Making a Point

You've got to work with what you've got. And if you've got 10 personalities vying for top billing in your body, why not give each one its own time in the limelight? For Jamie Dakis, that's exactly what's happening. She's an Alaskan woman diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder, and her...

By Leah Shafer

February 16, 2006

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You've got to work with what you've got. And if you've got 10 personalities vying for top billing in your body, why not give each one its own time in the limelight? For Jamie Dakis, that's exactly what's happening. She's an Alaskan woman diagnosed with Dissociative Identity Disorder, and her 10 personalities are onstage for all to see in There Is Never a Reference Point at the University of Texas at Dallas. Each personality gets its own set and actor to portray it, including Magick the goddess-type and Marta the perpetually pissed-off. An audience of about 40 will wander through the stages, interacting with and listening to the different parts of Dakis' psyche as they explain their roles in her life. Misty the stripper is getting ready for a show, and James is ready to protect all the other personalities—and you are guaranteed to feel like Freud for an evening, observing something curious. There Is Never a Reference Point will open at 7 p.m. Thursday at the UTD's University Theatre, 2601 N. Floyd Road in Richardson. The production will run through Sunday, with performances at 7 p.m., 7:45 p.m., 8:30 p.m. and 9:15 p.m. on Thursday, Friday and Saturday and at 2 p.m., 2:45 p.m. , 3:30 p.m. and 4:15 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is free. Call 972-883-2787 or visit ah.utdallas.edu.
Feb. 16-18, 7, 7:45, 8:30 & 9:15 p.m.; Sun., Feb. 19, 2, 2:45, 3:30 & 4:15 p.m.

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