RED BIKE

by Caridad Svich

Named BEST Onstage Pre Pandemic Show of the Year (2020) in San Diego Union Tribune.
Named One of the BEST Theater Shows of 2020 in The Times of San Diego.
2018-2019 NNPN Rolling World Premiere.

Starting June 8, 2021 for script and theatrical/digital rights contact: trwplays@theatricalrights.com

What kind of future will you have living in these here United States? Remember when you were eleven years old and...

Named BEST Onstage Pre Pandemic Show of the Year (2020) in San Diego Union Tribune.
Named One of the BEST Theater Shows of 2020 in The Times of San Diego.
2018-2019 NNPN Rolling World Premiere.

Starting June 8, 2021 for script and theatrical/digital rights contact: trwplays@theatricalrights.com

What kind of future will you have living in these here United States? Remember when you were eleven years old and you had a bike, one that made you dream about a world bigger than the one in which you live? This is that memory. Except it is now. A play for one performer (two or three). This is the first play in the AMERICAN PSALM seven-play cycle. ... "Svich's RED BIKE is s luminous piece that tackles our common dreams and dangers with magic, poetry, and a sense of both possibility and loneliness. A beautiful work!" -- Cristina Garcia (novelist, Dreaming in Cuban)

"In RED BIKE, Svich sees poetry in the everyday, passion in politics, power in citizenship. In this play-monologue told from the perspective of pre adolescent exploring a world in distress (closed businesses, poverty on the street), Svich channels Carson McCullers' Frankie in A MEMBER OF THE WEDDING -- our unnamed protagonist observes astutely, accepts the parameters of their world, feels the possibilities of dreams. The bike is transportation and a dream mobile moving from one viewpoint to another, like a magic carpet. "Somebody gotta make red bikes somewhere," they muse, "so kids like me can dream." This dreamscape is haunting and gorgeous." -- Martha Wade Steketee, freelance critic and dramaturg

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RED BIKE

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Gray Horan: RED BIKE by Caridad Svich

“

Red Bike brings you to a dream state. It is very creative and unique. The production I saw was at Wilbury Theater in Providence, RI, an appropriately intimate setting in a theatre that embraces work that pushes boundaries.
Caridad Svich held a writers workshop in conjunction with the production. She was very creative in the way she unlocked our imaginations....breathing inspiration and life to one of my plays as it turns out. Thank you Caridad. I enjoy your work.

Red Bike brings you to a dream state. It is very creative and unique. The production I saw was at Wilbury Theater in Providence, RI, an appropriately intimate setting in a theatre that embraces work that pushes boundaries.
Caridad Svich held a writers workshop in conjunction with the production. She was very creative in the way she unlocked our imaginations....breathing inspiration and life to one of my plays as it turns out. Thank you Caridad. I enjoy your work.

”
Andrew Donnelly-Yunga: RED BIKE by Caridad Svich

“

A beautiful stream of consciousness which captures both the wonder of childhood and the wisdom of age. RED BIKE is a fantastic piece for both actors and directors, its story providing a significant amount of creative leeway to ensure that any production has its own unique voice.

A beautiful stream of consciousness which captures both the wonder of childhood and the wisdom of age. RED BIKE is a fantastic piece for both actors and directors, its story providing a significant amount of creative leeway to ensure that any production has its own unique voice.

”
Jennifer Maisel: RED BIKE by Caridad Svich

“

Caridad has the most gorgeous mastery of language, where it's totally accessible and at the same time magical and dreamy and evocative. RED BIKE is a gem that will tease your memory and make your heart beat fast. I really would love to see it and am enticed by the fact that it's so uniquely flexible that no two production will ever be close to the same. Seems like a director's dream to me.

Caridad has the most gorgeous mastery of language, where it's totally accessible and at the same time magical and dreamy and evocative. RED BIKE is a gem that will tease your memory and make your heart beat fast. I really would love to see it and am enticed by the fact that it's so uniquely flexible that no two production will ever be close to the same. Seems like a director's dream to me.

”

View all 28 recommendations

Development History

Type Reading, Organization Oregon Shakespeare Festival, Year 2021
Type Reading, American Blues Theater, Year 2020
Type Reading, Organization Sheen Center for Thought & Culture, Year 2019
Type Reading, Jackalope Theatre, Year 2018
Type Reading, Organization Flint Youth Theatre, Year 2018
Type Reading, Organization The Lark, Year 2017
Type Reading, Organization New Dramatists, Year 2017
Type Reading, Organization Chaskis Theatre, London, UK at the Cervantes Theatre, Year 2017
Type Reading, Unicorn Theatre, Year 2017
Type Reading, Organization NNPN National Showcase of New Plays, Year 2017

Production History

Type Professional, Organization Center Rep, Year 2023
Type University, Organization Brock University, Year 2022
Type University, Ithaca College, Year 2022
Type University, Organization New School of Drama, Year 2022
Type University, Organization UC-Davis, Year 2022
Type University, Organization University of Oklahoma, Year 2022
Type Fringe, Organization The Auroville Theatre Group, Year 2021
Type Professional, Organization Pan Underground, Year 2021
Type Professional, Organization Santa Clarita Shakespeare, Year 2021
Type Professional, Unicorn Theatre, Year 2021
Type University, Organization Boston University, Year 2021
Type University, Organization Cleveland State University, Year 2021
Type University, Organization Grossmont College Theatre Arts Department, Year 2021
Type University, Organization University at Buffalo, Year 2021
Type University, Organization University of Arkansas-Fort Smith, Year 2021
Type University, Organization University of Evansville, Year 2021
Type University, Organization University of Evansville, Year 2021
Type University, Organization University of Texas-Austin, Year 2021
Type Fringe, Teatro Paraguas, Year 2020
Type Professional, Know Theatre of Cincinnati, Year 2020
Type Professional, Organization MOXIE Theatre, Year 2020
Type Professional, Teatro Paraguas, Year 2020
Type University, Organization Texas State University, Year 2020
Type Fringe, Organization The Wheel Theatre Company, Year 2019
Type Professional, Know Theatre of Cincinnati, Year 2019
Type Professional, Organization The Wilbury Group, Year 2019
Type Professional, Organization PYGmalion Productions, Year 2018
Type Professional, Organization Simpatico Theatre, Year 2018
Type University, Organization Jedlicka Performing Arts Center at Morton College, Year 2018
Type University, Organization Smith College, Year 2018

Awards

Kilroys List

The Kilroys

Honorable Mention

2017
NNPN Rolling World Premiere

Selection

2018

Genre

comedy,

movement/physical,

political,

young audiences

Subject Matter Keywords

coming of age,

for all ages.

Length

60-90 minutes

Cast Size

1—4

Age of Intended Audience

all ages

Supporting Materials

Published Script

https://trwplays.com/red-bike/

Script Sample

RED BIKE_Svich_two actor version_10pagexcerpt.pdf

Reviews

The Theatrius

“
"Svich's poetry transfixes with its sheer beauty and the ease with which she deploys language. her insights hit us with the raw energy of slam poetry."
”
Mercury News

“
"an enthrallingly poetic play. ... at the heart of RED BIKE are a lot of profound questions about economic inequality in this country."
”
San Francisco Chronicle

“
"RED BIKE puts refreshing faith in the eyes of a child. It insists that children's ambitions and observations and sense of injustice all matter."
”