Roma Potiki


Roma Potiki is a New Zealand poet, playwright, visual artist, curator, theatre actor and director, as well as a commentator on Māori theatre. She is of Te Rarawa, Te Aupōuri and Ngati Rangitihi descent. As well as being a published poet, her work is included in the permanent collection of the Dowse Art Museum.

Background

Roma Potiki was born in Lower Hutt, a city in the Wellington Region, and grew up in the suburb Wainuiomata. As a child she attended Wainuiomata Primary School, Woodhatton Primary School, Wainuiomata College and Wellington High School. Her first play was written while at primary school and she also started writing poetry at school.

Career

Roma Potiki was involved in contemporary Māori theatre in early formative years. She was in a play performed by Te Ika A Maui Players in 1978 called Death of the Land by Rore Hapipi's. She went on to help form the Māori theatre company Maranga Mai in 1979. This company was linked to the Māori protest movement and they toured a theatre production in 1979 - 1980 to marae and schools. In 1990 she was a founding director of another theatre company He Ara Hou. They performed and toured a play called Whatungarongaro. This play was directed by Potiki and John Anderson and devised over nine months with the company members. Potiki had previously done workshops with a theatre company PETA and was influenced by their way of working.
Roma Potiki's writing includes poetry contribution to many anthologies, as well as published volumes. She has written the forward to books of New Zealand Māori plays and contributed text to exhibition catalogues. As a fine artist Potiki has exhibited art work and one of her pieces Hinewai is in the collection of the Dowse Art Museum.

Legacy

The poem Stones in her Mouth by Potiki inspired contemporary New Zealand choreographer Lemi Ponifasio to create a community leadership project also called in 2013. This involved a group of Māori women holding workshops at marae and writing text that was then performed.

He Ara Hou and Whatungarongaro

Before actor Rena Owen was in Once Were Warriors she performed a similar role in theatre company He Ara Hou's play Whatungarongaro that Potiki a co-creator of. Owens performance in Whatungarongaro influenced her being cast in Once Were Warriors.
Playwright and director of theatre company Tawata Productions Hone Kouka cites seeing Whatungarongaro in 1991 at the Depot Theatre in Wellington as being life changing and convincing him that innovative Māori theatre had no boundaries. Another New Zealand theatre and film writer Briar Grace-Smith was an assistant to Potiki and learnt from the process of making Whatungarongaro.

Published works

Poetry

Roma Potiki is widely published in anthologies.
Selected list: