Line up Announced For 25th Annual High Performance Rodeo

Curator Michael Green is delighted to announce the 2011 line up for the 25th annual High Performance Rodeo, Calgary's International Festival of the Arts. The popular festival runs January 6 to 30, 2011 at various venues throughout Calgary and will feature a collection of the boldest and the brightest artists from the realms of theatre, dance, comedy, music and visual arts.

This year's schedule of performances and events is as follows:

An Illustrated Talk - Brian Eno (Great Britain)
High Performance Rodeo, Glenbow Museum and Cantos Music Foundation present An Illustrated Talk. For anyone who's ever wished they could peer into the brilliant mind of this year's Artist-in-Residence Brian Eno - this is your chance. Armed with an overhead projector (an infinitely more sophisticated device than PowerPoint), Eno will lay bare his thoughts on generative art, haircuts, music history, screwdrivers, and the vast complexities behind them all.
January 6 8:00 pm $32 - $52
Jack Singer Concert Hall
Call 403.294.9494 for tickets; call 403.294.7411 or visit www.hprodeo.ca for more information

77 Million Paintings - Brian Eno (Great Britain)
The Glenbow Museum will present the installation 77 Million Paintings, in association with the High Performance Rodeo. Conceived by Eno as "visual music", 77 Million Paintings is a constantly evolving sound and imagescape which continues his exploration into light as an artist's medium and the aesthetic possibilities of "generative software".
January 6 - March 20 $14
Glenbow Museum
Call 403.268.4100 or visit www.glenbow.org

Nevermore: The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe - Catalyst Theatre (Edmonton, Alberta)
Along with Vertigo Mystery Theatre, the High Performance Rodeo is thrilled to welcome back the Catalyst Theatre with their internationally acclaimed gothic tale told in song Nevermore: The Imaginary Life and Mysterious Death of Edgar Allan Poe. Echoes of his work are fused with music in this enthralling, fantastical, visually stunning biography, revealing the psychology of the man whose haunting, darkly comic writings resonate in each of our tell-tale hearts.
January 6 - February 5 7:30 pm $32 - $48
January 15, 16, 22, 23, 29, 30 & February 6 2:00 pm $32 - $48
Call 403.221.3708 or visit www.vertigotheatre.com

Freak Show - Swallow-a-Bicycle Theatre (Calgary, Alberta)
Step into The Shadows with Freak Show, a tour that explores the deepest recesses of the EPCOR CENTRE for the Performing Arts. Find yourself swept up in a boiler room sideshow, or encounter bizarre dancers in a freight elevator. Following in the steps of maniacal tour guides, you'll witness outrageous performances in spaces you never imagined existed.
January 6, 7, 8 7:30 pm - 10:00 pm $15
January 13, 14, 15 7:30 pm - 10:00 pm $15
Centre Court - EPCOR CENTRE for the Performing Arts
Call 403.698.3088 or visit www.swallowabicycle.com

Soundasaurus - EPCOR CENTRE for the Performing Arts (Calgary, Alberta)
Soundasaurus returns for a second cacophonic year of experimental music, sound, performance and visual art. This multisensory festival of new media will make your iPhone look like an Albertosaurus as these pioneers on the cutting edge of electronic creation turn the stage into their laboratory.
January 7 Deconstructing Dad 7:30 pm Free Event
January 20 Reels of Steel 7:30 pm $17
January 21 Eklektika 7:30 pm $17
January 22 Daniel Menche 7:00 pm $17
Engineered Air Theatre
Call 403.294.9494 or visit www.epcorcentre.org

Midway - C.A.K.E. Young Artists' Society & guests (Calgary, Alberta)

The Rodeo's carnival centrepiece returns for three weekends with a smorgasbord of chaos and revelry, as Calgary's most raw and exciting young artists unite for three weeks of whimsy, imagination and sensory overload! Each weekend at Midway has a distinctive vibe, so there's always something new to experience. Go-go dancers, poi spinners, noise installations, neon body paint, interactive video and much more will be on display at this frenetic fairground!
January 7, 8 Sonic Boom 5:30 pm - 9:00 pm Free Event
January 14, 15 Glowstep Dark Carnival 5:30 pm - 9:00 pm Free Event
January 21, 22 Pacific Rim Mash Up 5:30 pm - 9:00 pm Free Event
Centre Court - EPCOR CENTRE for the Performing Arts
Call 403.294.7411 or visit www.hprodeo.ca

