Jan Derbyshire is a multi-talented playwright, actor, improvisor and comedian. As resident artist at Playwrights' Workshop Montréal in 1995 she wrote her play Bearded Circus Ladies. According to Peter Smith, Artistic Director of Playwrights' Workshop:

Jan is an artist who is wildly talented, imaginative and energetic. Her writing has gotten stronger and clearer over the years. She comes to theatre with a background in stand-up comedy and uses many stand-up techniques in her work. Jan's plays are rooted in a deep fascination with a good story. She is concerned with women's stories and issues, but without apology. Her style is very confident, funny and energizing.

Currently, Jan's solo show, The Opposite of Everything Is True will be part of Ottawa's Great Canadian Theatre Company and Victoria's The Belfry's 1998 seasons. Her newest solo show, A Modern Women's Guide To Female Impersonation, will premiere at The Woman In View Festival in Vancouver.

Plays

• Freaky Find, Quest Theatre, Calgary, 1997.
• Bearded Circus Ladies, Playwrights' Workshop Montréal, and Women in View Festival, Vancouver, 1996.
• Joke You, Women in View Festival, Vancouver, 1995.
• Under the Top, Quest Theatre, Calgary 1994. Producer: Duval Lang.
• Labour Unions, Lunchbox Theatre, Calgary, 1994. Producers Margaret and Bartley Bard.
• Maharani and the Maple Leaf, Firehall Theatre, Vancouver, 1993. Producer Donna Spencer.
• How to Rate a Bull's Libido, Lunchbox Theatre, Calgary, 1993. Producer Margaret and Bartley Bard.
• The Comedy of Oedipus or You'll Put Your Eye Out, with Dean Haglund and Stephen Fowler for the 1990 Vancouver Fringe Festival.