SLIPPERY ROCK — Audiences will have five chances to experience the powerful theater performances that showcase the talent and passion of Slippery Rock University students, as the SRU Theatre Department presents Caridad Svich’s “Red Bike.”

The play is a poetic journey through the American dream through the lens of an 11-year-old child’s world-expanding experience of riding their very own, bright red bike. Shows will be hosted Oct. 17-22 in the Stoner Black Box Theater.

Performances will begin at 7:30 p.m. on Oct. 17, 18, 21 and 22 and 2 p.m. on Oct. 19.

Tickets are available for $12 for students and $14 for general admission. Tickets can be ordered at sru.edu/tickets or in-person at the ticket counter up to one hour before each performance.

“Red Bike” is directed by Laura Smiley, SRU associate professor of theatre, with Heath Chase, a senior acting major from Monroeville (Gateway HS), serving as associate director/movement consultant.

“This show is about being a kid and seeing that red bike in a shop window and thinking, ‘Oh gosh, I want that red bike! And I want everyone to see me on that red bike!'” Smiley said. “The red bike is one of those material things that we all aspire to. In that way, the bike represents the American dream. This show is about the realities of the American dream, especially in a time like ours when that dream seems overwhelming and almost unattainable.”

While the play comments on materialism and the precarity of the great American dream, it also centers the importance of interpersonal relationships that one experiences throughout their life. These relationships, the show’s message contends, anchors people, gives them hope and makes life truly worth living.

The cast and creative team includes:

— Adam Fox, senior acting major from Jersey Shore, as Box Office Student.

Slippery Rock University is a premier four-year, public university offering more than 150 profession-focused and industry-aligned undergraduate, master’s and doctoral programs.