We are very excited to announce Theatre SKAM’s Bike Ride 2013 lineup!

We at the SKAM office were thrilled  by the 36 (!) incredible submissions. Submissions came in from across Canada and all of the submissions were amazing; making this a highly competitive process for us. In the end it came down to a balance of genres and balancing emerging and establishing artists.

Dates
July 6, 7 & 13, 14, 2013
3:30 PM – 6:30 PM (last tour departs at 6:30)

Location
Cecilia Ravine Park
(475 Burnside Rd. East)

Theatre SKAM’s Bike Ride 2013 lineup is:

 One Man-slam
Jeremy Loveday, Performance Poet

 Jelly Bean Loses Her Ju-Ju
Levity Stilt Co.

 MyceliUmbrella
SNAFU Dance Theatre

 Mom and Hobo Meet Up
(working title)
Hush Money

 Harvey and Antonia Bug Out
Gotta Getta Gimmick

 Postscript
(working title)
The Noisy Neighbours

 Epic Adventure Trail
Waddle Waddle Productions 

 Olio and Opus
Un Theatre Un Peu Fou

 Cretaceous Love
Epiphany Productions

 The Goodly Morgen of Wotan Mengen
Missing Page

 The Clan Resilience: Water under the Bridge
(working title)
Impulse Theatre

 Tour
Universal Limited 

 WAITING FOR A TRAIN
Crow-Matic Theatre

 Chain Drive
Launch Pad

 Haunted
Salt Frog

 Additionally we have selected National Companies to be part of the 2013 Bike Ride lineup and will be announcing these companies at a later date.

 Thank you again for all of the amazing submissions. We can’t wait for July!

What is Bike Ride?

Theatre SKAM’s annual summer project Bike Ride is an outdoor live performance festival event that is suitable for the whole family. Bike Ride is a series of short shows presented along a 4km stretch of the Galloping Goose Trail. Audiences ride bikes from show to show.

Among 2012′s past offerings, Bike Ride featured stories of the spirits that haunt the Gorge; a roving replica of the Galloping Goose rail-car; a rogue park ranger; post-apocalyptic show business; stilt-walking; and, in celebration of Victoria’s 150th anniversary, a look back at the city’s history, people and ghosts.

That’s crazy. How does Bike Ride work?
The audience arrives at Cecilia Ravine Park. There is a hub of activity here- eco-conscious bike decoration, healthy concessions, ethical merchandise and box office tents dot the landscape of the park. Riders buy a ticket, decorate their bicycles and then proceed to an open courtyard area where they are met by a team of audience wranglers. At regular intervals, in groups of twelve, audiences are dispatched on a tour with a map of the relevant stretch of the trail. Each tour takes in three shows and returns to the hub. Performing companies repeat their short shows several times a day for these small audiences aboard bicycles. Audiences may see up to four tours (12 shows) on one admission. Between rides they enjoy smart food and surprise bursts of entertainment that emerge from the environment of the park.

The following companies were selected to perform at the 4th annual Bike Ride in 2012:

• Cat Thom
• Determined Illusions
• Head Through Painting
• Paper Street Theatre
• Puente Theatre
• TigerMilk Collective
• Theatre Inconnu
• Salt Frog
• This Is Twisted Theatre
• Impulse Theatre
• Mika Laulainen
• Also, appearing at the Hub: Michele’s String Theory and Zopyra Theatre. Roving the trail: Jess Amy Shead’s Galloping Goose Train.

Adults (13+): $15 in advance, $20 on site
Children (12 and under): FREE
Two-day passes: $25

Advance tickets are available at TicketRocket.org or by calling 250-590-6291.

Supported in past years by:

• CRD Arts Development
• Canada Council for the Arts
• Victoria 150
• BC Arts Council
• Department of Canadian Heritage
• Mountain Equipment Coop
• Investors Group
• City of Victoria
• Ocean 98.5
• 103.1 JACK FM
• CFUV 101.9 FM
• Dowell’s Moving+Storage
• Accent Inns
• Bean Around the World
• Smoking Lily
• Niagara Grocery
• Fol Epi

Can I volunteer for Bike Ride?
Absolutely! E-mail volunteer@skam.ca for more information.

Are the performers in Bike Ride any good?
SKAM curates Bike Ride. It is a festival of new short works by top local performers who have been selected through a formal submission process. Each of the short shows is different and the range of performances encompasses comedy, spoken word, dance, story telling and musical theatre. Audiences on a tour are likely to take in a dance piece, a storyteller and a comedy- or a performance poet, an opera singer and a murder mystery. The performers have all worked locally as professional artists in places like Craigdarroch Castle, Atomic Vaudeville, and Butchart Gardens. SKAMartists are paid for their work.

This event sounds big, but I’ve never heard of it.
Bike Ride is now in its fifth year. Theatre SKAM has worked to develop this project carefully over the last four years and we are confident that this year will make a bigger splash. We have been especially careful to make sure that the event functions well. We know the event works and we know we can handle large crowds.

Bike Ride sounds messy.
Like many people who regularly use the Galloping Goose, we also consider ourselves stewards of the trail. We have worked with city and regional officials, community groups, and other professionals to ensure the footprint of the event is ecologically sound.

As such, combining green concerns with critical social culture, it only seemed natural that our company blend two loves of Victoria residents: cycling and live performance.

Bike Ride 2012 Teaser Video