Rebecca Northan

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Best known for playing the hippie mother Diane Macleod on the CTV & Comedy Network sitcom Alice, I Think, Rebecca Northan was born and raised in Calgary, Alberta. She is a graduate of the University of Calgary, and an alumna of the Loose Moose Theatre Company where she did her improv training with Keith Johnstone.

Northan has been improvising and working as an actor for 17 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 for "Best Female Improviser". She has made several appearances at the Montreal Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in the World Improv Games, and was recently a member of the Second City Toronto mainstage cast in Good's Good, Evil's Bad.

As an actor, Northan has worked in theatres across Canada including Theatre Calgary, Manitoba Theatre Centre, Fringe Theatre Adventures (Edmonton), Quest Theatre (touring theatre for young people) and Alberta Theatre Projects where she appeared in the Fall Ensemble and playRites, a festival of new Canadian Work. In Toronto, 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 and is currently directing the comedy troupe The Imponderables. She also directed the 2006 Toronto Fringe Festival smash hit The Burning Bush. Rebecca recently married her longtime partner, multi-talented entertainer Bruce Horak.

Rebecca also recently launched the corporate company "[[Biz Improv]http://www.biz-improv.com]" with partners Albert Howell and Randy Sabourin in an effort to bring the skills of improvisation to the corporate world.

Rebecca and Bruce Horak are also collabortators on the live theatrical show, "This Is Cancer!" ( www.thisiscancer.com ) and ( www.thisiscancer.blogspot.com ) a comedy which brings the character of Cancer to life in order to address the modern audience's current cancer concerns.

When not performing, producing, or directing - Rebecca also teaches Keith Johnstone's approach to improvisation in private workshops.