It’s Poppin’

Written by Steven Sans Luis // Ghostlight Ensemble’s Make/Believe Festival

In August 2020, I made the wild decision to move from Westchester, NY to Chicago, IL. I had never lived anywhere other than New York state, and I would have no car, no job, and would be trying to survive amongst a world-wide pandemic. (Now that I write this down, it does sound crazy.) But in my heart I knew that moving to a new city would allow me to go on new adventures, meet new people, and help me discover who I was as an artists outside of the walls where I learned. Doing a complete 180, my feet lifted from the ground as I cartwheeled myself into a new city, and in the end I landed on my feet. Just like Soledad.

In It’s Poppin’ , Soledad faces the challenges of moving from one place to another: loosing friends, family, and the park with the grass where she was learning to do a cartwheel. In an effort to lighten her spirits, her parents get her a blue balloon, but what they don’t know is this is actually the one and only Bilbo the Blue Balloon. Bilbo and Soledad bond over their fears of taking flight, and not knowing what lies beyond the tree tops. Together, they discuss the ups and downs of moving to a new city, hoping one day their fears might just “pop”. With support and encouragement, Bilbo helps Soledad cartwheel, helping her discover that her ability does not rely on location, but rather being bravery. And it is that same bravery that allows Bilbo to finally soar through the skies, beyond the clouds, into the unknown.

Produced by Ghostlight Ensemble // June 2021

Written by: Steven Sans Luis

Directed & Edited by: Rebecca Rose Schilsky

Filmed by: Clark Pavlik & Lizzy Rudakus

Soledad: Levi Denton-Hughes

Bilblo: Emmett Wickersham