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The Village BicycleBook/Lyrics by Anne Fidler, Music/Lyrics by Jerrick CavagnaroContact Email: annemarinafidler@gmail.com |
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The Village Bicycle is a story of a young woman in the American west, who in 1896, when given a bicycle, is liberated from the narrow possibilities of her small, religious town and finds an alternative and supportive community in a city brothel. In the process, she discovers damning evidence which frees her small town from a hypocritical and controlling preacher. The show uses a historical setting to deal with modern issues of sexual agency, women’s rights, worker’s rights, sex workers rights, queer culture and freedom of expression, while exploring the crucial role the bicycle plays in women’s liberation. Anne first conceived the idea for The Village Bicycle in 2013 while working as the creative director for Bike Smut, a touring film festival showcasing short erotic bicycle movies. From the start, she knew it had to be a musical—a big, classic-style production, but with unconventional themes. Anne was inspired by the bicycle’s role in the first wave of feminism and how they continue to be important tools of liberation to this day. She also wanted to create a story where sex work was neither demonized nor glorified, challenging societal shame and stigma around sexuality that perpetuates unsafe conditions for sex workers, instead drawing on her own experiences of camaraderie in these spaces. Through her in-depth research of the Bay Area in the late 1800s, she was further inspired by the ingenuity of sex workers at the time and the existence of a real life all-girl bicycle gang called The Falcons. Anne started writing the story and looked for a composer. After some failed collaborations, she was finally introduced to Jerrick through a mutual friend of a friend. With Anne in Berlin and Jerrick in Boston, they began collaborating remotely, exchanging ideas and drafts online. By October 2023, five songs were complete, and they held a second table reading in Berlin, with Jerrick playing the music over Zoom. Since then, they’ve drafted three additional songs and continue refining the work whenever their schedules allow. So far, there has been two table readings in Berlin, and we are currently talking to English Theater Berlin about a staged reading this fall. Then the next step would be to have a workshop production, and because this is a very American story, we think it would be best to do that in the US, as we believe this show should ultimately be produced in the US.
Anne Marina Fidler – Bookwriter and Lyricist A multi-disciplinary performance artist and writer, whose work explores themes of vulnerability, sexuality, feminism, and otherness through theater, film, and performance art. Her dynamic practice draws on her years of experience performing in basement cabarets, drag shows, and nightclubs. She has also worked as a costume designer for theater and as a sex worker, and brings these experiences to her artistic practice. Originally from Seattle, USA, Anne trained in performance and design in London before completing an MA in Performance Practices at ArtEZ University in 2022. She was the creative director of the touring film festival “Bike Smut”, from 2011-2015, screening curated collections of short, independent erotic bicycle films in 27 different countries. Since 2017, she has been an active member of the Berlin independent performing arts scene, working on productions at venues such as Sophiensaele, The English Theater, and Uferstudios. Anne’s first full-length solo show, ‘SLUT: A Love Story’, was invited to be part of the Erotifakton festival in Malmo, SE in June 2022 and premiered in Berlin at the English Theater in 2024. Her most recent work, ‘Remedies Against Panic’, is an interactive post-capitalist narrative that incorporates karaoke and polyvagal practices. The performance encourages participation, inviting the audience to join in and create an immersive experience. It premiered at the Berliner Ringtheater in 2023 and showcases Anne’s innovative and collaborative approach to performance. Jerrick Cavagnaro – Composer/Lyricist Organist, pianist, and composer Jerrick Cavagnaro has received degrees in organ performance and sacred music from Westminster Choir College and Yale University. He currently serves as the associate director of music at Trinity Episcopal Church (Copley Square), Boston, MA and was most recently assistant director of music and organist at Christ Episcopal Church, Charlotte, NC. In 2022, Jerrick won second prize in then National Competition in Organ Accompaniment, third prize in the Quebec Organ Competition, and was a semifinalist in the Boston Bach International Organ competition. This summer, he competed as a quarter finalist in the St. Alban’s organ competition. Also an active composer, Jerrick’s choral music has been published by Oxford University Press and performed by choirs around the world. |
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The Village Bicycle
Book/Lyrics by Anne Fidler, Music/Lyrics by Jerrick Cavagnaro
Contact Email: annemarinafidler@gmail.com
The Village Bicycle is a story of a young woman in the American west, who in 1896, when given a bicycle, is liberated from the narrow possibilities of her small, religious town and finds an alternative and supportive community in a city brothel. In the process, she discovers damning evidence which frees her small town from a hypocritical and controlling preacher. The show uses a historical setting to deal with modern issues of sexual agency, women’s rights, worker’s rights, sex workers rights, queer culture and freedom of expression, while exploring the crucial role the bicycle plays in women’s liberation.
