Ashley Williamson is a historian specialising in Canadian history and Canadian theatre history. She is a teaching artist, a museums and living history performance expert, and has worked for the University of Toronto, the Royal Ontario Museum, and the Stratford Festival. Ashley holds a PhD from the Centre for Drama, Theatre and Performance Studies from the University of Toronto.

As the Director of the Blyth Festival’s new Education Department, Ashley will spend her time developing educational experiences for Blyth’s audiences. She will helm the Young Company, the long running summer theatre making project for young people ages 13 to 19, as well as host actor talk-backs, workshops, and panel discussions about both the plays and the playwrights from the current season.

In pursuit of her academic research, Ashley drove through nine Canadian provinces and mailed over 300 postcards along the way.