10-Minute Play Festival - Downstage (Calgary, Alberta)
The 11th annual 10-Minute Play Festival comes with a passing of the torch, as Downstage picks up from Ground Zero Theatre to usher Calgary's craziest theatrical event into its second decade. In this landmark Rodeo event, the city's most exciting indie theatre companies tackle a nigh-impossible task: create an original 10-minute play in 24 hours, inspired only by a prop and a line of dialogue! The result is a series of adrenaline-charged, insomnia-addled performances that are unpredictable, uninhibited and unforgettable..
January 8 8:00 pm $30
Martha Cohen Theatre
Call 403.294.9494 for tickets; call 403.294.7411 or visit www.hprodeo.ca for more information

SMASH CUT FREEZE - One Yellow Rabbit (Calgary, Alberta)
One of the major highlights of the festival will be One Yellow Rabbit's flagship creation SMASH CUT FREEZE. Mother. Father. Son. There's nothing simpler - but when you knock down the white picket fence, out spills a neurotic bundle of block parties and family secrets. Tumble back to the 1950s with One Yellow Rabbit, and experience Denise Clarke's hilarious vision of family dysfunction. Inspired by the classic 1952 film, The Member of the Wedding, SMASH CUT FREEZE is performed in glorious black-and-white by One Yellow Rabbit's Denise Clarke and Andy Curtis with guest artist Christopher Duthie
January 11 - 29 Various Times $28 - $38
Big Secret Theatre
Call 403.294.9494 for tickets; call 403.294.7411 or visit www.hprodeo.ca for more information

IN/Visible - This is My City (Calgary, Alberta)
This Is My City is an initiative that provides art-making opportunities to Calgary's homeless community and celebrates the vibrant diversity of our city. This series of lunchtime events, part of the ProArts Society's ProArts@Noon Series, is a showcase of artistic collaborations between members of the homeless community and local Calgary artists. Each week presents a different program, including music, film, performance, visual arts and a panel discussion.
January 12 Music and Spoken Word 12:00 pm Free Event
January 19 Theatre 12:00 pm Free Event
January 15 Panel Discussion 12:00 pm Free Event
Cathedral Church of the Redeemer
Call 403.294.7411 or visit www.hprodeo.ca

Acre of Dreams - Calgary Folk Music Festival, Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra & Tooth Blackner Presents. (Calgary, Alberta)
Acres of Dreams brings four of the province's most talented singer-songwriters - Kris Demeanor, James Keelaghan, Wendy McNeill and Cadence Weapon to join forces with Emmy Award winning arranger Dave Pierce and the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra to craft a powerful tale of immigration in the Canadian West
January 12 8:00 pm $30 - $50
Jack Singer Concert Hall
Call 403.294.9494 for tickets; call 403.294.7411 or visit www.hprodeo.ca for more information

sound machine: a theatrical concert - Compagnie Drift (Switzerland)
This multi-media performance removes boundaries between concert, theatre and dance. The poetry of the performances is strongly influenced by surrealism, Dadaism and absurdity. In this offbeat piece, which is a musical concert in dance, Compagnie Drift tries to surprise the audience and itself.
January 13, 14,15 8:00 pm $28 -$32
Vertigo Studio Theatre
Call 403.294.9494 for tickets; call 403.294.7411 or visit www.hprodeo.ca

In the Wake - Downstage (Calgary, Alberta)
An oxygen-deprived dead zone is devastating the marine life off Canada's west coast, and fisherman Jack Travail is feeling the impact. Frustrated by union reps and government inaction, Jack is desperate for a way to restore his livelihood. Enter Charlotte Wallace, a scientist whose research has the potential to bring life back to the ocean. When her discovery goes public, she finds herself enmeshed in Jack's struggle and the pair must decide if radical problems demand radical action. Winner of the 2010 Betty Mitchell Award for best New Play, In the Wake explores the complex dilemmas of geo-engineering and eco-terrorism
January 14 8:00 pm $25
January 15 3:00 pm & 9:30 pm $25
January 16 3:00 pm $25
Lunchbox Theatre
Call 403.294.9494 for tickets; call 403.294.7411 or visit www.hprodeo.ca for more information

Snowblower - Various Artists (United Kingdom, France, USA and Canada)
Building on last year's successful Snowblower, the Rodeo moves back out to Olympic Plaza. Fire and ice collide in this mind-expanding winter wonderland of new media. Featuring huge audio from an onslaught of international electronic musicians, including Rjd2 (Philadelphia, PA), Krazy Baldhead (France), Ikonika (United Kingdom), Mat the Alien (Calgary, AB), Subvert (Whistler, BC) and Piranha Piranha (Calgary, Alberta) PK Sound
January 15 5:00 pm - 11:00 pm Free
Olympic Plaza
Call 403.294.7411 or visit www.hprodeo.ca

