What happens when a circus performer and a songwriter put their talents together to help prevent suicide? In one word, “Fighter.”

The concert will be shown on Sept. 1 at the Orem Scera Shell as part of Hope4Orem’s yearly community event meant to promote mental health awareness.

Darla Day is an experienced Cirque du Soleil circus performer. Her husband, Nik Day, is an experienced songwriter. The two combined their talents to create a large-scale cirque production that addresses difficult topics with spoken word, original pop songs, singers, circus acts, dancers and aerial performers.

“Fighter” is about a phoenix — the mythical bird — falling from the sky and burning to ashes. Her journey begins as she discovers that helping others helps her overcome her burdens. Some of the characters include a football team captain, a cheerleader and a valedictorian, each of whom is dealing with their own issues. There is also a rapping narrator.

“I grew up in Orem and went to Timpanogos High. I love Orem, it’s my home town and anything I can give back to my community, I’m excited to do,” Darla Day said. “With my aerial and performing background and my husband, who is a musician, we combined together to create a Cirque du Soleil-style show to tell this story in a symbolic and inspiring way. We hope to uplift the heavy-hearted through the arts. Our goal is to create confidence and resilience in our youth and our community.”

The show has a host of youth performers, and the helpers backstage are mostly local professionals. “You’d never know it was kids,” she said.

Darla and Nik Day own an event entertainment company and two aerial studios. “We started this nonprofit as a reaction to the mental health crisis sweeping the world, namely with our youth,” Darla Day said. “All we have are our talents and so we combined those to create this show, ‘Fighter.'”

This production on Sept. 1 is part of Hope4Orem’s yearly suicide prevention event. The organization’s primary focus is to support suicide prevention programs in every school in Orem.

“We hold an event annually and, in the past, it has had an entertainment segment followed by a motivational speaker. This year we decided we needed to refocus. We wanted to have a show that would connect with youth, which is a primary goal of Hope4Orem. Fighter Concert Series is a perfect fit,” said Cathy Ambrose, Hope4Orem Executive Director.

Ambrose said that shows such as this one can help with suicide prevention. “It’s one more tool to add to the toolbox. Modeling inclusion and resilience on stage in a way that captures the attention of youth may bring a spark of light that becomes the first step of seeing a path out of the darkness,” she said.

For more information, people can go to http://90and9.org or the Hope4Orem Facebook page. Tickets can be purchased for $5 at the Scera box office or online at http://mpv.tickets.com.

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