By Bicycle rides are usually linear.
But in “Red Bike,” audiences are invited to join in on a jumbled, chaotic ride—and that’s where the fun kicks in.
“Red Bike,” California Repertory Company’s third spring semester show, opened at the Long Beach State Studio Theater this week on March 21.
Written by playwright Caridad Svich, the story is told from the perspective of a child as they search for answers in an ever-changing world and rediscover their purpose in life through the form of a precious red bike.
While playing different versions of the same character, actors Abby Lane, Kyle Matsuda and Victoria Martins portray a moment where they feel literally tangled in their own thoughts of trying to make sense of the world. Photo credit: Dante Estrada
Theatre Arts lecturer Alana Dietze, who directed the show, described the play as an exciting challenge, as she has never adapted a story that relies so heavily on the abstract and non-linear structure.
“There’s a lot of really compelling ideas in the play, but the one that stood out to me the most was this concept of the way materialism and capitalism tries to take the place of meaning in our lives,” Dietze said.
In the story, the red bicycle represents stability for the child.
Every time the character faces a challenge, they resort back to the red bike as a moment to feel safe again.
Fourth-year theatre arts major Nicholas Mayer said due to his background in musicals and dramatic and comedic plays, he was able to hone in during Red Bike. Photo credit: Dante Estrada
Playwright Svich spoke with Dietze and the cast during the rehearsal process, which allowed the cast and crew to digest the story’s meaning further and explore the best way to convey it.
“Something that [Svich] really highlighted for me was the power of telling a story through a child’s perspective, and how rare that is, you know, children get used as pawns a lot politically in this country…They don’t have a voice,” Dietze said. “What are we getting from that, that we don’t usually see on stage?”
The director and cast describe the show as small moments or poems collected together to tell a story of childhood curiosity and the fear of growing up.
Rather than five distinct people, the cast plays different versions of the same central story figure, the child.
Actors Nicholas Mayer and Kyle Matsuda, who are fourth-year and third-year theatre arts majors, admitted they initially found the script confusing.
“I think it didn’t really click for me until we got on our feet, and we were just getting in our bodies and seeing what it’s like in the stage and the space, and not just sitting at a table reading it,” Matsuda said.
The characters break out in a colorful dance number following a tense scene where the child feels lost. The on-stage moment feels almost Lynchian, with actors even inviting crew members during their dance on stage. Photo credit: Dante Estrada
Each time the child returns to the safety of the red bike, they find themselves closer to understanding that life is immovable, unlike their bike.
While the cast said meeting with playwright Svich was a pleasant experience, they also cite the experience as helping them gain better insight into the play.
Fourth-year theatre arts major Alberto Alonso said he was grateful for the lack of specific stage directions.
“Because you as an actor always want to honor the playwright, but then you also need to explore your own creativity,” Alonso said. “So the fact that she gave us full freedom to do whatever we wanted with a play was so liberating.”
Later in the show, audiences are treated to a tranquil scene in which Alonso and fellow castmate Victoria Martens both monologue an emotional speech in Spanish where their characters admit defeat.
Viewpoints are a technique used in theatre to help performers be in alignment with their physical movement during their performance. Victoria Martins said she felt that viewpoints helped her enhance her performance to have more creative freedom. Photo credit: Dante Estrada
“We talked about having, like, that special little moment for the people who speak Spanish in the audience that it’s like this special little treasure and treat for them to get to hear this beautiful monologue,” Martins, a fourth-year theatre arts performance major, said.
First-year theatre arts performance major Abby Lane makes her on-stage debut with graciousness from her supporting cast.
“Talking about the character, analyzing the scripts in the show together really helped. [We had] a lot of table work together, which helped us all have the same understanding of the character and the show,” Lane said.
“Red Bike” will run from March 21 to March 29 at the Long Beach State University Theatre. Tickets and showtimes are available here.
