacturing industry in Akron — as well as aspects of queer history, immigration and refugee history and more.
“Being someone from Akron, I’ve already been conditioned to know a lot of the history, and I’ve already done my own research throughout other projects,” Beck says. “So it’s finding those surprising moments that are exciting to me.”
As in other Gum-Dip productions, the actors for the project will likely be community members. Beck hopes audiences will reflect on the play, and that it will spark discussions about the importance of togetherness.
“Theater is one of the only art forms where it is human to human — in order for it to happen, you have to have all the humans in a place physically. Yeah, you can livestream or record, but it’s not the same. And there’s even been research that shows that audience members’ heartbeats will start to align,” says Beck. “How can we come together in times of isolation and grief? Collectivism has always been more powerful.”
Shane Wynn Photography and Dale Dong Photography
Shane Wynn Photography and Dale Dong Photography
