Sapulpa Community Theatre is preparing to launch one of its most ambitious productions yet with Barnstormers of Space Vs. The Atomic Clock, a homegrown sci-fi comedy featuring time travel, a struggling television studio and a cast of more than 30 actors.
The show opens Aug. 28 at the theatre and is directed by Ryan Mash, who said audiences don’t need to be familiar with the original Barnstormers of Space to enjoy the sequel.
“There will be a brief synopsis before and during the show,” Mash said. “You don’t exactly have to have seen it to come in and enjoy this one because it’s its own story.”
Those who did see the original, however, can expect Easter eggs, callbacks and returning jokes.
Both shows were written by Ron Hackney, a longtime friend of Sapulpa Community Theatre who has also acted in and assisted with numerous productions there. Hackney built many of the elaborate sci-fi props for the production himself, including the USS Quintillion spaceship that serves as one of the show’s centerpieces.
“My favorite thing about this show is how local and, like I said, how homegrown everything is about it,” Mash said.
The story itself is a play within a play, set inside KOOK, a struggling television studio trying to recapture its former success. Fifteen years after the original Barnstormers of Space television program, the studio decides to revive its old hit.
That puts the story around 1967, allowing the production to play with the look and feel of low-budget television science fiction of the era.
The revived Barnstormers soon find themselves pursuing a villain known as the Atomic Clock, who can travel through the past, present and future. Their chase takes them through several eras, including prehistoric times and the Old West.
The television-studio setting also gives the production an excuse to embrace its own chaos. Audiences will see characters both “on camera” performing the fictional television show and “off camera” as the actors supposedly making it.
That concept helps Mash manage what is an unusually large production for Sapulpa Community Theatre. The theatre typically works with casts of around 10 to 12 performers because of its intimate stage and approximately 75-seat auditorium. Barnstormers has roughly 32 actors.
“It is definitely controlled chaos,” Mash said.
The “play-within-a-tv-show” format means scene changes can happen in full view of the audience, actors can switch between multiple roles and even imperfections can become part of the joke.
The production is also Mash’s first official show with Sapulpa Community Theatre, although he said he’s been to the theatre many times to see his friends’ shows—many of whom you’ll find in Barnstormers.
“I know so many people I’ve come to watch perform on this stage,” Mash said. “I’m excited to finally come and be a part of it.”
Barnstormers of Space Vs. The Atomic Clock runs Aug. 28-30 and Sept. 3-6 at Sapulpa Community Theatre. Tickets are $15 for adults and $5 for students from pre-K through age 18 and are available at sapulpatheatre.org.
Watch the full interview with Ryan Mash on YouTube: