Michael Green

From the rain-streaked window of a high-speed train in the Netherlands. Through the chipped windshield of a rusting Lada in flood-ravaged Prague. Off to starboard from a salt-stained whale-watching catamaran in Witless Bay. Between the folding doors of a Stalin-era streetcar lurching over the brown Danube: The lives and landmarks glimpsed on a lifelong safari.

The stories of our lives are (we hope) intimate travelogues from our (still hoping) exotic adventures. The fact that some people’s stories are more interesting than others is why we choose to sit in a theatre. An extraordinary tale masterfully told is a singular human experience, as ancient as the campfire itself, and yet, once you subtract the bells and whistles, it’s what the High Performance Rodeo is all about.

Each of the artists presented at this year’s festival is a veteran of the road less travelled, and together—for the month of January—they aim to take us along on an expedition to exotic ports unknown.

Laurie Anderson’s window on the world might well be the porthole of a space shuttle, or the lens of a telescope. Andy Jones sees everything through a funhouse glass. One Yellow Rabbit, meanwhile, is one-third of a team that is looking at a single historical act from the point of view of three very different and constantly shifting cultural vantage points.

So welcome to One Yellow Rabbit’s 19th Annual High Performance Rodeo. Keep your eyes peeled and your seatbelts fastened. And remember, once we have attained cruising altitude, there will be bar service.