Angela Besharah

Besharah was born on August 12, 1977[1] in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada and is of Lebanese, British and German descent. Her mother worked in international development and her father is an architect.[2][3] She started ballet at the age of 4 and continued to dance in ballet and jazz until her early teens. Besharah then took up the double bass and was a member of the Ottawa Youth Orchestra by the age of 12. At the age of 15, she was scouted to model in Milan, Italy. There she landed her first big campaign for United Colors of Benetton. Besharah continued to model internationally during summer breaks from school, working in Japan, Germany, Taiwan, the United States and Canada.[4]

Though originally enrolled at The University of Toronto for environmental science, Besharah changed to the theatre program in her second year. There she played roles such as Ophelia in Hamlet and an old Newfoundland bag lady version of Gower in Pericles, Prince of Tyre. Her Toronto theatre debut was as Corey in Theatre Passe Muraille's Little Dragon.[5][6]

Besharah first appeared on film in a music video directed by Sloan's Chris Murphy for The Local Rabbits and upon graduation was first cast on Mutant X.[7] More recent credits include Good Witch,[8] Reign,[9] as Ann Gargan opposite Emmy nominated[10] Tom Wilkinson, in the mini-series The Kennedys,[11][12] Nelly McClean for BBC America's Copper[13] and in the supporting roles of Jobina on Lost Girl[14] and Bridget Bishop on Bitten for Syfy and Showcase.[15][16][17] Recent credits include Salvation (CBS), Condor (DirectTV), Murdoch Mysteries (CBC), In the Dark (CW), Endlings (CBC/Hulu)[18] and the upcoming Mrs. America (miniseries) (FX) playing alongside Tracey Ullman.[19][20][21]

The first play Besharah directed, Just Another Day on the Hunt, was awarded Best Direction and Best Production at the University of Toronto Drama Festival.[22] She has since directed 11 more, seven of which were original works.[23] The Churkendoose was voted by the Toronto Star as a Top 10 Best Bet, and The Way was chosen by the Toronto Star as a Producer's Pick.[24] Mad 5/Still Alive was given a 4 star review by Eye Magazine, as was The Keeper's Secret, their critic commenting, "You can't help feeling like you're seeing the future of theatre."[25]

Besharah was co-artistic director of Sterling Studio Theatre[26][27] from 2012–14, directing Echoes by N. Richard Nash,[28][29] By A Thread by Diane Flacks, Sailor's Song by John Patrick Shanley and The Bear by Anton Chekhov.[30] In the spring of 2019, Besharah directed Evermore Theatre's production of Sarah Burgess' Dry Powder[31] to commercial success.[32] "The primary reason to check out Besharah’s production is Liddiard’s go-for-broke performance: she commits, boy does she ever ... Besharah & Liddiard push the portrayal of Jenny daringly but successfully towards slapstick." — Karen Fricker, The Toronto Star [33] "... under director Angela Besharah, handle the biz speak with clarity and commitment. Besharah is especially good at getting the actors to physicalize their performances" — Glenn Sumi, Now Magazine[34]

Her first short film, Now & Then,[35] premiered at the San Diego International Children's Festival,[36] and toured India with the WorldKids International Film Festival.[37] It was screened at numerous festivals including the Brooklyn Film Festival [38] and the Artisan's Film Festival in the Hamptons, and was featured in The New York Times.[39] She also directed two documentary shorts for the Get Involved! series on TVO.[40] She's since directed two more narrative shorts - Rive [41] is now screening at NSI Online[42] after premiering at the Art Gallery of Ontario and winning Best Foreign Short in Atlanta.[43] With You Always had its Canadian Premiere at the Canadian Film Festival[44] and it's US premiere in California at the Newport Beach Film Festival.[45]

Besharah coaches actors privately at Inside Light Studio[46] and runs weekly On-Camera and Scene-Study classes out of her new studio The Lighthouse, in Toronto.[47][48][49][50]

Besharah directed and co-wrote [51] the short film Rive won Best Foreign Drama Short at the 2017 Atlanta Underground Film Festival.[52]

• Angela Besharah at IMDb