Bakersfield College puts on a humorous yet important performance of “How to Defend Yourself”, written by Liliana Padilla.

Trigger warning, the play does have foul language, defensive exercises, and some sex talks with intimate movements. There are some scenes that might be sensitive to viewers but after all, these are also things that people do experience.

Padilla’s play follows college students who participate in classes that teach you self-defense. The students have joined this course after a girl in a sorority was hospitalized from an assault that included rape.

During these classes we get to hear different points of views of that night from the characters. When the characters discuss where they were that night and what they saw, we can see fear and guilt have taken them over.

These scenes were powerful because it sends the message to be aware of your surroundings. Especially at parties because you could become the victim or possibly save someone from becoming the victim.

Audience member Maria Arias said that she enjoyed the play. “There were a lot of uncomfy parts, but I see that it can speak to individuals with that trauma and experience,” said Arias.

The characters gossiped about sex as most college students do. While talking about sex they made it clear that communication is key.

Some characters show how easy it is to discuss sex and what you like about it. Other characters view sex as a more sensitive subject. The representation was compelling.

The self-defense class taught different techniques to stay safe. Like holding your keys between your fingers like “wolverine” when walking by yourself, sharing your location with someone you trust, or pointing out the important body parts to target on an attacker.

The play did include that defense techniques do not always work. Realistically there are some attackers who are bigger and stronger than you. There were great depictions of the hard truth that do happen in real life.

The play portrayed a lot of scenarios that could be considered atrocious. There were plenty of scenes that had hilarity and included great music.

Overall, the play highlighted the importance of learning self-defense. They managed to tackle the factors of safety while using comedy to uplift the seriousness of the play’s message.