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...
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

Recommended by

  • Andrew Donnelly:
    26 Apr. 2022
    “ 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:
    2 Feb. 2022
    “ 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.
    ”
  • Ian Thal:
    26 Nov. 2021
    “ A poetic stream-of-consciousness ride through a former industrial town on the boundary between rural and suburban America as it is transformed by real estate speculation and the developing fulfillment center economy as seen by an eleven year-old kid whose brand new red bike has given them freedom to roam further than ever before. I interviewed Caridad Svich for Washington City Paper:
    https://washingtoncitypaper.com/article/537070/red-bike-breathes-new-life-into-local-theater/ ”
View all 27 recommendations

May be performed by one, two or more actors.

Development History

  • Reading
    ,
    Oregon Shakespeare Festival
    ,
    2021
  • Reading
    ,
    Sheen Center for Thought & Culture
    ,
    2019
  • Reading
    ,
    Flint Youth Theatre
    ,
    2018
  • Reading
    ,
    NNPN National Showcase of New Plays
    ,
    2017
  • Reading
    ,
    The Lark
    ,
    2017
  • Reading
    ,
    New Dramatists
    ,
    2017
  • Reading
    ,
    Chaskis Theatre, London, UK at the Cervantes Theatre
    ,
    2017

Production History

  • Professional
    ,
    Center Rep
    ,
    2023
  • University
    ,
    Brock University
    ,
    2022
  • University
    ,
    UC-Davis
    ,
    2022
  • University
    ,
    New School of Drama
    ,
    2022
  • University
    ,
    University of Oklahoma
    ,
    2022
  • University
    ,
    Cleveland State University
    ,
    2021
  • University
    ,
    Boston University
    ,
    2021
  • University
    ,
    Grossmont College Theatre Arts Department
    ,
    2021
  • University
    ,
    University of Evansville
    ,
    2021
  • Professional
    ,
    Pan Underground
    ,
    2021
  • University
    ,
    University at Buffalo
    ,
    2021
  • University
    ,
    University of Texas-Austin
    ,
    2021
  • Fringe
    ,
    The Auroville Theatre Group
    ,
    2021
  • University
    ,
    University of Arkansas-Fort Smith
    ,
    2021
  • University
    ,
    University of Evansville
    ,
    2021
  • Professional
    ,
    MOXIE Theatre
    ,
    2020
  • University
    ,
    Texas State University
    ,
    2020
  • Professional
    ,
    The Wilbury Group
    ,
    2019
  • Fringe
    ,
    The Wheel Theatre Company
    ,
    2019
  • Professional
    ,
    Simpatico Theatre
    ,
    2018
  • University
    ,
    Smith College
    ,
    2018
  • University
    ,
    Jedlicka Performing Arts Center at Morton College
    ,
    2018

Awards

Selection
,
NNPN Rolling World Premiere
,
2018
Honorable Mention
,
Kilroys List
,
The Kilroys
,
2017