Anne first conceived the idea for The Village Bicycle in 2013 while working as the creative director for Bike Smut, a touring film festival showcasing short erotic bicycle movies. From the start, she knew it had to be a musical—a big, classic-style production, but with unconventional themes. Anne was inspired by the bicycle’s role in the first wave of feminism and how they continue to be important tools of liberation to this day. She also wanted to create a story where sex work was neither demonized nor glorified, challenging societal shame and stigma around sexuality that perpetuates unsafe conditions for sex workers, instead drawing on her own experiences of camaraderie in these spaces. Through her in-depth research of the Bay Area in the late 1800s, she was further inspired by the ingenuity of sex workers at the time and the existence of a real life all-girl bicycle gang called The Falcons.
Anne started writing the story and looked for a composer. After some failed collaborations, she was finally introduced to Jerrick through a mutual friend of a friend. With Anne in Berlin and Jerrick in Boston, they began collaborating remotely, exchanging ideas and drafts online. By October 2023, five songs were complete, and they held a second table reading in Berlin, with Jerrick playing the music over Zoom. Since then, they’ve drafted three additional songs and continue refining the work whenever their schedules allow.
So far, there has been two table readings in Berlin, and we are currently talking to English Theater Berlin about a staged reading this fall. Then the next step would be to have a workshop production, and because this is a very American story, we think it would be best to do that in the US, as we believe this show should ultimately be produced in the US.
Anne Marina Fidler – Bookwriter and Lyricist
A multi-disciplinary performance artist and writer, whose work explores themes of vulnerability, sexuality, feminism, and otherness through theater, film, and performance art. Her dynamic practice draws on her years of experience performing in basement cabarets, drag shows, and nightclubs. She has also worked as a costume designer for theater and as a sex worker, and brings these experiences to her artistic practice.
Originally from Seattle, USA, Anne trained in performance and design in London before completing an MA in Performance Practices at ArtEZ University in 2022. She was the creative director of the touring film festival “Bike Smut”, from 2011-2015, screening curated collections of short, independent erotic bicycle films in 27 different countries. Since 2017, she has been an active member of the Berlin independent performing arts scene, working on productions at venues such as Sophiensaele, The English Theater, and Uferstudios.
Anne’s first full-length solo show, ‘SLUT: A Love Story’, was invited to be part of the Erotifakton festival in Malmo, SE in June 2022 and premiered in Berlin at the English Theater in 2024. Her most recent work, ‘Remedies Against Panic’, is an interactive post-capitalist narrative that incorporates karaoke and polyvagal practices. The performance encourages participation, inviting the audience to join in and create an immersive experience. It premiered at the Berliner Ringtheater in 2023 and showcases Anne’s innovative and collaborative approach to performance.
Jerrick Cavagnaro – Composer/Lyricist
Organist, pianist, and composer Jerrick Cavagnaro has received degrees in organ performance and sacred music from Westminster Choir College and Yale University. He currently serves as the associate director of music at Trinity Episcopal Church (Copley Square), Boston, MA and was most recently assistant director of music and organist at Christ Episcopal Church, Charlotte, NC. In 2022, Jerrick won second prize in then National Competition in Organ Accompaniment, third prize in the Quebec Organ Competition, and was a semifinalist in the Boston Bach International Organ competition.
This summer, he competed as a quarter finalist in the St. Alban’s organ competition. Also an active composer, Jerrick’s choral music has been published by Oxford University Press and performed by choirs around the world.