Jan "JD" Derbyshire is a Canadian theatre artist, comedian, and writer. She has performed her one-woman show, ''Certified'', across Canada, including in Vancouver where it won two Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards.

Early life and education

Derbyshire was born and raised in Calgary,

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

. She completed master's degree from the

Ontario College of Art and Design Ontario College of Art & Design University, commonly known as OCAD University or OCAD, is a public art university located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The university's main campus is spread throughout several buildings and facilities within d ...

in Inclusive Design in 2014.

Career

In 2010 alongside the Paralympic Games, Derbyshire performed her one-woman show ''Funny in the Head'' at the Kickstart Disability Arts and Culture Festival. ''Funny in the Head'', a show about Derbyshire's experiences with bipolar disorder, was the only show performed at Kickstart. Derbyshire developed the one-woman show, ''Certified'', in 2018. She has performed ''Certified'' for Handsome Alice Theatre ( Calgary) in 2018, Touchstone Theatre (

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

) in 2019, at

One Yellow Rabbit One Yellow Rabbit Performance Theatre (OYR) is based in the Big Secret Theatre in Calgary’s Arts Commons. With its Resident Performing Ensemble, OYR creates original theatrical works each year for its home audiences and also hosts The High Per ...

's High Performance Rodeo (Calgary) in 2020, and at the Progress Festival (

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

) in 2020. In 2020, Derbyshire was writer-in-residence at

Mount Royal University Mount Royal University (MRU) is a public university in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. History Mount Royal University was founded by Alberta provincial charter by the Arthur Sifton government on December 16, 1910 and officially opened on September 8, ...

Personal life

Derbyshire and her ex-husband, TV director Michael Rohl, have a daughter, actress

Kacey Rohl Kacey Rohl (born August 6, 1991) is a Canadian actress. She is known for playing Sterling Fitch in the television crime drama '' The Killing'', Prudence in the 2011 dark fantasy film ''Red Riding Hood'', and Abigail Hobbs in the television drama ...

Plays

* ''Labour Unions, the Brotherhood of Mothers'' * ''Freaky Jane Fine Takes on the Serious World'' * ''Bearded Circus Ladies'' * ''Ingenius Speculations'' co-written with Kim Selody, Rita Bozi, and Roy Surette * ''Joke You'' * ''Maharani and the Maple Leaf'' * ''Under the Big Top'' * ''All In'' * ''Funny in the Head'' * ''Turkey in the Woods'' * ''Sorry Toronto, Really I Am'' * ''Certified''

Awards

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Derbyshire, Jan OCAD University alumni Canadian women dramatists and playwrights Canadian women comedians Living people Writers from Calgary 20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights 21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Date of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) Comedians from Alberta 20th-century Canadian women writers