Helen Pearse-Otene

Helen Pearse-Otene is a New Zealand playwright, actor and author.

Biography In 1989 Pearse-Otene's partner Jim Moriarty was one of the founders of a theatre company called Te Rākau Hua o te Wao Tapu, which works in prisons, youth residential homes and on marae; Pearse-Otene joined the company in 1999. Te Rākau is New Zealand’s longest-running independent Māori theatre company.

Pearse-Otene's theatre practice has been influenced by Te Rākau's kaupapa Māori, founded on the principles of Te Tiriti o Waitangi and influenced by features of Bertolt Brecht's epic theatre, such as direct address, minimal technology and the aim of social change, also a purpose of Augusto Boal's Theatre of the Oppressed. As both script-writer and workshop facilitator, Pearse-Otene has in-depth experience of applying ensemble movement and chorus to the work of Te Rākau as well as integrating waiata and kapa haka, through "Marae Theatre". Through ensemble work, the aim is to craft evocative theatre that honours Māori expressions of colonisation, trauma and social justice. The following year Pearse-Otene performed in Duty Free by Ngarupiki Reid, directed by Tanea Heke, which had a fortnight season at BATS Theatre. The Undertow was presented at Soundings Theatre at Te Papa as a quartet in 2017. It was filmed by cinematographer Waka Atewell and edited into a four part television series that aired on Māori Television in 2019.

As an academic, Pearse-Otene has published articles theorizing Theatre Marae and decolonization of political theatre, and is currently employed as Professional Practice Advisor to the Postgraduate Diploma Health Psychology Professional Practice in the School of Health, Victoria University of Wellington. She has been a researcher on numerous social justice and decolonization research projects including TIAKI, a project on incarceration and health inequity.

Pearse-Otene is also a novel writer; she has published two graphic novels in a series called Matawehi Fables: Meariki and Arohanui. The novels are published in English and in te reo Māori.

Personal life Pearse-Otene grew up in South Auckland. She is a registered psychologist. She is affiliated to Ngāti Rongomaiwahine, Ngāti Kahungunu, Ngāpuhi, Te Rarawa, Ngāti Kuri and Ngāti Ruanui iwi.

2000 – Purotu, the Magic Within was devised with young people in care at the Northern Residential Centre, using dialogue scenes interspersed with individual song/rap etc. Pearse-Otene, H. (2021). Decolonising theatre and ensemble training in Aotearoa/New Zealand: Te Rākau Hua o Te Wao Tapu Theatre. Theatre, Dance and Performance Training 12(1): 95-111. Pearse-Otene, Helen (2020). "Theatre Marae" (PDF). MAI A New Zealand Journal of Indigenous Scholarship. vol 9 issue 3: 226–336 .MAI_Jrnl_2020_V9_3_Otene_FINAL.pdf Pearse-Otene, H., & Burdan, A. (2015). Meariki: Te rapunga i te pono. Wellington, N.Z: Huia Publishers. Pearse-Otene, H., Burdan, A., & Morrison, S. (2013). Te huakore: Te muna o te whatu. Wellington, N.Z: Huia mō Te Tāhuhu o te Mātauranga. Burdan, A., Pearse-Otene, H., Teepa, K., & McNaughton, T. O. P. (2012). Arohanui. Te Whanganui-a-Tara, Aotearoa: He mea whakaputa tēnei tuhinga e Huia Publishers.

Awards and recognition In 2017, Pearse-Otene was awarded a Whāia Ngā Pae o Te Māramatanga Doctoral Excellence Scholarship. In 2010, Pearse-Otene won "Best Female Actor - Feature Film" at Wairoa Māori Film Festival for her role in No Petrol, No Diesel!.