Created and Performed by Chris Dodd
November 24-26, 2023 | VIFF Studio Theatre (1181 Seymour Street)
Performance Times: November 24 at 7:30pm | *November 25 at 7:30pm | November 26 at 2:00pm
*Join us on November 25 for a community night, featuring ASL interpretation at front of house. Following this performance, there will be an Artist Talk with Chris Dodd and Director Ashley Wright, which will also be ASL interpreted.
*Tickets: $25 (plus applicable venue fees) at pitheatre.com
*(Low and no-cost tickets are available for those who identify as party of the Deaf and Hard of Hearing community. To book your ticket, e-mail li***@*******re.com)
Run Time: 60 minutes
Photos:https://bit.ly/408Yz5Z
(Vancouver, B.C.) — Pi Theatre, as part of its Provocateurs Series, is pleased to present Deafy from Friday, November 24 to Sunday, November 26, 2023 at the VIFF Studio Theatre (1181 Seymour Street, Vancouver).
Deaf public speaker, ‘Nathan Jesper’, has arrived at his venue desperately late. As he launches into his speech, he soon realizes that things are not what they seem.
A new play by Deaf artist Chris Dodd, Deafy skillfully combines ASL, surtitles, and the spoken word to weave together a tragicomedy that takes the audience on an unexpected journey of discovering what it really means to belong.
Chris Dodd is a Treaty 6 (Edmonton)-based award-winning Deaf actor, playwright, accessibility advocate, and Governor General Innovation Award finalist. He is the founder and artistic director of SOUND OFF, Canada’s national festival devoted to Deaf performance. Chris holds a degree from the University of Alberta’s Drama program and has been working within Edmonton’s theatre community, and across Canada, for over 25 years.
Deafy recently toured Ontario and was presented as part of Highwire Series at Citadel Theatre’s 2022/23 season. The play was recently published by Playwrights Canada Press as part of the anthology, “Interdependent Magic: Disability Performance in Canada”. In 2019, Chris received the Guy Laliberté Prize for innovation and creative leadership by the Canada Council for the Arts.
“Deafy is a riveting and crucial story about the experience of marginalization … one that speaks to anyone who has felt shut out, oppressed, or marginalized. It’s a story of struggling to find a sense of place and belonging, and how to deal with the hurt and resentment of feeling that the only person you can rely on is yourself.”
– NOW Toronto
“Dodd is an ace storyteller, a master of those wry eyebrow lifts and rueful shrugs that, along with precision comic timing, set the old-school comedians apart.”
Credits for Deafy:
Writer|Performer: Chris Dodd
Director: Ashley Wright
Production Designer|Surtitlist: Sarah Karpyshin
Associate Lighting Designer|Surtitlist: Whittyn Jason
Sound Designer: Dave Clarke
Movement Coach: Ainsley Hillyard
Stage Manager: Jess Arden
ASL Coach: Amorena Bartlett
Vocal Coach: Joshua Meredith
Community Outreach Coordinator: Ladan Sahraei
For more information on Pi Theatre, please visit the following social media channels:
- Website: www.pitheatre.com
- Twitter: www.twitter.com/pitheatre
- Instagram: www.instagram.com/pi.theatre
- Facebook: www.facebook.com/pitheatre
About Pi Theatre:
Pi Theatre produces bold and uncompromising theatre that is intellectually alive and emotionally charged. Founded in 1984, Pi is now under the leadership of Artistic Director Richard Wolfe and strives to create social moments and community connections with the work it produces and presents. Pi Theatre invests in impactful art and artists in order to challenge sensitivities and generate conversation. Since the company’s inception, Pi has produced over 100 shows and events, has received 34 Jessie Richardson Theatre Awards, and 116 Jessie Award nominations. Pi is committed to accessibility and supporting its community. www.pitheatre.com