Robert Motum

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Robert Motum is a Canadian playwright and theatre creator. [1] He is noted for his background in site-specific performance [2] and for his 2018 play, A Community Target. [3]

Contents

Personal life and education

Motum was born in Oshawa, Ontario. He attended the University of Waterloo for his BA in Drama [4] and Aberystwyth University for his MA in Practising Performance. [5] He is currently completing a PhD in performance studies at the University of Toronto [1] and teaches at Sheridan College.

Theatre career

As a site-specific theatre practitioner, Motum has a history of staging new theatrical work outside of purpose-built auditoriums. [2] His 2013 play, Transience, was staged on an active Grand River Transit city bus as it circled its loop of Kitchener-Waterloo. [6] He has since staged work in public parks, [5] [7] in a Queen Street art gallery, [8] inside a vacant Target store, [9] in a castle, [10] throughout the streets of Hamilton, Ontario, [11] and in augmented reality. [12] His work has been supported by the Stratford Festival, the Ellen Ross Stuart Opening Doors Award, [13] Outside the March [3] and others.

His verbatim play, A Community Target, is based on interviews with over 60 former employees of Target Canada and recounts the dramatic collapse of the retailer in the country. Staged inside a vacant Target store in Hamilton, Ontario, the piece garnered national [14] [15] and international media attention. [16]

Academic scholarship

Motum has written about the ethics of site-specific performance for various academic publications including the Canadian Theatre Review and Theatre Research in Canada. [17]

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References

  1. 1 2 "Robert Motum". Centre for Drama, Theatre & Performance Studies. 2018-09-07. Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  2. 1 2 Motum, Robert (2022-11-01). "Performing in Public: Ethics of a Site-Specific Theatre Practice". Canadian Theatre Review. 192: 37–40. doi:10.3138/ctr.192.009. ISSN   0315-0836.
  3. 1 2 "Outside The March A Community Target" . Retrieved 2023-05-25.
  4. ↑ "Collecting the Ghosts of Waterloo and Staging our Memories". Alumni. 2016-04-22. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  5. 1 2 "Memory book aims to touch community heart". therecord.com. 2017-02-06. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  6. ↑ WIP (2013-04-07). "Theatre review: Transience" . Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  7. ↑ Bueckert, Kate (September 30, 2016). "KW Guidebook uses personal memories to promote local attractions". CBC Kitchener-Waterloo. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  8. ↑ "Toronto Fringe: Art, friendship & astroturf in the quirky, edgy, hilarious The Grass is Greenest at the Houston Astrodome". life with more cowbell. 2018-07-11. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  9. ↑ "Soon you can watch a play about Target Canada's demise (from inside an old Target store)". www.blogto.com. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  10. ↑ Week, System Whitby This (2017-02-22). "Local playwrights a part of Trafalgar 24 in Whitby". DurhamRegion.com. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  11. ↑ "Bringing Little Africa back to life on Hamilton Mountain". The Hamilton Spectator. 2021-08-16. ISSN   1189-9417 . Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  12. ↑ "index". playthishamilton.com. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  13. ↑ tugrul. "2018 Winners of the Ellen Ross Stuart Opening Doors Awards Announced – Ontario Arts Foundation" . Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  14. ↑ Horgan, Colin (2016-02-24). "Target, the play: A fallen retailer becomes theatre". Macleans.ca. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  15. ↑ "Target Canada play marks a new stage in retailer's tale". thestar.com. 2016-03-01. Retrieved 2023-05-26.
  16. ↑ "Ontario man writing play about the rise and fall of Target in Canada". CBC As It Happens. February 25, 2016. Retrieved May 26, 2023.
  17. ↑ Motum, Robert (2021-10-01). "Reflections on a Verbatim Approach to Staging Age". Theatre Research in Canada. 42 (2): 293–299. doi:10.3138/tric.42.2.f03. ISSN   1196-1198.


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