AGILE RASCAL BIKE THEATRE
FLORIDA TOUR
For our third effort, Agile Rascal selected the state of Florida as our inspiration and our audience. The flat landscape and warm winter nights meant that we could experiment with a more elaborate set, props and lighting. Once again, we gathered participants, some old, some new, from all over the country, to create a brand new play for the state of Florida.
We were honored to be selected as the Artists-in-Residence in Everglades National Park, where we worked tirelessly to create "Good Time Pedalers' Preservation Carnival." We then spent the next six weeks touring it across 1,000 miles of swamp, beaches and sprawl, performing in cities and towns across the state.
GOOD TIME PEDALERS' PRESERVATION CARNIVAL
In the winter of 2019, we lived and created for five weeks in the Everglades National Park, through the AIRIE program. and the play that resulted was a combination of research and experience regarding the environmental challenges that the Everglades face, as interpreted through our diverse creative styles.
"Pedalers'" tells the story of a bike-touring theatre company that travels a future, post-climate change Florida landscape teeming with alligators, mosquitos, and sawgrass. The “carnival” they bring glorifies America’s past “Age of Abundance” and offers a distraction from the battle against the elements that living in Florida has become. However, after the pedalers lose Nonna Harmonia, their founder and matriarch, they question whether to continue in the name of tradition, or to evolve their show to respond to the changing needs of their community and to develop a new relationship with nature.
CAST AND CREW
Miguel Alejandro Castillo - Lights
Joel Knopf - Music Composition
Kendrick Haunt - Costume Design
Jenny Hipscher - Director & Playwright
Lexy Ho-Tai - Puppets and Props
Michael Hulburt - Set Construction
Dara Silverman - Playwright
Ashley Whiting - Lyrics and Music
Nick Zelle - Documentarian
Miguel Alejandro Castillo - Minnelli
Joel Knopf - Jeep
Kendrick Haunt - Kellogg
Michael Hulburt - Mac
Jackie Rivera - Jiffy
Dara Silverman - Dolby
Ashley Whiting - Archbold / Nonna
Jenny and Michael devise a "chair dance"
Lexy Ho-Tai's incredible Burmese Python puppet
Jeep dreams of love in the time of mosquitos
Performing for an enthusiastic crowd in Ft. Myers
Archbold is restoring balance to the ecosystem....but at what cost?
Kellogg dreams of staying put
Memories of a dusky sea-side sparrow - now extinct
It's the wildness. It's creeping back in.
TOUR DATES AND VENUES
2/2 The Everglades @ Long Pine Key Campground
2/2 Coral Gables @ The Kampong
2/2 Ft. Lauderdale @ Esplanade Park
2/14 Lake Worth @ The Cultural Plaza
2/17 - Vero Beach @ The Environmental Learning Center
2/22 - Orlando @ The University of Central Florida
2/25 - Palatka @ Riverfront Park
2/27 - Gainesville @ Cypress & Grove Brewing Company
3/2 - Brooksville @ The Olive Grove
3/6 - Saint Petersburg @ The St. Pete Shuffleboard Club
3/8 - Tampa @ Silver Meteor Gallery
3/10 - Sarasota @ Fogertyville
3/13 - Fort Myers @ Cornog Plaza
3/16 - Key West @ Mallory Square
3/21 - Homestead @ Aloha Redlands
3/23 - Miami @ Microtheatre Miami
Dara navigates a "Florida hill"...aka a bridge
Kendrick "master sweep" changes her millionth flat
Just chillin' on one of Florida's many strips of supple asphalt
Florida Keys camping...before the attack of the"no-see-ums"
Michael is assisted in hauling all our massive gear onto Key West Express. They weren't happy.
Jackie and Miguel, just bein' cute
Michael and Kendrick are so excited to bike all day in the torrential rain
We love each other
TOUR STATISTICS
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1,000+ miles biked
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15 performances
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41 days on the road
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7 performers
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1 intern
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1 journalist
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4 trailers
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1 cargo bike
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14+ lights, 6+ musical instruments, 1 backdrop,
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6 milk jugs, 1 snake puppet carried