Intrepid Theatre

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Is ignorance really bliss?

And what happens when we learn things we wish had remained secret?

Jamie’s got a secret.

And it’s a doozy.

Join us as director Jamie Dunsdon returns to the stage for the first time in over a decade to turn back the clock on her own birth and investigate the nature of knowing oneself.

An intimate, playful, and authentic performance that is part theatre, part investigation of all the things we wish we could un-know and all parts birthday party.

“Bliss is an important experience…it should not be missed.’ – Calgary Herald

“After seeing Jamie Dunsdon’s Bliss (the birthday party play) which she wrote and performs in, I’m not sure if I’m more in awe of Jamie the playwright, Jamie the performer or Jamie the remarkable, beautiful person who bares her soul so winningly for 75 minutes.” – Calgary Herald

Credits

Writer/performer: JAMIE DUNSDON
Director: KAREN HINES
Stage Manager: KATE PALLESEN
Original set design: HANNE LOOSEN
Original lighting design: AJAY BADONI
Sound design: KRISTIN EVELEIGH

Bliss (The Birthday Party Play) was originally co-produced with Verb Theatre and One Yellow Rabbit Performance Theatre, and performed as part of the 2020 The High Performance Rodeo.

This project was supported by Calgary Arts Development, Alberta Foundation for the Arts, The City of Calgary 

About the Artists:

Jamie has been the Artistic Director of Verb Theatre since 2009, and has had the great pleasure of sharing the organization with many collaborators and with the community at large.

During her time at Verb, Jamie is so proud to have seen the company grow from a fiesty start-up to a critically renowned instituion, registered charity and not-for-profit organization with exponential growth each season. She has had the pleasure of welcoming 9 world premieres to the stage during her tenure, and has enjoyed presenting Verb’s work in a number of highly celebrated festivals.

Directing credits for Verb include: The Wolves, Blackbird, Lungs, The Dandelion Project, Jim Forgetting, Marg Szkaluba (Pissy’s Wife), John and Beatrice, and The Shape of a Girl.  Other selected credits include: Deathtrap (Vertigo Theatre); The Importance of Being Earnest (Grand Theatre, London); Unity 1918, Macbeth, Village of Idiots, Richard III, The Lost Prince, The Bridge, The Little Princess (Calgary Young People’s Theatre), and; Tree Hugger (Urban Curvz).

In addition to her work at Verb, Jamie is thrilled to be an occasional sessional instructor for the University of Lethbridge (Calgary Campus), and the Artistic Producer and regular director for Calgary Young People’s Theatre.  In 2013/14, she was also honoured to be the Artistic Associate at the Grand Theatre in London.  She holds an MFA in Directing from the University of Calgary, and a BFA in Performance from the University of Lethbridge.