Rob Kempson is a director, writer, and educator who has 15 years of experience in the non-profit professional arts sector. He is the Artistic Director at the Capitol Theatre in Port Hope (Ontario) and the Co-Artistic Producer of ARC Stage in Toronto. He has served in various artistic leadership positions, including as Associate Artistic Director at the Thousand Islands Playhouse (Gananoque, ON) and as Associate Artistic Producer at Theatre Passe Muraille (Toronto, ON). He was also the founding Artistic Director of timeshare performance, a multi-award-winning Toronto-based collective, and has worked across the country as a freelance director and playwright.
He has been a member of the Stratford Festival Playwrights’ Retreat, the Storefront Theatre Playwrights’ Unit, and has been a Resident Artist Educator at Young People’s Theatre and the RBC Intern Director for The Musical Stage Co. In 2021, Rob was one of two Intern Directors at the Shaw Festival.
As an artist-educator, Rob has worked for a number of major school boards as well as Young People’s Theatre, Canadian Stage, Pleiades Theatre, Opera Atelier, and Casa Loma. He has been a part-time instructor at Humber College, Sheridan College, St. Lawrence College, Randolph College, Centennial College, and George Brown College. Rob also works regularly as a community arts facilitator and curator, collectively creating performances and interactive exhibits with community members. He is a graduate of Queen’s University. You can find Rob on twitter at @rob_kempson.