David Rotenberg (author)

David Charles Rotenberg was a Canadian author and professor emeritus of theatre studies at York University, where he taught graduate students for over 25 years,[1][3] as well at the Professional Actors Lab in Toronto, which he founded as the artistic director.

"[6] Early in his career, he was a theatre director in New York City and staged two Broadway shows,[7] returning to Toronto in 1987.

[15][16] David Rotenberg went to British Columbia, teaching and setting up the acting programme at Simon Fraser University,[7] staging a production of Bertholt Brecht's Baal in 1973.

[2] He pursued graduate studies at the Yale Drama School, obtaining his Master of Fine Arts degree in 1976,[1][3] specializing in directing.

[2] He lived ten years in New York City, where he worked as a freelance director, participated in regional theatre, and directed the Broadway shows:[7] The News,[8] and The 1940's Radio Hour.

[2] Rotenberg also stated that he wanted to be closer to his parents and three brothers, and he felt Toronto was a good place to raise children.

[3] In 1994, he directed George Ryga's The Ecstasy of Rita Joe at the Shanghai Theatre Academy,[7] the first Canadian play produced in China with a Chinese cast and creative team.

[19] He noted that the play's subject matter, a young First Nation woman leaving the reserve for the city, was not easily understood by the Chinese audience.

[1] Rotenberg worked with approximately 75 actors at any given time, and his students included Tatiana Maslany, Rachel McAdams, Scott Speedman, Sarah Gadon, Ennis Esmer, Patrick J. Adams, David Julian Hirsh, Jonas Chernick, Shawn Doyle, Polly Shannon, and Demore Barnes.

[18] He wrote film scripts, stage plays (including an adaptation of The Great Gatsby), and novels.

[25] Robert J. Wiersema described The Placebo Effect (2012) as a thriller "possessed of an enthralling undercurrent" and praised Rotenberg's characterization.

In 2008, Rotenberg mentioned potential projects: a sixth Zhong Fong novel, a sequel to Shanghai, and a book about Canadian actors who studied with him.

[26] Rotenberg cited influences including John Le Carré, Jack Miles, James Lee Burke, Thomas Cahill, Harlan Ellison, William Boyd, Annie Proulx, K.C.

[18] He believed that Canadian crime writers had an advantage over their counterparts in other countries, focusing more on social and historical context.