Theatre artist Nada Al-Homsi

Biography

• Name: Nada Al-Homsi
• Nationality: Syrian-Canadian
• Fields: actor, director, writer, and theatre coach

Education and training

• Damascus University — bachelor's degree in English literature.
• Professional certificates in acting, mime, and theatre directing in Syria, Germany, and Canada.
• Advanced training in Étienne Decroux mime at the Omnibus School in Montreal.
• A theatre-directing certificate from Saint Louis University in Canada and Ontario Theatre.
• Independent filmmaking course at George Brown College, Toronto.
• Theatre training at Arab and international institutes, including the Goethe-Institut, and courses with Jihad Saad, Fawaz Al-Sajer, Walid Qutli, Hassan Oweiti, and Naila Al-Atrash. Her most recent training was private mime coaching with Fayek Hmeisi (2023).

Early years and theatre career

Nada Al-Homsi began her theatre career in the mid-1970s in an actor-training workshop in Damascus led by Yousef Hanna and Abdullah Abbasi.

• Dogs and Silence — directed by Jamil Awad.
• Zeinati Qudsiya and Faces Across Death.
• A Messenger from the Village of Tamira — directed by Fawaz Al-Sajer (1977).
• A Press Interview in Buenos Aires — directed by Tawfiq Al-Mu'athin. She received the Best Acting Award for it at Syria's University Theatre Festival.

The 1980s

She worked with the Workers' Theatre in Damascus and collaborated with Jawad Al-Asadi and Riyad Ismat, performing in The Excavator, directed by Jawad Al-Asadi.

She also performed with the Palestinian National Theatre in productions including:

• Luqa' ibn Luqa' — directed by Walid Qutli.
• The Zanj Revolt, The Tout Family, and Threads of Silver — directed by Jawad Al-Asadi. She received the Best Actress Award at the Carthage Theatre Days Festival.

Founding the Damascus Mime Center (1988)

• She founded the center with Riyad Ismat and presented the monodrama The Choice and the play The New Pigeon Tower.
• She co-founded Chamber Theatre with Dr. Mohammad Qarsli and Maher Salibi, wrote the children's play Saada, and created several monodramas.
• Her play Dawn and Sunset: A Girl Named Yasmin toured internationally and won awards in Japan and India.

The 1990s: from Syria to Japan and Canada

• In Japan, she founded the Nada Drama Center and presented mime performances with musician Tadashi Hama.
• She performed in Voices of Silence, directed by Mohammad Qarsli.
• She moved to Canada in 1999, launched Salma Theatre for Young People, and took part in a number of Canadian theatre productions.

In Canada: theatre, directing, and writing

• In 2008, she joined MT Space and played leading roles in The Last 15 Seconds, Body 13, Spring Occupation, and Amal.
• She appeared in socially engaged plays including Behind the Veil, I Am Here… I Am Happy, and Iman.
• Her international co-productions included Women in War (Canadian–Lebanese, directed by Jawad Al-Asadi), Black Spring (Canadian–Belgian, directed by Hazem Kamaledin), and The Shards (Canadian–Tunisian, directed by Cyrine Gannoun and Majdi Bou-Matar). She received Best Actress awards in Jordan and Bahrain for The Shards.
• Her work with Canadian theatre companies included The Child Yet to Be Born, a Diana Manole monodrama, and Sleuth, directed by T. Chartrand. She also worked with Adam Paolozza, Paddy Gillard-Bentley, Armineh Keshishian, and Jabbar Al-Janabi.
• She performed in The Poster, about the Palestinian cause, directed by Arianna Bardesono and produced by Tisri Dunia in Montreal.

Founding and artistic direction

• From 2013 to 2016, she helped found Canadian Arab Theatre and served as artistic director. Its productions included Ismi Dakhel Faraj in English, Arabic, and sign language; A Baghdadi Story: Let's Solve It Together, using Augusto Boal's approach; Why?; and We're Coming Back, Hawaa.
• In 2016, she co-founded Mada Theatre with Majdi Bou-Matar. Their work included The Bell, written by Rafik Ali Ahmed and directed by Majdi Bou-Matar, and Sultan Pasha, written and performed by Nada Al-Homsi and directed by Majdi Bou-Matar.

Coaching and conference participation

• She coached actors for the play Homecoming and is working on a new theatre project with Hazem Kamaledin.
• She has served on theatre juries and taken part in conferences in Syria, Canada, and Morocco, including the Arab Theatre Institute Festival in Rabat.
• She is a founding member of the Coordination of Arab Theatre Artists Abroad and a member of the Syrian Artists Syndicate.
• She has received two awards from the Waterloo Region in Canada in recognition of her theatre career.

Film and television work

• In Syria: the film The Night, directed by Mohammad Malas, and television work with Nabil Maleh, Haitham Haqqi, Shireen Mirzo, Walid Qutli, Hassan Oweiti, and Mohammad Badrkhan. She also presented children's programs with Bassam Kousa.
• In Japan: she collaborated with Dr. Mohammad Qarsli on short documentaries.
• In Canada: The Desired Other, directed by Alia Khashouk; The Door, directed by Reem Morsi; Doctor Director, produced by Ummah Foundation; and Transform, directed by Ian Garrett.
• In 2022, she appeared in A Road Trip, directed by Rula Taher, and Mustache, directed by Imran J.

In closing

Nada Al-Homsi is a distinguished theatre artist whose creative career spans more than four decades. She has brought together acting, directing, writing, and coaching, and has served as an ambassador for Arab theatre in Canada and around the world.