Kelly Thornton

Kelly Thornton is a Canadian theatre director and dramaturge. She has served as artistic director of Nightwood Theatre and is the current artistic director of the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre. Thornton was the co-head of Equity in Canadian Theatre: the Women’s Initiative. Early life Thornton was born in Brockville, Ontario in 1965 and was the youngest of four children. At age nine, she moved with her family to Melbourne, Australia, but returned to Canada six years later. Thornton began university at the University of Western Ontario, where she considered studying psychology before changing her focus to English and philosophy. Thornton transferred University of Guelph where she double-majored in theatre and English. She graduated in 1994. Career In 1998, Thornton directed This Hotel starring her then husband, Alex Poch-Goldin. She directed This Hotel again in 2001 with Theatre Passe Muraille at the Toronto Fringe Festival. Thornton was nominated for a Dora Mavor Moore Award for her direction of the 2001 production.