Blake Robison
Blake Robison is in his fifth season as artistic director of the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park where he oversees artistic and educational programming while serving as co-CEO of the organization. Since his arrival, he has reconceived the theatre's artistic model to include four associate artists, embraced the Playhouse's tradition of new work, made an ongoing commitment to produce culturally diverse plays and multigenerational works, and ramped up the theatre's community engagement.
At the Playhouse, he has directed the world premiere of Karen Zacarías’ Native Gardens, Mad River Rising, Peter and the Starcatcher, Tenderly: The Rosemary Clooney Musical, Pride and Prejudice, 4000 Miles, The Three Musketeers, The Book Club Play and the world premiere of Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa’s Abigail/1702. He collaborated with John Morris Russell and the Cincinnati Pops as director of the concert staging of The Music Man starring Will Chase and Betsy Wolfe. This season at the Playhouse, he will direct the stage adaptation of John Irving’s A Prayer for Owen Meany.
Next summer, Mr. Robison will direct Native Gardens at Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis. Other directing includes productions at Milwaukee Repertory Theater, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Utah Shakespeare Festival, PlayMaker’s Repertory Company, Folger Theatre, Round House Theatre, Clarence Brown Theatre, National Shakespeare Company and Vermont Stage. Internationally, he directed the Tennessee Williams classic Summer and Smoke at English Theatre Berlin and has worked several times at the renowned Avignon Festival in France. As an adapter, he created successful stage versions of Alice McDermott's beloved novel Charming Billy and Jay Parini's The Last Station.
Before joining the Playhouse, he served as producing artistic director of Round House Theatre from 2005-2012, artistic director of Clarence Brown Theatre from 2000-2005 and founding artistic director of Vermont Stage from 1994-2000. He lives in Cincinnati with his wife, Connan Morrissey, and their sons, Declan and Callum.