Rebecca Northan
 |
Rebecca Northan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, improviser, theatre director, creative artist |
Rebecca Northanis a Canadian actor,[1]improviser, theatre director, and creative artist. She is known for playing the hippie mother Diane Macleod on theCTV&The Comedy NetworksitcomAlice, I Thinkand for her role as Jane in the independent filmAdult Adoption.She is a graduate of theUniversity of Calgary,and an alumna of theLoose Moose TheatreCompany where she did herimprovtraining withKeith Johnstone.
Northan has beenimprovisingand working as an actor for many years, and in 2004 she was nominated for aGemini Awardfor "Best Ensemble in a Comedy" for The Comedy Network’sThe Joe Blow Show.Northan is also a five-timeCanadian Comedy Awardnominee, and one time winner, for "Best Female Improviser". She has made several appearances at theMontrealJust For LaughsComedy Festival in the World Improv Games, and was a member ofThe Second CityToronto mainstage cast. She has also appeared as a guest host onCBC'sThis Hour Has 22 Minutes,as well as having appeared in the feature filmsThe RockerandMr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium.She also co-stars in theShowcaseseriesThe Foundation,directed byMichael Dowse.
As a theatre actor, Northan has worked across Canada includingTheatre Calgary,Manitoba Theatre Centre,Fringe Theatre Adventures(Edmonton),Quest Theatre(touring theatre for young people) andAlberta Theatre Projects.InToronto,Northan was nominated for aDora Mavor Moore Awardfor "Best Actress" for her work in Eric Woolfe's Jack the Ripper play, Dear Boss. When not performing Northan also works as producer/director.
Northan was briefly married to Canadian actorBruce Horak.The two continue to work as creative partners, and together, have created a number of award-winning projects. Northan and Horak collaborated on the live theatrical showThis is Cancer!,a comedy which brings the character of Cancer to life in order to address the modern audience's currentcancerconcerns. They are also responsible forLegend Has It,Undercover,andAn Undiscovered Shakespeare- all productions which fall under the banner of Spontaneous Theatre, a theatrical genre pioneered by Northan, which casts an audience member in the lead role.
In the summer of 2007, Northan created a performance piece for theHarbourfront Centre's SpiegelshowBlind Date,an improvised turn in which Northan chooses a member of the audience to perform with her as her blind date. This subsequently evolved into a 90 minute performance that initially played at both theLoose Moose Theatre,and theWorld Stage SeriesatHarbourfront Centrein Toronto, to sold out crowds. In December 2010, the show was picked up by Broadway ProducerKevin McCollum.It sold out its run at Ars Nova in NYC, and was met with rave reviews.
In the spring of 2013 McCollum broughtBlind Dateto the Charing Cross Theatre in London, UK for seven weeks.[2]
In 2016, she won theDora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female in a Principal Role – Play (Large Theatre)forBlind Date.As of 2021,Blind Datehas had just over 900 performances.Queer Blind Datedeveloped in partnership withBuddies in Bad Times Theatre,in Toronto, and a Norwegian version has been licensed to the improv company Det Andre Teatret in Oslo.
AlongsidePaul O'Sullivan,Debra McGrath,Lisa MerchantandPeter Oldring,she received aGemini Awardnomination forEnsemble Performance in a Comedy Program or Seriesat the19th Gemini Awardsin 2004 forThe Joe Blow Show.[3]
References
[edit]- ^Adult Adoption (2022) - IMDb,retrieved2023-04-16
- ^Shenton, Mark."Blind Date on Stage".Playbill. Archived fromthe originalon 5 June 2013.Retrieved23 May2013.
- ^"2004 Gemini Awards top-category nominees".Montreal Gazette,December 11, 2004.