{{Short description|Canadian actress (born 1945)}} {{Infobox academic | name = Janet Amos | birth_date = {{birth year and age|1945}} | workplaces = University of Regina<br>University of Ottawa<br>National Theatre School of Canada | spouse = Ted Johns | parents = Beth Amos (mother) | education = University of Toronto (BA, BEd) | discipline = Theatre | sub_discipline = Theatre directing{{dot}}playwriting{{dot}}theatre education }}
'''Janet Amos''' (born 1945) is a Canadian theatre actress, director, educator, and playwright.<ref name="CTE">{{cite web |title=Amos, Janet |url=http://www.canadiantheatre.com/dict.pl?term=Amos%2C%20Janet |website=Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia}}</ref>
== Education == Amos studied under Marjorie Purvey at the Toronto School of Radio Drama in the 1950s. She earned Bachelor of Arts and Bachelor of Education degrees from the University of Toronto.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Canadian Theatre Encyclopedia - Amos, Janet |url=https://www.canadiantheatre.com/dict.pl?term=Amos,%20Janet |access-date=2023-11-23 |website=www.canadiantheatre.com}}</ref>
== Career == Amos has led theatre companies as the artistic director of the Blyth Festival (1979–1984 and 1994–1997)<ref>{{cite news |last1=Belanger |first1=Joe |title=Canadian playwrights have benefited greatly from Blyth Festival |url=https://lfpress.com/2014/07/04/canadian-playwrights-have-benefited-greatly-from-blyth-festival/wcm/1df0d081-31bd-bbeb-bd26-f7da3759e1f0 |publisher=London Free Press |date=4 July 2014}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal|last=Powell|first=M.E.|date=2013|title=Growing Opportunities: Theatre Thrives in Rural Saskatchewan|url=https://muse.jhu.edu/article/504662/pdf|journal=Canadian Theatre Review|volume=154|pages=11–17|doi=10.3138/CTR.154.003|s2cid=144364936|url-access=subscription}}</ref> and Theatre New Brunswick (1984–1988).<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FjU5DwAAQBAJ&dq=Janet+Amos+Theatre+New+Brunswick&pg=PT463|title=Literary History of Canada: Canadian Literature in English, Volume IV|last1=New|first1=William H.|last2=Berger|first2=Carl|last3=Cairns|first3=Alan|last4=Halpenny|first4=Francess G.|last5=Kreisel|first5=Henry|last6=Lochhead|first6=Douglas|last7=Stratford|first7=Philip|last8=Thomas|first8=Clara|date=1990-12-15|publisher=University of Toronto Press|isbn=9781487591168|language=en|edition=Second}}</ref> She worked as an assistant professor of the University of Regina (2003–2006), as a guest artist at the University of Ottawa (2008) and as instructor at the National Theatre School of Canada in Montreal.<ref name="CTE" />
Amos is credited as leading an effort to save the Blyth Festival from closure, when she took over as the artistic director in 1994.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Maclean's companion to Canadian arts and culture|last=Tom.|first=Henighan|date=2000|publisher=Raincoast Books|isbn=1551922983|location=Vancouver|oclc=45799231}}</ref> Prior to her assuming the role of artistic director, the Blyth Festival had lost thousands of audience members and amassed a $229,000 debt.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|title=Its own saga of survival is Blyth's biggest hit|last=Kirchhoff|first=H.|date=6 August 1994|work=The Globe and Mail}}</ref> Amos' drove a fundraising campaign that raised more than $100,000 and created a season line-up that brought audiences back, helping the summer theatre to survive.<ref name=":0" />
Amos also directed theatre productions at Toronto's Theatre Passe Muraille, Port Dover's Lighthouse Theatre, Regina's Globe Theatre, London, Ontario's Grand Theatre, Edmonton's Citadel Theatre and Ottawa's National Arts Centre, among others.<ref name="CTE" />
Amos appeared as an actor in the Canadian films ''Winter Kept Us Warm'' (1965), ''High'' (1969), ''Silence of the North'' (1981), ''Taking Care'' (1987), and ''More than Meets the Eye: The Joan Brock Story'' (2003). TV show guest acting credits include ''Ada'' (1976), ''Road to Avonlea'' (1992), ''Twice in a Lifetime'' (2000), and ''PSI Factor: Chronicles of the Paranormal'' (2000).
Amos' work has been recognized through various awards. The village of Blyth, Ontario, gave her a Citizen of the Year Award in 1994, the University of Western Ontario awarded her an honorary degree in 1998 and the Association for Canadian Theatre Research made her an honorary member in 2005.<ref name =CTE/>
== Personal life == Amos is daughter of the actress Beth Amos. She is married to Canadian playwright Ted Johns.<ref name="CTE" />
== Filmography ==
=== Film === {| class="wikitable sortable" |+ !Year !Title !Role !Notes |- |1965 |''Winter Kept Us Warm'' |Sandra | |- |1981 |''Silence of the North'' |Nelly | |- |1987 |''Taking Care'' |Marie | |}
=== Television === {| class="wikitable sortable" !Year !Title !Role !Notes |- |1978 |''The Massey's'' |Eliza Massey |Television film |- |1978–1979 |''A Gift to Last'' |Clara Sturgess |3 episodes |- |1992 |''Road to Avonlea'' |Mrs. Spry |Episode: "Another Point of View" |- |2000 |''Twice in a Lifetime'' |M.C. Chandler |Episode: "Old Flames" |- |2000 |''Psi Factor'' |Heather Buckley |Episode: "Wendigo" |}
== References == {{Reflist}}
== External links == * {{IMDb name}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Amos, Janet}} Category:1945 births Category:Living people Category:Canadian theatre directors Category:Canadian women theatre directors Category:Canadian television actresses Category:Canadian stage actresses Category:Canadian women dramatists and playwrights Category:20th-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Category:20th-century Canadian actresses Category:20th-century Canadian women writers Category:21st-century Canadian dramatists and playwrights Category:21st-century Canadian actresses Category:21st-century Canadian women writers Category:Academic staff of the National Theatre School of Canada Category:Academic staff of the University of Regina Category:Canadian artistic directors Category:University of Toronto alumni