The Agile Rascal Traveling Bike Theatre is coast to coast and soon to be entertaining Somerville audiences at Arts at the Armory on August 22.

By Mariya Manzhos

When the actors from the Agile Rascal Traveling Bike Theatre left the Bay Area for their cross-continental tour, they must have felt quite proud of their light packing. But biking nearly 70 miles a day has a punishing way of revealing over-optimism, and the group quickly realized they needed to reduce weight.

They abandoned their trailers and started replacing props in the set with objects of daily use, like a rolled-up sleeping pad turned into a gas pump. But after some adjustments to their bikes, their expectations and the play itself, seven members of the troupe continue onward, bringing Sunlight on the Brink to audiences across the U.S.

Ever since getting her MFA in playwriting at San Francisco State, Dara Silverman entertained the idea of an epic adventure that would combine two things she loved most, theatre and biking. She decided to bike a play across the country.

Looking for adventurers to join her, Silverman had to reach outside her network. “I have friends who are bikers and have friends who are theatre people, and I don’t know a lot of people who are both,” she said. She put up flyers around the Bay Area and approached strangers in coffee shops. Some people joined the rehearsals, but then left. A few stuck around. “The process of assembling the group was largely self-selecting. You had to really want to do this. And I had to kind of like you,” laughs Silverman.

Since the beginning of the summer Allison, John Paul, Jenny, Lelia, Alexis, Ren and Dara, all based in the Bay Area, put their day jobs and regular lives on hold to bike and perform their play Sunlight on the Brink in various locations across the country. True to the unconventional and somewhat absurd nature of the whole endeavor, the Rascals tend towards funky venues, performing in bike shops, art galleries, parks and farms, and even an opera house.

Even though Silverman conceived the idea of the play, Sunlight on the Brink was a collaborative effort. As new actors joined, they fleshed out their characters, and scenes emerged through creative exercises and improvisations.

Rascal’s journey from west to east in some ways parallels the large migration at the center of the play’s plot. It unfolds at a gas station in the southwest desert after a catastrophic drought in California has forced everyone to move from west to east. Several holdouts are stuck at the gas station, including a scientist with a mysterious creature in her trunk. According to the Agile Rascal’s website, the play is a “wildly imaginative exploration of the intersection of Capitalism, Spirituality and Technology.” But Silverman says the play also explores issues Americans are concerned with: climate change, food rights, water rights, and the commodification of everything.

Apart from a hard-core leg workout and theatrical accomplishment, the journey has been an education in caring for each other, says Silverman. While some members of the group have been biking for 10-15 years, others were less experienced and struggled to keep up. But these challenges raised important questions about the values of the project. “We had to ask how do we take care of each other when we’re in pain? How do we make compromises?” says Silverman.

At times the group had to split up so that those with less stamina could catch the bus or hitchhike for a ride. Other times, the stronger bikers relieved less experienced ones by taking on some of their weight. Occasionally, the artists resorted to the help of friends and family to drive the group to the next location.

With all those calories being burned, it’s not surprising that most of the group’s expenses go towards food. Prior to the trip Agile Rascal raised over $20,000 through a Kickstarter campaign and almost $14,000 was allocated towards food. “Camping is cheaper,” Silverman says, “but sometimes we pass through a small town where there is nothing but one diner open. You go out to dinner, whether you want to or not.”

Lea Ruscio, Executive Director at the Center for the Arts at the Armory is thrilled to host Agile Rascal troupe. “Biking is a great fit in Somerville. But it’s not just biking, it’s a strong theatre show as well.”

The group claims it doesn’t promote a particular message or agenda. “If we are successful in getting people to ask more questions, to think more deeply about the things that we are also thinking about, then we’ve done our job,” says Silverman.

On Saturday, August 22 Agile Rascals will perform at the Armory at 8 p.m., admission free of charge.