Jan Derbyshire | |
---|---|
Born | |
Other names | JD |
Children | Kacey Rohl |
Website | www |
Jan "JD" Derbyshire is a Canadian theatre artist, comedian, and writer. They have performed their one-person show, Certified, across Canada, including in Vancouver where it won two Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards.
Derbyshire was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta. They completed a master's degree from the Ontario College of Art and Design in Inclusive Design in 2014. [1] [2]
Derbyshire's play, Funny in the Head, about their experiences with bipolar disorder, was commissioned by Stage Left Productions, and it premiered at the Balancing Acts Disability Arts Festival in Alberta, Canada in 2008. [3] In 2010, alongside the Paralympic Games, Derbyshire performed their one-person show Funny in the Head at the Kickstart Disability Arts and Culture Festival, and it was the only show performed at Kickstart. [4]
Derbyshire developed another one-person show, Certified, in 2018. They have performed Certified for Handsome Alice Theatre (Calgary) in 2018, [5] Touchstone Theatre (Vancouver) in 2019, [6] at One Yellow Rabbit's High Performance Rodeo (Calgary) in 2020, [7] and at the Progress Festival (Toronto) in 2020. [8]
In 2020, Derbyshire was writer-in-residence at Mount Royal University. [7]
Derbyshire and their ex-husband, TV director Michael Rohl, have a daughter, actress Kacey Rohl. [9] [1]
Year | Award | Category | Work | Result | Notes | Ref. |
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2020 | Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards | Outstanding Original Script | Certified | Won | [11] | |
Critics’ Choice Innovation Award | Won | for Touchstone Theatre |
Canada's contemporary theatre reflects a rich diversity of regional and cultural identities. Since the late 1960s, there has been a concerted effort to develop the voice of the 'Canadian playwright', which is reflected in the nationally focused programming of many of the country's theatres. Within this 'Canadian voice' are a plurality of perspectives - that of the First Nations, new immigrants, French Canadians, sexual minorities, etc. - and a multitude of theatre companies have been created to specifically service and support these voices.
Joy Dorothy Coghill-Thorne, CM, was a Canadian actress, director, and writer. Her obituary in The Vancouver Sun described her as having had "a seven-decade run at the top of the Vancouver theatre world."
Sean Stephane Martin was an American-Canadian cartoonist, illustrator, and graphic designer, best known for creating the long-running Doc and Raider comic strip which appeared in LGBT publications in the 1980s and 1990s, and online in the 2000 and 2010s.
Michael Rohl is a Canadian TV director and producer. He has worked on Shadowhunters, Smallville, Supernatural, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, Andromeda, Kyle XY, and Reaper as well as many other programs. He and ex-wife, writer Jan Derbyshire, have a daughter, actress Kacey Rohl.
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