Valerie Cassity - Special to the Sun

Sierra Performing Arts (SPA) went Sci-Fi last weekend as they presented 'SAFE,' the musical fantasy adventure written by SPA member Mary Hanawalt, which featured young performers from throughout the Kern River Valley. The play was performed Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings at the new performing arts center at Kern Valley High School.

'SAFE' is staged on Earth in the year 3999, where two groups of creatures reside on opposite sides of a wall that was built more than a millennia before in anticipation of a nuclear blast. On one side of the wall are the Armisects, a violent militaristic breed of humans who have evolved with hard shells of armor. Their side is barren and dark, and they are running out of their food supply of 'stock feed,' which is later revealed to be animal feed poisoned with pesticides.

“Earthins” from the Sierra Performing Arts musical fantasy “SAFE” tend to their garden.

On the other side of the wall are the Earthins, a tie-dyed and winged race of humans reminiscent of a hippie commune who grow vegetables and sing songs in celebration of the Earth’s bounty. The Armisects frequently send messenger birds to the Earthin side of the wall to try and recruit forces to fight in their wars, and one Earthin youngster, Day (played by Danica Vittoria), is enticed by the promises of adventure and travel. When Day crosses the border of the wall, she is given food and asked to sleep in a cave, where she begins to develop a hard shell and lose her colors as she morphs into an Armisect.

Armisect leaders Dominic (Mighty One) played by Jake Heflin, and Queen Fiyooree, played by Samantha Clifton, both SPA veterans, are desperate for a solution to their dwindling stores of food and decide to wage war against the Earthins so that their people will not perish from starvation. The Armisects is a race in dire straits; they cannot survive in Earthin territory because the clean air is poison to their lungs, which have evolved to tolerate the post-nuclear fallout air.

As soon as she crosses the wall, Day realizes that she has made a grave mistake, and begins working to foil the Armisects’ plot to invade Earthin territory by sabotaging their breathing apparatuses and warning the Earthins of the impending attack. When the Armisects cross the wall to attack, they pass out and the Earthins feed them vegetables and offer them the chance to live within the folds of the Earthin territory in peace and harmony, which the Armisects gratefully accept.

Throughout the play, the dancing messenger birds gave a summary of the lesson of the story. Hanawalt said that much of the story was symbolic and expressed the hope that the audience would 'get it,' as it is a heavier story than usual for SPA. 'It’s about the lessons that kids learn growing up,' explained Hanawalt. 'They don’t want to listen to you; they have to go out and learn for themselves.'

The story had many people talking as the show ended. 'I thought it was cool that there wasn’t a bad guy,' said Matt Brannies. 'It showed that the true nature of people isn’t good or bad; there is a reason for people doing what they do.'

'It has a very pacifistic message,' said SPA sound technician Mark McGuire.

The entire cast of 'SAFE' did a fantastic job, but Samantha Clifton shone particularly bright as the Armisect Queen with a beautiful voice full of emotion and depth. Danica Vittoria proved that her talents extend beyond dance as her acting was impressive and showed great promise. Fellow dancer Lyndsey Braswell also did very well in the acting arena; both Vittoria and Braswell assisted with the choreography of all of the dances in the production.

Another pleasant surprise was Samantha’s sister Katie Clifton, who played a minor part as an Earthin happy cow, who sang a song with a rich soprano voice. Lela Loseth reprised her role as a tap-dancing 'mad cow' of the Armisects, and Hanawalt has created a trademark with her random cows, which the audience now expects to see in all of her shows.

All of SPA’s productions include live music, usually by the talented Helen Smoot, and this one was no exception. Smoot played the electronic keyboard and so was able to get a greater range of sound appropriate for the futuristic setting. Accompanying her were Mary Hanawalt on the acoustic guitar and bongo drums and Matt Rodriguez on the electric guitar.

The sets were well done by former SPA member Sharon Eoff, who had not been involved with the group for a number of years because she moved to Bakersfield. Hanawalt saw her at the funeral of Carol Ralston, where Eoff volunteered to do the set for 'SAFE' and followed through with the offer. The make up was beautifully done by Becky Smith, who recently designed and made the costumes for SPA’s Whiskey Flat melodrama.

SPA is a non-profit organization who depend on the generosity of the community to continue offering quality performing arts to the people of the Kern Valley. To learn more about the organization, visit their website at www.sierraarts.net.