Breathe. Trust your body. And know how perfect you are.
"Miriam senses the deep resonances of people and yoga is her tuning fork. She helped align me with my inner self."
-Z. S. New York, NY
about miriam
Indomitable actor, director, and teacher with over 20 years experience; Miriam is deeply committed to unfolding the artistry of the human body, voice, and spirit and creating fierce, relevant, and impactful stories through the theatrical medium. She brings her years of expertise in training actors to the director’s bench— a consummate eye for truth telling through the smallest gesture or energetic exchange and a sweeping understanding of thematic storytelling through cogent and dynamic staging.
Miriam holds an MFA in Acting with a focus in voice work from CUNY Brooklyn College, and undergraduate degrees in Philosophy, Theatre, and English.
She is also a 500-Hour ISHTA Certified and Yoga Alliance Registered Teacher who has studied extensively with Yogiraj Alan Finger in New York City. Miriam relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area to deepen her apprenticeship of Shadow Yoga in 2012, in continuing investigation of cultivating maximum freedom in the physical instrument.
A past company member of Hedgerow Theatre, Miriam has played such roles as Ariel in The Tempest across from Robert Lanchester’s Prospero and Rose in A Hotel on Marvin Gardens directed by Nagle Jackson. She originated the lead role of Abigail in the world premiere of Jim Knable’s new play Green Man at Stages Theatre in LA, and has the distinct privilege of being distinguished as original cast member in the newly published Samuel French version of the playscript.
Since relocating to the Bay Area, Miriam has acted with the Lorraine Hansberry Theatre (Intimate Apparel, The Urban Retreat, world premiere, among others), San Francisco Shakespeare Festival's The Comedy of Errors: Shakespeare on Tour, understudied for Cal Shakes (Queen Margaret, War of the Roses) and appeared as the title role in The Heiress at Lucie Stern Theatre, Irina in Three Sisters at DMT, Sébastienne in Livermore Shakes’ Tempest, Lady Macbeth for Half Moon Bay Shakes, and as Karen in August Osage County (NTC) among others.
She directed The Hallelujah Girls for North Bay Stage Company (2016) and The Crucible for Pacifica Spindrift Players (2018) and has supported the African-American Shakespeare Company as a Voice & Text Coach for productions of Macbeth and Othello.
Miriam is currently on faculty at the Las Positas College Actors Conservatory and has taught Acting at California State University, East Bay, Sacramento State University, the Berkeley Rep School of Theatre, San Francisco Shakespeare Festival, & Marin Shakespeare Company, among others. She has served as a KCACTF respondent and TBA adjudicator since 2014. Proud member of AEA.
Miriam lives with her husband, baby daughter, and pup in beautiful Pt. Richmond, CA.
Breathe. Trust your body. And know how perfect you are.
testimonials
“...director Miriam Ani has a real understanding of how to shake an audience up with a story that we think we know... Ani's presentation of [The Crucible] is a seat for our times at the thoughtful brink of a cliff..."
— The Pacifica Tribune
“The remarkable Ani is perfection in the crucial role of Catherine... this is really Ani's show.”
— San Jose Mercury News
“Miriam was an incredible instructor. I learned a great deal about acting basics, text analysis, and all of the work that goes into preparing monologues and scenes. She had a way of helping students to find the answers to their acting puzzles first through self-reflection and self-critique, and later through very succinct, clear direction and judgment... In our final class, she gave about 40 minutes of direction to myself and another student on a scene from Angels in America we had been working on for only two weeks. Honestly, it was incredibly profound and fun experience — the highlight of the class for me. Her simple stage directions about positioning and her insights on character motivation helped me to fully see the scene's potential.”
—John R., Berkeley Rep student
“Where am I now? No longer lost or confused but aware. This quarter, my acting took huge strides not only in the way I performed but also in my preparation for performing. From beginning to end, the intermediate acting class took me on a journey of self-discovery.”
—Shungo T., CSU East Bay student
“Over the course of these two quarters, I feel like I have developed a toolset that has given me the confidence to be able to go out into the big scary world and maybe have a chance...I feel like I now have a much clearer path. Thank you.”
—Kylara P., CSU East Bay student
“That’s what you’ve given me, you gave me my voice back. Thank you, Miriam.”
—Kaila B., LPC Actors Conservatory student