D'bi Young



D'bi Young is a Jamaican-Canadian dub poet, monodramatist, and educator, as well as a Dora-winning actor and playwright.

Life
Raised Debbie Young in Jamaica, she moved to Canada in 1993. As an actor, she has appeared in Trey Anthony's da kink in my hair, which garnered her a Dora nomination for best actress, and the television sitcom Lord Have Mercy!. She won outstanding new play and outstanding performance by a female in a principal role in a play in the 2006 Dora Mavor Moore Awards for her play blood.claat: one womban story. In 2007 She facilitated a summer dub theatre program for youth in Toronto, which led her to founding and artistic directing anitafrika dub theatre. She identifies as a 'biomythicist,' borrowing the term 'biomyth' from the late audre lorde. D'bi is curator of the Badilisha Poetry X-Change project created by the Africa Centre and artistic director of YEMOYA, an international artist-residency based in Cape Town, South Africa.

Awards

 * artstarts emerging artist award 2002
 * nourbese philip award 2002
 * harold theatre award 2005
 * 2 dora awards - outstanding new play, outstanding female lead - bloodclaat 2006
 * naacp best cast ensemble award - da kink in my hair 2007
 * rbc toronto arts council emerging artist award 2007
 * km hunter theatre award 2010

Publications

 * art on black (book of poetry) 2005
 * blood.claat (play) 2006
 * rivers and other blackness between us (book of poetry) 2007

Plays

 * Selphine Loathing 2001
 * yagayah: two.womben.black.griots 2001
 * blood(claat): one oomaan story 2005 (part 1 of sankofa trilogy)
 * androgyne 2006
 * benu 2009 (part 2 of sankofa trilogy)
 * word! sound! powah 2010 (part 3 of sankofa trilogy)
 * she 2010

Discography

 * debbie young - when the love is not enough 2000
 * debbie young - xperimentin dub with dub trinity reggae band  2001
 * debbie young - xperimentin dub in havana Cuba 2002
 * d'bi.young - dubbin.revolushun: blood demo 2003
 * d'bi.young - animal farm single 2005
 * d'bi.young - when sisters speak live 2007
 * d'bi.young - wombanifesto 2010

Compilations

 * wordlife: tales of the underground griots 1998
 * la vache enragee 1998
 * ribsauce: a CD anthology of words by women 1999
 * lost tribes of the sun: renewal 2003
 * cbc national poetry slam compilation 2004