Everyone’s a winner at ‘Game of Bike’ – A smash hit opening night for Bike Play

The 15th annual Bike Play production opened Thursday night and it was another smash hit. A large and appreciative crowd cycled with the cast to scenes at several playgrounds and parks in northeast Portland. They all followed along on a journey through the “Game of Bike” a Jumanji-esque adventure where the cast faced a big, bad, Bike Demon and a group of devilish imps.

The production included a script filled with hilarious bike puns, original songs and dances, and enough creativity to tell an enjoyable story with props that could fit inside a bike trailer and costumes so spare the actors could ride in them.

Bike Play is a cherished tradition of Bike Summer’s Pedalpalooza festival. The 10 member cast from Working Theater Collective began rehearsing in April and their hard work clearly paid off. Ashley Hollingshead, who played Mr. Bikeside and an imp, shared in a pre-show interview that they were part of the first year cast. “I don’t know if we imagined it would go on this long, but we definitely felt after the first one like, ‘OK, that was good,’ we’re going to keep doing this.”

View photo gallery below (use arrows to cycle through):

Bike Play is mostly a labor of love, but has received grants (from Portland Film Office and Regional Arts and Culture Council) for the past two years (and they filled several helmets worth of cash from the audience after last night’s performance). But like almost everything in Portland’s vibrant bike scene, it’s not about the money.

There’s a joy that emanates from Bike Play performances that makes it feel like a gift to our community. I left last night thinking about how lucky I was to live in a place where it happens. It’s different than other outdoor theater because of the current of bike love that flows among the actors, the audience, and the group rides between scenes.

Game of Bike Director (and cast member) Hans Ellis said Bike Play pulls actors from Portland’s theater community, but it exists mostly outside of the local scene and tends to attract actors who understand what makes it special. “We’ve talked about how we can merge and be more involved [in the local theater community],” Ellis said. “But a lot of people who do Bike Play just want to do this one thing.”

“We have very sizable audiences,” added Hollingshead, “But much of the Portland theater community doesn’t really know about Bike Play.” That’s just fine in Hollingshead’s view, because for many people it’s the only theater they see each year. “So we’re that thing that people who like bikes see as far as theater goes.”

Another thing that sets Bike Play apart is the cast are bike lovers themselves, so the stories they share are infused with cycling. “We love biking in Portland. It is an important part of our lives. The format has changed over the years as we’ve figured out what works and what doesn’t, but it’s always been a celebration of biking in some way or another.”

“Biking is definitely in the DNA of the stories,” Ellis added.

Game of Bike continues that tradition.

The story revolves around three friends — Schrader (Scott Weidlich), Steph (Lisa Gilham), and Wyatt (Jenny Bunce) — who find themselves pulled into a deal with the devil and sucked into a real-life game. A band of bad little imps and the Bike Demon try to keep them trapped and off their bikes for good.

A highlight of the show is an original song performed by Noelle Eaton as Patch Flatums, a character who’s been trapped in the game for many years and ends up helping the newer trio. It’s called “All I Know is Bike” and here are a few of the lyrics:

I was just a kid
Just a kid who wasn’t good at school I knew I weren’t smart
I knew I wasn’t cool
Then one shiny morn
Something glimmered rolling past
A wheel, a bell, a zounds, a spell was cast
I cleared my head of everything That wasn’t about bike
All I know is bike. All I need is bike. All I know is bike. All I need is bike.
It’s my day and my night
The best part of my life
Is cutting through traffic like butter with a hot knife
All I know is bike
Bike! Bike! Bike!

Talk about knowing your audience! It was a wonderful moment that had the huge crowd smiling and singing along.

Will this love for cycling overcome the challenges faced by the game players? Or will the Bike Demon rule supreme? You’ll have to see it yourself at an upcoming performance.

Thanks to an expanded run this year (which they did to help spread out the size of the crowds) you’ll have more chances to attend than even before. Bike Play: Game of Bike continues tonight and through Sunday July 14th. It returns on Thursday the 18th and runs through July 20th (with an ASL interpreter on-hand July 19th). Check out Bike Play on Instagram for updates and more information.