Josette Ciappara

Actress and Director

Biography

Josette was born in Birgu, where her mother was a teacher, she started by following the same career, at first teaching Literature, Italian,and Maltese. In her methods of teaching, she introduced drama to reach more students.

For 13 years Josette Ciappara taught at the Girls’ Junior Lyceum, Żejtun. In 1977 she started attending a drama course at the Manoel Theatre Academy of Dramatic Art (MTADA). She also won a scholarship offered by the French embassy and two schools in the UK to study theatre abroad. On her return, she was asked to be a member of the Drama Unit and a tutor at MTADA from where she had graduated as a student.

In 2001 she was appointed head of the Centru Mikelang Borg at Blata l-Bajda, which had replaced MTADA. In her last year as Principal at the Drama centre, she organized an International Drama Festival.

As an actress she held the main roles ,among other productions, in Phaedre, Antigone, The Birthday Party,, Hedda Gabler, Is-Sibt il-Hadd u t-Tnejn, Processo a Gesù, The Good Woman of Schezwan, Macbeth, Kamikaze, and in the television series L-Agenzija, Santa Monika, Caqqufa and Strada Stretta.

Some of her directing assignments have included 6+6=13 for TVM, Wilt l-Allat, Andrelisa It-Tfajla tal-Palazz, L’Inferno, L-Infern ma Jistax Jistenna,  Il-Borg Pisani, Il-Jien u Lil Hinn Minnu, Il-Kennies Tal-Genna, Faith Hope and Charity, Hekuba, Il-Mitt Fehma tal-Kavallier John Giordmaina.