Billy Bishop Goes to War - Soulpepper Theatre Company (Toronto, Ontario)
The Rodeo continues its successful collaboration with Theatre Calgary to present Billy Bishop Goes to War. John Gray and Eric Peterson's timeless story of World War One Canadian fighter pilot Billy Bishop is now considered a masterpiece of Canadian theatre. Now, more than thirty years after its creation, the original pair take flight again in the acclaimed production by Soulpepper Theatre Company.
January 18 7:30 pm $38.25-$73.25
January 19 2:00 pm & 7:30 pm $38.25-$73.25
January 20 7:30 pm $38.25-$73.25
January 21 8:00 pm $38.25-$73.25
January 22 2:00 pm & 8:00 pm $38.25-$73.25
Max Bell Theatre
Call 403.294.7440 or visit www.theatrecalgary.com.

Prom Storm - Kirsten Johnson (Calgary, Alberta)
As a painter, Kristen Johnson has exhibited across North America, Europe, Australia and Japan. Johnson's paintings bridge the gap between art and performance, bringing canvases to life with vibrant characters. In her new series of paintings and video, the tumultuousness of youth collides with the tumultuousness of the weather, teenagers at the prom, in a tornado.
January 19 - February 19 Free event
Axis Contemporary Art
Visit www.axisart.ca

L'Orchestre d'Hommes-Orchestres Performs Tom Waits - (Quebec City, Quebec)
Presented with Theatre Junction GRAND, Quebec City's L'Orchestre d'Hommes-Orchestres Performs Tom Waits. Using nearly 100 objects and invented instruments they come to the Rodeo armed with a colourful repertoire of songs by the legendary Tom Waits. Reinventing the music concert genre with unbridled energy, L'Orchestre d'Hommes-Orchestres creates music to be seen.
January 20, 21, 22 8:00 pm $37.60
Theatre Junction GRAND
Call 403.205.2922 x 1 or visit www.theatrejunction.com

The +15 Chinatown Art Parade- One Yellow Rabbit, CA.K.E. Young Artists' Society, City of Calgary (Calgary, Alberta)
The +15 Chinatown Art Parade will feature costumes, lanterns, music, lion dance and special effects to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Calgary's Chinatown! This event will be a colourful collision of traditional and contemporary culture, and will bring a rush of energy to the afternoon corporate rush hour.
January 21 4:00 pm Free Event
+15 System, Downtown Calgary
Call 403.294.9494 for tickets; call 403.294.7411 or visit www.hprodeo.ca for more information

BASH'd: A Gay Rap Opera - Craddock & Cuckow (Edmonton, Alberta)
The Rodeo is proud to welcome the return of BASH'd: A Gay Rap Opera. A tale about a pair of lovers, one of whom is bashed, prompting the other to take revenge, and is told entirely through rap, spoken word and poetry. Since BASH'd was last in Calgary it has won a GLAAD Award, performed in a successful off-Broadway Run and sold out at the Edmonton Fringe.
January 26 8:00 pm $32-$38
January 27 8:00 pm $32-$38
January 28 9:30 pm $32-$38
January 29 3:00 pm & 9:30 pm $32-$38
Vertigo Studio Theatre
Call 403.294.9494 for tickets; call 403.294.7411 or visit www.hprodeo.ca for more information

Absurdesque - Theaterlabor (Germany)
Theaterlabor makes a return to the festival with Absurdesque, which tells the story of four haggard actors who, for 25 years, have been performing Ionesco's The Bald Soprano, whose final stage direction instructs them to start the play anew.
January 28 7:30 pm $35
January 29 7:30 pm $35
January 30 3:00 pm $35
Lunchbox Theatre
Call 403.294.9494 for tickets; call 403.294.7411 or visit www.hprodeo.ca for more information

Wine Stage - One Yellow Rabbit Performance Theatre (Calgary, Alberta)
Wine Stage celebrates its 12th year as Calgary's premier wine and food event with an elegant new setting. At this dramatic fundraiser for One Yellow Rabbit Performance Theatre, guests will savour the world's finest wines from the city's best wine merchants, expertly paired with the succulent culinary creations by some of Calgary's finest restaurants.
January 29 7:30 pm $99
Hotel Arts
Call 403.294.9494 for tickets; call 403.294.7411 or visit www.hprodeo.ca for more information

Now in its 25th year, the High Performance Rodeo is an annual festival featuring theatre, dance, comedy, music and multimedia presentations. Curated by Artistic Director Michael Green, and produced by One Yellow Rabbit, it is dedicated to entertaining as wide an audience as imaginable, while remaining fertile ground for the progressive and wild. The High Performance Rodeo is the largest festival of its kind in Western Canada.
www.hprodeo.ca

 

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