Theatre SKAM’s Bike Ride

What a way to combine the love of bicycles and theatre!  Have you heard of Bike Ride by Theatre SKAM, held along 3 kilometres of the Galloping Goose in Victoria BC?

You still have a weekend to get involved – this Saturday and Sunday July 16th and 17th.

Just what happens at Bike Ride, and how did it come about?

Theatre SKAM is an alternative Victoria theatre company that was founded in 1995 by 4 UVic grads (Sarah Donald, Karen Turner , Amiel Gladstone and Matthew Payne – hence SKAM).  They are well known for their site specific work in alleys, parks, cars and loading docks. More history here.

Bike Ride was started in 2009 with the idea of presenting play vignettes along the regional bike/walk trail.  Matthew Payne, the artistic director of Theatre SKAM, has partnered with 12 emerging theatre companies, storytellers and performers.

ASAP Theatre Company (July 9 & 10 only)
Determined Illusions
Emma Zabloski
Giggling Iguana Productions
Gotta Getta Gimmick
Head Through Painting
Impulse Theatre
Jeremy Loveday, Performance Poet
John G. & T. Boehme (July 16 & 17 only)
Launch Pad
Meagan O’Shea
Speakeasy (with spoken word artists Missie Peters and Dave Morris)
Powerhouse Performance Company
Storytellers: Michele Hibbins, Shoshana Litman, & Cat Thom
This Is Twisted Theatre

Children under 10 are free, 10-13 year olds $5 and adults $15. This makes Bike Ride an affordable family outing.  This past Saturday, when I volunteered, many families were out and about, with trail-a-bikes and trailers in tow.  The nature of Bike Ride makes it perfect for kids.  There is a eco-friendly decoration station for the imaginative ones among you. Bike rentals at $5 are also offered.

Join Bike Ride at Cecilia Ravine Park (accessed along the Galloping Goose or just behind the BCSPCA on Burnside Rd). From the HUB you will then  ride along one of 4 routes and see 3 performances. Each performance last 10-15 minutes and a route takes about 45 minutes.  Come back to the HUB to head out again. See one show or all 12.

The tours depart from 3:30 to 6:30pm both days. In addition, every evening, after 6pm there is free music at the HUB.  Saturday July 16th Steph Macpherson performs and Sunday July 17th it’s David P. Smith. Music lasts until 7:15pm.

The concession serves Galloping Goose sausages in Fol Épi buns as well as assorted tasty treats. (Believe me – I didn’t get beyond the sausage as a selection – it was magnificent).

And, as an added attraction, Selkirk Station Bikes is providing free tune-ups as you wait.

I’m deeply indebted to Bike Ride on  a personal level. I met the fine folks behind Theatre SKAM at School House Rocks in 2008 and started volunteering with them soon after. At the first Bike Ride I didn’t have a bike, and in fact hadn’t ridden for many years. I rented one, and zipped along the path. There was magic in the soft early evening summer air – a remembrance of an imagined, though not lived childhood. My love of biking was re-kindled. It stood me in good stead when I met my future husband the following winter. I’ve pedalled many a kilometre since.

Come! Perhaps the same magic will happen to you!

Artistic Producer Matthew Payne

Thanks Matt and crew for constantly pushing the boundaries of engagement with audiences, and for giving us accessible theatre in Victoria.

The Headless Rider of the Galloping Goose by Giggling Iguana

A Tiny Performance Space in the Garden of One of the Railyards Townhouses

Launch Pad’s Production of  a Crime Scene Spoof – The Murder of  A Mermaid