Rebecca Northan is a Canadian actor, improviser, theatre director, and creative artist. She is known for playing the hippie mother Diane Macleod on the CTV &

The Comedy Network CTV Comedy Channel (often shortened to CTV Comedy and formerly known as The Comedy Network) is a Canadian English-language specialty channel owned by Bell Media which focuses primarily on comedy programming. The channel first launched on Octob ...

sitcom '' Alice, I Think''. She is a graduate of the

University of Calgary The University of Calgary (U of C or UCalgary) is a public research university located in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. The University of Calgary started in 1944 as the Calgary branch of the University of Alberta, founded in 1908, prior to being ins ...

, and an alumna of the

Loose Moose Theatre The Loose Moose Theatre Company (LMTC), is a theater company based in Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It was co-founded in 1977, by Keith Johnstone and Mel Tonken. LMTC has an international reputation for developing the theatrical style of improvisati ...

Company where she did her improv training with

Keith Johnstone Keith Johnstone (born February 21, 1933) is a British and Canadian pioneer of improvisational theatre, best known for inventing the ''Impro System'', part of which are the Theatresports. He is also an educator, playwright, actor and theatre dir ...

. Northan has been improvising and working as an actor for many years, and in 2004 she was nominated for a Gemini Award for "Best Ensemble in a Comedy" for The Comedy Network’s ''The Joe Blow Show''. Northan is also a five-time Canadian Comedy Award nominee, and one time winner, for "Best Female Improviser". She has made several appearances at the

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in the World Improv Games, and was a member of

The Second City The Second City is an improvisational comedy enterprise and is the oldest ongoing improvisational theater troupe to be continually based in Chicago, with training programs and live theatres in Toronto and Los Angeles. The Second City Theatre o ...

Toronto mainstage cast. She has also appeared as a guest host on CBC's ''

This Hour Has 22 Minutes ''This Hour Has 22 Minutes'' (commonly shortened to ''22 Minutes'' since 2009) is a weekly Canadian television comedy that airs on CBC Television. Launched in 1993 during Canada's 35th general election, the show focuses on Canadian politics w ...

'', as well as having appeared in the feature films '' The Rocker'' and '' Mr. Magorium's Wonder Emporium''. She also co-stars in the

Showcase Showcase or vitrine may refer to: *Cabinet (furniture) *Display case Music * ''Showcase'' (Bill Anderson album), 1964 * ''Showcase'' (Patsy Cline album), 1961 * ''Showcase'' (Buddy Holly album), 1964 * ''Showcase'' (Philly Joe Jones album), 1959 ...

series '' The Foundation'', directed by

Michael Dowse Michael Dowse (born April 19, 1973) is a Canadian director. Life and career Born in London, Ontario, to Irish parents, he was trained as a film editor. His first full-length movie, '' FUBAR'' was shot on a digital camera with a tiny budget, but ...

. As a theatre actor, Northan has worked across Canada including

Theatre Calgary Theatre Calgary, is a theatre company in Calgary, Alberta, Canada, established as a professional company in 1968. It was preceded by Workshop 14, a theatre study group founded in 1944 by Betty Mitchell. Calgary's ''Betty Mitchell'' awards are ...

, Manitoba Theatre Centre, Fringe Theatre Adventures (Edmonton), Quest Theatre (touring theatre for young people) and Alberta Theatre Projects. In

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the anch ...

, Northan was nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore Award for "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 actor Bruce 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 show ''This is Cancer!'', a comedy which brings the character of Cancer to life in order to address the modern audience's current

cancer Cancer is a group of diseases involving abnormal cell growth with the potential to invade or spread to other parts of the body. These contrast with benign tumors, which do not spread. Possible signs and symptoms include a lump, abnormal b ...

concerns. They are also responsible for ''Legend Has It'', ''Undercover'', and ''An 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 the

Harbourfront Centre Harbourfront Centre is a key cultural organization on the waterfront of Toronto, Ontario, Canada, situated at 235 Queens Quay West. Established as a crown corporation in 1972 by the Government of Canada to create a waterfront park, it became ...

's Spiegelshow ''Blind 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 the

, and the World Stage Series at

in Toronto, to sold out crowds. In December 2010, the show was picked up by Broadway Producer

Kevin McCollum Kevin McCollum (born March 1, 1962) is an American theatrical booking executive and producer of musical theater and plays, many on Broadway. During a producing career spanning over twenty-five years, McCollum has received three Tony Awards for ...

. It sold out its run at Ars Nova in NYC, and was met with rave reviews. In the spring of 2013 McCollum brought ''Blind Date'' to the Charing Cross Theatre in London, UK for seven weeks. In 2016, she won the Dora Mavor Moore Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female in a Principal Role – Play (Large Theatre) for ''Blind Date''. As of 2021, ''Blind Date'' has had just over 900 performances. ''Queer Blind Date'' developed in partnership with Buddies in Bad Times Theatre, in Toronto, and a Norwegian version has been licensed to the improv company Det Andre Teatret in Oslo. Alongside Paul O'Sullivan,

Debra McGrath Debra McGrath (born July 5, 1954) is a Canadian actress and comedian. Education Debra McGrath was born in Toronto in 1954. She studied theatre at Ryerson Polytechnical Institute (now Toronto Metropolitan University). Career McGrath first sta ...

, Lisa Merchant and

Peter Oldring Peter James Edward Oldring (born August 25, 1971) is a Canadian actor and comedian. Early life Oldring was born on August 25, 1971, in Drayton Valley, Alberta. He graduated from Sir Winston Churchill High School in 1989 in Calgary, Alberta, ...

, she received a Gemini Award nomination for Ensemble Performance in a Comedy Program or Series at the 19th Gemini Awards in 2004 for '' The Joe Blow Show''."2004 Gemini Awards top-category nominees". ''

Montreal Gazette The ''Montreal Gazette'', formerly titled ''The Gazette'', is the only English-language daily newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Three other daily English-language newspapers shuttered at various times during the second half of th ...

'', December 11, 2004.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Northan, Rebecca Canadian film actresses Canadian television actresses Living people Canadian Comedy Award winners University of Calgary alumni 21st-century Canadian actresses Canadian stage actresses Dora Mavor Moore Award winners Year of birth missing (living people)