Dawn Jani Birley was born in Saskatchewan to third generation Deaf family and identifies herself as culturally and linguistically Deaf. Toronto Theatre Critics Award Winner for Best Actress in a Play for her role as Horatio in Prince Hamlet, Canadian Cultural Society of the Deaf Person of the Year and Swedish Riksteatern’s Artist of the Year, Birley is a versatile actor with an uncanny ability for storytelling. Her career takes her all over the world, spanning more than fifteen years of professional experience in theatre and film. With a Master of Arts in Physical Theatre with Merit from St. Mary’s University in London, Dawn established 1S1 Theatre in 2019 with a vision for Deaf and hearing to enjoy theatre together. The mission is to create theatre at the intersections of Deaf and hearing worlds, always from a Deaf-led perspective, to push for positive change in our today’s world. Aside from acting, Dawn Jani is often summoned to give workshops/training, motivational speeches and appearances.

www.dawnjanibirley.com
https://whynot.theatre/work/1s1/