{{Short description|New Zealand playwright, producer, and actor}} {{Use dmy dates|date=July 2021}} {{Use New Zealand English|date=July 2021}}
'''Rob Mokaraka''' is a New Zealand playwright and actor. He affiliates to Ngāpuhi and Ngāi Tūhoe.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web|last=Screen|first=NZ On|title=Rob Mokaraka {{!}} NZ On Screen|url=https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/rob-mokaraka|access-date=2021-07-11|website=www.nzonscreen.com|language=en|archive-date=11 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711054108/https://www.nzonscreen.com/profile/rob-mokaraka|url-status=live}}</ref>
He has been part of the performing group The Māori Sidesteps.<ref name=":1" /> In 2006 he played Taneatua in the Taki Rua production of Hone Kouka's ''Nga Tangata Toa'' at Downstage Theatre in Wellington.<ref>{{Cite web|title=PRODUCTION INFORMATION: NGA TANGATA TOA - THE WARRIOR PEOPLE|url=https://www.theatreview.org.nz/reviews/production.php?id=232|url-status=live|access-date=2021-07-11|website=www.theatreview.org.nz|archive-date=14 May 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210514001701/https://www.theatreview.org.nz/reviews/production.php?id=232}}</ref> In 2012 he starred in the televised version of Briar Grace-Smith's play ''Purapurawhetu''.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|date=17 April 2012|title=Atamira|url=https://www.theatreview.org.nz/news/news.php?id=1017|url-status=live|access-date=2021-07-11|website=www.theatreview.org.nz|archive-date=11 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711045257/https://www.theatreview.org.nz/news/news.php?id=1017}}</ref>
''Strange Resting Places'' is a stage play co-written with Paolo Rotondo, produced by Taki Rua Productions and based on family stories of the Māori Battalion in Italy in World War II. ''Strange Resting Places'' was performed for over nine years and been published by Playmarket.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Production Information: Strange Resting Places|url=https://www.theatreview.org.nz/reviews/production.php?id=349|url-status=live|access-date=2021-07-11|website=www.theatreview.org.nz|archive-date=11 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711053446/https://www.theatreview.org.nz/reviews/production.php?id=349}}</ref> It was also the opening feature-length episode of the six-part television series ''Atamira''. It aired on Māori TV on 25 April 2012 at 8.30pm.<ref name=":0" />
In July 2009 Mokaraka was struggling with his mental health and attempted "suicide-by-cop", an experience which he survived. He used this as the basis for a play, ''Shot Bro: Confessions of a Depressed Bullet'', which he toured around community venues in Aotearoa New Zealand for three years, 2017–2020.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web|date=2020-06-05|title=Shot Bro: One man's struggle with depression, and the bullet that changed his life|url=https://thespinoff.co.nz/atea/05-06-2020/shot-bro-one-mans-struggle-with-depression-and-the-bullet-that-changed-his-life/|access-date=2021-07-11|website=The Spinoff|archive-date=10 April 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210410224248/https://thespinoff.co.nz/atea/05-06-2020/shot-bro-one-mans-struggle-with-depression-and-the-bullet-that-changed-his-life/|url-status=live}}</ref> ''Shot Bro'' was in the Tahi Festival in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Festival Shows 2019 |url=https://www.tahifestivalnz.com/festival-shows-2019 |access-date=2023-06-27 |website=TAHI: New Zealand Festival of Solo Performance |language=en-NZ}}</ref> The documentary ''Shot Bro,'' aired on Māori TV on 7 June 2020, describes his attempts to heal from depression and to help others dealing with depression and loss.<ref name=":2" />
== Awards == Mokaraka won the Best Newcomer Chapman Tripp acting award for his 2001 play ''Have Car, Will Travel.''<ref name=":1" />
Mokaraka and Rotondo jointly won the Peter Harcourt Award for Outstanding New Playwright of the Year at the Chapman Tripp Theatre Awards in 2007, for ''Strange Resting Places''.<ref>{{Cite web|date=3 Dec 2007|title=CHAPMAN TRIPP THEATRE AWARDS 2007|url=https://www.theatreview.org.nz/news/news.php?id=115|url-status=live|access-date=2021-07-11|website=www.theatreview.org.nz|archive-date=11 July 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210711053738/https://www.theatreview.org.nz/news/news.php?id=115}}</ref>
== References ==
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mokaraka, Rob}}
Category:New Zealand male Māori actors Category:New Zealand male dramatists and playwrights Category:Ngāpuhi people Category:Ngāi Tūhoe people Category:Living people Category:Year of birth missing (living people) <references />{{Authority control}}