Dave Jenniss was born in 1974 in Trois-Pistoles. Of Maliseet descent on his father’s side and Québécois on his mother’s, he is deeply involved in Indigenous culture, particularly in theatre.
In 2004, he completed the Indigenous actor training program offered by the theatre company Ondinnok, where he met Yves Sioui Durand, who would become his mentor.
In 2005, he played the role of Dave in Hamlet, le Malécite, by Yves Sioui Durand and Jean-François Mercier, and directed the 20th anniversary show for Ondinnok.
He went on to perform in numerous theatre productions (Wigwam, Wulustek, Contes urbains, Les papillons de Nuit, Boeing Boeing, L’Amour à l’agenda, Toc Toc, Confidence trop intime, Charlotte) and television shows (La grande bataille 2, C’est ici qu’on le dit, Les Rescapés de la justice, Shaputuan, Mouki).
He began writing for the stage in 2008 with the play Wulustek, which premiered at Ondinnok Theatre. He went on to write several other plays. In 2016, he was an artist-in-residence as part of the Projet 3e œil at Centre artistique l’Avant-première in Gatineau. In 2017, he became the artistic director of Ondinnok, succeeding Yves Sioui Durand.
