Whether you’re a theatre nerd, or just a newbie trying to get a taste, this totally unique take on theatre featuring rapid-fire storytelling created an evening of fun, bold ideas.
This High Performance Rodeo tradition was hosted at the Martha Cohen Theatre on January 13, 2026 and packed drama, laughter, and mystery into bite sized performances.
With just 24 hours to plan, write, and create these works of art, six local theatre groups got to work. Every year the artists have a surprise item and line of dialogue they must include in their scripts, this year it was inspired by the latest production of Dream Machine by One Yellow Rabbit Ensemble.
Plays each had to have a runtime of ten minutes, just long enough to dive into the meat of the story, without dwelling on ideas for too long. These quick cuts create an experience that stayed feeling fresh and new for the whole 120 minute show, and kept people entertained with plot twists, emotion and plenty of surprises.
For new theatre attendees this event was an amazing gateway to the talents in the city, and for experienced playgoers this event brought a new twist to classic theatrical performances. The (successful) mission for the organizers, One Yellow Rabbit Performance Theatre, was to connect the audience with a show where risks are taken, and you can’t predict what will happen next.
One Yellow Rabbit has had a goal for four decades, “trust artists, trust audiences, and embrace the joy of not knowing what’s coming next.”
The talented companies involved with this event included Chromatic Theatre, Cowtown Brass Band, Calgary Young Peoples Theatre, Major Matt Mason Collective, Thumbs Up Good Work, and Verb Theatre.
The Ten Minute Play Festival was a creative and daring introduction to the 40th High Performance Rodeo Festival. If you missed this event, don’t worry, the celebration is just getting started, performances will be happening from January 13 to 31, 2026.
All photos by Benjamin Laird, Benjamin Laird Arts & Photo.
Captions by Kiara Neisz.
