The Board of Directors of The Theatre Centre is pleased to announce the appointment of Aislinn Rose as General and Artistic Director following an extensive search which attracted a number of talented candidates from a variety of backgrounds. Rose will assume the role on May 27, 2019.

Rose has been working at The Theatre Centre since May 2014 as General Manager and was named Creative Producer in 2017. Prior to joining The Theatre Centre, Rose had strong experience as an independent producer and theatre maker working with companies across Toronto, including the Luminato and SummerWorks festivals. During her time with Luminato, Rose produced Pina Bausch’s Kontakthof, Isabella Rossellini’s Green Porno - Live on Stage, Feng Yi Ting directed by Atom Egoyan, and Ronnie Burkett’s The Daisy Theatre, among others.

In her time at The Theatre Centre, she has focused on producing and supporting new work from resident artists, collaborating with national and international touring companies, and solidifying the company’s reputation as an international live arts incubator and presenter. Rose has a record of building deep relationships with artists over a long period of time including Liza Balkan (Out the Window) and Adam Lazarus (The Art of Building a Bunker and Daughter). In 2018, Aislinn spent 5 weeks at CanadaHub in the Edinburgh Fringe Festival as a touring producer of internationally acclaimed Daughter, representing the work publicly, and building on future touring opportunities for the show. Most recently, Rose has been working one-on-one as Creative Producer with artist Ian Kamau through several creation periods on his project Loss.

The Search Committee was particularly impressed by Rose’s passion for, and her deep and articulate understanding of, the mission and strengths of The Theatre Centre. She is a skilled producer who demonstrates an ability to identify what a work in progress needs and how to develop it. Her thoughtful and purposeful leadership style will ensure stability while delivering continued success for the company as new ideas are implemented. The Board is excited to begin this new phase at The Theatre Centre, working with Rose to build on the success of The Theatre Centre’s five pillars of activity (creating, producing, presenting, moving and sharing) and to strengthen and broaden the impact within the communities being served.

Her appointment as General and Artistic Director follows the departure of Franco Boni to join Vancouver’s PuSH Festival as Artistic and Executive Director. On learning of Rose’s appointment, Boni stated:

“I could not be more overjoyed with the announcement of Aislinn as the new General and Artistic Director of The Theatre Centre. She has been a courageous collaborator, a constant friend, and the fiercest advocate for artists in the city. I’m so excited to see how her leadership changes The Theatre Centre and the country.”

Having worked with Rose as a producer on the 2017 production of Butcher at The Theatre Centre, Soulpepper Artistic Director Weyni Mengesha noted, “when Aislinn believes in an artist she gives her all to support them. She has a great eye for talent and a real commitment to community building. So excited for what she will bring to the city.”

Aislinn Rose says:

“I’ve had the incredible privilege over the last number of years to travel internationally with work supported by, and created at The Theatre Centre. I’m looking forward to building upon these successes and growing the international profile of the organization, and the artists making work with us. It’s a huge endeavor, requiring some real dreaming, but I have my eyes on some incredible international companies to partner and share practices with, as we each work with our communities to invent the future. I could not have asked for a greater mentor than Franco Boni, and I am so honoured to have this opportunity to carry our shared vision forward, to build upon a solid foundation, and to explore our enormous potential.” – Aislinn Rose

Board Chair Lindy Cowan expressed her thanks to the Search Committee for their time, insight and commitment to the search process. The Search Committee comprised board members Lindy Cowan (Chair), Richard Mortimer (Past-Chair), Tenny Nigoghossian and Shameena Shraya and community members Nova Bhattacharya and Ric Knowles.

About The Theatre Centre: The Theatre Centre is a nationally recognized live-arts incubator that serves as a research and development hub for the cultural sector. We are a public space, open and accessible to the people of our community, where citizens can imagine, debate, celebrate, protest, unite, and be responsible for inventing the future.

Photo: Aislinn Rose.