Hello: I’m Ana Bayat, a polyglot actor and dialect coach passionate about using my languages and world experience in the characters I create and the classes I teach.

I grew up amongst natural-born storytellers who painted scenes as they recounted anecdotes, recreated voices and became the characters they described. I think it was inevitable that I, too, would become a storyteller – a multilingual and multicultural one. 

Whether portraying an Italian mamma from the heart of Napoli, a Greek goddess thinking out loud, an Iranian émigré reinventing her identity, a British curator questioning the grandeur of a historical figure, a Russian aristocrat on the verge of bankruptcy or a Kurdish peasant witnessing social injustice, my stage and on-camera acting experience, multicultural upbringing and love for my craft have allowed me to take joy in creating a range of roles based on physical and linguistic versatility.

Following in my father's footsteps, I trained in the Stanislavski system with direct students of the master himself, later going on to complete a post-graduate conservatory training program at Birmingham School of Speech and Dramatic Arts in the UK. I also hold two Master degrees in Film, the Moving Image, and audiovisual translation.

I’ve traveled extensively and lived in Barcelona, Tehran and London before settling down in San Francisco Bay Area. In addition to UK and US English, I am fluent in Spanish, Persian and French and proficient in German, Italian and Catalan.

In addition to coaching fellow actors in finding their distinct voices for stage, TV and film, my one-woman show, Mimi’s Suitcase, is currently accepting invitations to tour anywhere within the U.S. and internationally. Given the current Woman, Life, Freedom movement, the show is perfect for any theatre/festival/institution seeking to tell an autobiographical journey through identity, immigration, women’s rights and involuntary displacement followed by Q&A. The story of Mimi’s Suitcase is based on my family’s experience returning from Barcelona to Iran, post-revolution, in the 1980s. However, above all, it is a universal story of adolescence, adaptability, resilience and, ultimately, of hope. I hope you will join me on this exciting creative journey.

 Much love,

A