Safety Net by Daryl Lisa Fazio

Chris Dove is the only female fire captain in an Alabama town at war with opioids, and she’s facing it head-on, heart-out and under scrutiny. Meanwhile, her arthritic spitfire-of-a-mother, Xenia, now living with Chris after a bad fall, worries for her child’s right mind and tries to conjure stability with a bundt cake and a Bible verse. When Chris’ childhood friend, Val—a recovering addict Chris brought back...
Chris Dove is the only female fire captain in an Alabama town at war with opioids, and she’s facing it head-on, heart-out and under scrutiny. Meanwhile, her arthritic spitfire-of-a-mother, Xenia, now living with Chris after a bad fall, worries for her child’s right mind and tries to conjure stability with a bundt cake and a Bible verse. When Chris’ childhood friend, Val—a recovering addict Chris brought back from an overdose just a year earlier—drifts into their lives, they find themselves at a tipping point between what’s safe and what saves.
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Safety Net

Recommended by

  • Angels Theatre Company:
    5 Mar. 2022
    “ Selected for 2021-22 Salon Reading Series, Angels Theatre Company
    Safety Net chooses to focus on the lives of three women over a three week time frame in rural Alabama. It’s not an unexpected setting for a play concerning the opioid crisis; poor and rural communities seem to suffer disproportionately in these instances. By turning her focus on the impact of the opioid crisis on these three women, Fazio mirrors the feeling of helplessness inherent in dealing with disease and trauma. These three women are not representative; rather they speak as individuals amidst an event bigger than themselves. Beautifully done. ”
  • Jason Parrish:
    28 Oct. 2021
    “ One of my favorite new plays. This play tackles the opioid crisis with a clear, crisp, and personal story. aryl's voice is singular, and her characters continue to amaze and find humor and humanity in the gravest of circumstances. The three women at the center of this play are authentic, flawed, and important new voices. Produce this play. ”
  • Michael Cotey:
    15 Sep. 2021
    “ I was moved by the kindness that flowed through this play. The opioid epidemic IS something that theatre ought to be tackling more. Full stop. Fazio's play does that with heart and empathy. I was rooting for her characters – three strong, flawed, human, women. Her play is hopeful, a celebration of our better angels - it's a play craves a world where human connection and a recognition of human worth is part of our first line of defense against the opioid epidemic. It's hopeful and refreshing in an otherwise bleak world. It's rehearsal for a better world. ”
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Character Information

  • Chris Dove
    40s,
    Any
    ,
    Female
    Fire captain, a born leader, driven, spunky, smart, and compassionate; courageous, except when it comes to her personal life; a calm countenance hides a tidal wave of emotion.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Xenia Dove
    60s to 70s,
    Any
    ,
    Female
    At once loving, warm and bull-headed, determined; a sharp sense of humor; nursing some deep-felt loss; cooking and feeding is solace and obsession; she struggles with severe degenerative disc disease in her lower back.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      60s, 70s+
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female
  • Val Croley
    40s,
    Any
    ,
    Female
    Blue collar and strapped, sensitive and raw, awkward and funny, creative and childlike—almost like she was frozen at the age she first succumbed to addiction: 19; a recovering opioid addict who’s come back from the brink more than once and is still standing at the precipice.
    Can be played by:
    • Age: 
      40s
    • Race/Ethnicity: 
      Any race/ethnicity
    • Gender: 
      Female

Development History

  • Reading
    ,
    Alliance Theatre
    ,
    2019
  • Residency
    ,
    Alliance Theatre Reiser Atlanta Artists Lab
    ,
    2018

Production History

  • Professional
    ,
    Penobscot Theatre Company
    ,
    2020

Awards

Selection
,
Kilroy List
,
The Kilroys
,
2020
Selection
,
Reiser Atlanta Artists Lab
,
Alliance Theatre
,
2018