One Yellow Rabbit Performance Theatre (OYR) is based in the Big Secret Theatre in

Calgary Calgary ( ) is the largest city in the western Canadian province of Alberta and the largest metro area of the three Prairie Provinces. As of 2021, the city proper had a population of 1,306,784 and a metropolitan population of 1,481,806, makin ...

’s Arts Commons. With its Resident Performing Ensemble, OYR creates original theatrical works each year for its home audiences and also hosts The High Performance Rodeo, Calgary’s International Festival of the Arts. OYR was founded in 1982, operating as a collective until coalescing into the OYR Performing Ensemble circa 1987-8. In its history, the company has created almost 80 full-length original productions. Ensemble personnel have remained relatively consistent since then, and OYR established a professional administrative staff. The company’s philosophy and practice has been influenced by contemporary

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

, the Artist run centre movement, the

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, and the ''do-it-yourself'' creed. In 1987, OYR produced the ''Secret Elevator Experimental Performance Festival'', later renamed the ''High Performance Rodeo'' in 1988. The festival has grown annually in audience, venues, and impact, surpassing 10,000 attendees in 2006 and 16,000 in 2009. It now reaches over 20,000 audience members every year. The Rodeo features theatre, dance, music and multimedia presentations from across

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

and abroad. Artists presented in recent years range from hundreds of emerging artists to

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Catalyst Theatre Catalyst Theatre is a multi-award-winning theatre company based in Edmonton, Alberta. Founded in 1977 as a social action theatre, it was taken over by Artistic Co-Directors Jonathan Christenson and Joey Tremblay in 1996, who drastically changed t ...

, Electric Company Theatre, Compagnie

Marie Chouinard Marie Chouinard OC (born 14 May 1955) is a Canadian dancer, choreographer, and dance company director. Life and work In 1978, Chouinard presented her first work, ''Crystallization''. After 12 years as a solo performer and choreographer, Chouina ...

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, Andy Jones, members of

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, Les Deux Mondes,

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, and the OYR Ensemble itself. His Excellency Jean-Daniel Lafond was the Rodeo’s Honorary Patron from 2008-2009. He and Governor General Michaëlle Jean attended performances and hosted three “Art Matters” community forums as part of the festival. OYR has toured across

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Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

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and

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. The 1990s saw a large increase in the number and frequency of tours, starting with the productions ''The Erotic Irony of Old Glory'' and ''Ilsa, Queen of the Nazi Love Camp''. Scotland's

Traverse Theatre The Traverse Theatre is a theatre in Edinburgh, Scotland. It was founded in 1963 by John Calder, John Malcolm, Jim Haynes and Richard Demarco. The Traverse Theatre company commissions and develops new plays or adaptations from contemporary pla ...

was often the launching pad for international tours. In 1995, OYR expanded the Secret Theatre into the Big Secret Theatre, increasing its technical versatility and doubling seating to 130. Seating was further upgraded in 2002 to a potential 249 (although most theatre shows play in the 189-seat configuration.) In 1998, OYR's Denise Clarke founded the Summer Lab Intensive school of performance creation, attended by 20 students from across Canada. The 2009 Lab was the 13th annual edition. 250 “labbits” have graduated. In 2003, Banff Centre Press published Wild Theatre: The History of One Yellow Rabbit by Martin Morrow. The book contains prefaces by Ronnie Burkett and Factory Theatre's Ken Gass.

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* {{authority control Theatre in Calgary Theatre companies in Alberta 1982 establishments in Alberta

See also

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