Rob Salerno is a Dora-nominated writer and performer who’s been labeled a “theatrical rabble rouser” by The Globe and Mail. His preoccupations as a writer and theatre creator include social justice and probing issues that polite people wouldn’t touch, such as gaybashing, sexual ethics, and illness.
His six original plays, Balls, Fucking Stephen Harper, Big in Germany, RAW, First Day Back, and Palau have been produced in more than thirty festivals around the world, winning rave reviews, awards, and audience praise.
An excerpt from RAW was included in Refractions: Scenes an anthology of scenes from Canadian plays edited by Yvette Nolan and Donna-Michelle St. Bernard, published by Playwrights Canada Press. It’s available for order from Playwrights Canada Press, or can be purchased through Amazon.ca.
Fucking Stephen Harper has been published and is available from Amazon.ca and Amazon.com. Shoppers in Toronto can also find Fucking Stephen Harper at Glad Day Bookshop (499 Church St).
Awards and Honors
2020 Risk Theatre Modern Tragedy Competition – Semi-Finalist (RAW)
2016 Dora Nomination – Outstanding New Play, Theatre for Young Audiences (First Day Back)
2016 Dora Nomination – Outstanding Performance, Theatre for Young Audiences (First Day Back)
2012 Halifax Fringe Hit! Award – (Fucking Stephen Harper)
2012 Halifax Fringe Hit! Award – (Plutonium Playhouse’s production of Balls)
2011 Ottawa Fringe Pick of the Fringe (Fucking Stephen Harper)
2011 Ottawa Xpress Reader’s Choice Award – Best Theatrical Production of 2011 (Fucking Stephen Harper)
2011 Official Selection — Halifax Queer Acts Festival (Big In Germany)
2011 Official Selection — International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival (Big In Germany)
2010 Winnipeg Fringe Pick of the Fringe (Fucking Stephen Harper)
2009 Official Selection — London Comedy Go-To (Fucking Stephen Harper)
2008 London Brickenden Award — Best Touring Production (Balls)
2007 Hamilton Fringe Best New Play (Balls)
2007 Ottawa Fringe Pick of the Fringe (Balls)
2007 London Fringe Best Original Production (Balls)
2005 Lionel Shapiro Award for Creative Writing
Read more about Rob’s theatre work at tenfootpole.ca.
If you are interested in producing one of Rob’s plays, you can contact him directly to inquire about rights at robert_salerno@hotmail.com.
Dramaturgy
Rob Salerno is an experienced story editor whose advice is highly prized by those he’s worked with. He believes that the key to a successful story editing is to ask the writer a lot of questions and home in on what it is that he or she is trying to say, and helping the writer direct every aspect of the script toward articulating that. It’s not about telling the writer what to do; it’s about helping the writer make the strong artistic choices that will best communicate his or her message.
Rob helped shepherd Jeff Leard’s wildly successful solo show The Show Must Go On from a first draft to a polished script that went on to win rave reviews in ten cities along the Fringe Festival Circuit.
Rob also served as dramaturg on lemonTree Creations and Ten Foot Pole Theatre’s co-production of the classic play Deathwatch by Jean Genet. Rob drafted a new translation of Genet’s masterpiece by working from the last published version of the French play from 1986, which is very different from the only published English translation, a heavily Bowdlerized text that dates from the 1950s. Rob then worked with the director and cast to help them articulate the sexual and racial messages that had been stripped from the official translation. The production went on to be a sold-out hit.
Rob is available to work with other writers to help them draft their best work. Send him a message at robert_salerno@hotmail.com to inquire about availability and rates.