Straight, No Chaser is a new dance-theatre production by O.Dela Arts, premiering September 2026

Written and performed by Olivia C. Davies

How does a mother pass down lessons she was never taught? How does she provide her unborn child
with answers to questions she had growing up even as she continues to search for them herself?

‘Straight, No Chaser’ is a 75-minute monodrama dance-theatre performance by Olivia C. Davies.
The solo touches on Olivia’s early lived experiences growing up surrounded by matriarchs (her mother,
great aunts, and grandmother) in the ghetto of Ottawa, how she was almost abandoned when her mom
died of cancer when she was only 6, and then finally being adopted by her godmother and raised as her
own daughter. Woven through the script are references to Olivia’s personal research in her ancestral
legacy, including her finding of the story of “Indian Woman” who started her family with a “courreur des
bois” in Fort Mackinac, Michigan and the “Origin Story” her father told her of his first date with her mother,
along with references to Olivia’s own battles with addiction through her 20s, and the celebration of 10
years of sobriety coinciding with the birth of her first daughter. Through a series of scenes that jump
across time, Olivia turns the pages of history to reckon with the life of her ancestors, her mother and
father’s relationship, her addictions and unresolved life choices, her forthcoming pregnancy, and the
future of her unborn child. The story is told to the witness as a conversation; Olivia speaks directly to
the audience, as though they are invited guests to her celebration. On stage, Olivia transforms the
blackbox theatre into a series of living spaces, with the main action taking place in the storytellers’
kitchen where she bakes a cake in real-time, and serves the audience freshly baked slices just as she
reaches the end of the story.

Credits:
Written, choreographed and performed by Olivia C. Davies
Produced by O.Dela Arts
Aimee Bailey, Cultural Consultant
Diane Roberts, Director
Olivia Shortt, Composer
Samay Arcentales, Video Designer (July 2025)
Echo Zhou, Set Designer
Sarah Uwadiae, Costume Designer
Graham Price, Lighting Designer
Sephora N’Kosi, Assistant Lighting Designer
Laura Wheeler, Stage Manager & Technical Director
Originally conceived and co-written with Raïna Von Waldenburg
Supported by BC Arts Council, Canada Council for the Arts and City of Vancouver, and production partners for various stages of developement including The Dance Centre, FTA, Mauricie Arts Vivants, and Ottawa Dance Directive.

For more information, please contact Producer, Natasha Eck