CTR Editors in Conversation

Mentorship, Collaboration and Invitation

Authors

  • Robert Wallace York University
  • Natalie Rewa Queen’s University
  • Ric Knowles University of Guelph
  • Laura Levin York University
  • Jenn Stephenson Queen’s University

Abstract

In an extension of our issue’s theme of re-assembly, we (co-editors Selena Couture and Melissa Poll) asked 5 former editors of CTR to join us in a roundtable conversation on March 17, 2026 by video conference. The five participants here are: Robert (Bob) Wallace (script editor 1981-1983; sole editor 1983-1988; editorial contributor 1988-1991); Natalie Rewa (co-editor with Alan Filewod 1992-1995; member of editorial team 1996-2004); Ric Knowles (co-editor with Alan Filewod, Harry Lane, and Ann Wilson, 1996-2004; 2004-2011); Laura Levin (Views and Reviews co-editor with Andy Houston 2004-2010; sole editor 2011-2016; Associate Editor 2017-2023); and Jenn Stephenson (Views and Reviews co-editor with Natalie Alvarez, 2004-2011, sole editor 2016-2022, Associate Editor 2023-2025). Collectively these five editors contributed to stewarding the journal for over forty years, and represent a woven tapestry of editorial mentorship and training. The five people who participated in this roundtable come from 5 eras of editing CTR, each within highly distinct cultural and publishing landscapes.

Author Biographies

Robert Wallace, York University

Robert Wallace (Professor Emeritus, York University) co-founded the program in Drama Studies (1984) that he coordinated until he retired in 2006. He has written five stage plays including No Deposit, No Return, a pioneering gay drama produced in New York City in 1975. As Drama Editor at Coach House Press (1981-1995), he edited 20 volumes of plays that helped to establish gay, lesbian and Québécois writers in the Canadian canon. During that period he also wrote and produced 10 feature documentaries for CBC-IDEAS and served as a national theatre critic for CBC radio. His books include The Work: Conversations with English-Canadian Playwrights (1982), Quebec Voices (1986), Producing Marginality: Theatre and Criticism in Canada (1990), Making, Out: Plays by Gay Men (1992) and Theatre and Transformation in Contemporary Canada (1999).

Natalie Rewa, Queen’s University

Natalie Rewa is the author of Scenography in Canada: Selected Designers (2004), co-curator of the Canadian delegation to PQ07 and co-editor of Imprints of Process; editor of Design and Scenography (2009), and “Costumes and Costuming” CTR, 52. Research chapters in Performing Architectures: Projects, Practices, Pedagogies (2018) and Performance Costume: New Perspectives and Methods (2021). She is Professor emerita, Queen’s University.

Ric Knowles, University of Guelph

Ric Knowles is University Professor Emeritus at the University of Guelph, and a freelance director and dramaturge.

Laura Levin, York University

Laura Levin is Professor of Theatre & Performance at YorkU; York Research Chair in Art, Technology, and Global Activism; and Director of the Hemispheric Encounters Network (hemisphericencounters.ca). Her books include Performing Ground: Space Identity, and the Art of Blending In, Performance Studies in Canada (with Marlis Schweitzer), and Jess Dobkin’s Wetrospective.

Jenn Stephenson, Queen’s University

Jenn Stephenson is a Professor at Queen’s University. Current research interests concern the nature of engagement by audiences in play-game hybrids. Her most recent book is PLAY: Dramaturgies of Participation published in May 2024 by Playwrights Canada Press, co-authored with Mariah Horner. Recent articles have appeared in Theatre Research in Canada and Contemporary Theatre Review.

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Published

2026-08-28

How to Cite

Wallace, Robert, Natalie Rewa, Ric Knowles, Laura Levin, and Jenn Stephenson. 2026. “CTR Editors in Conversation: Mentorship, Collaboration and Invitation ”. Performance Matters 12 (1). Vancouver:170–198. https://performancematters-thejournal.com/index.php/pm/article/view/589.

Issue

Vol. 12 No. 1 (2026): Re-Assembling: CTR 199–200

Section

Articles

License

Copyright (c) 2026 Coleman Nye; Bob , Natalie, Ric, Laura, Jenn, Selena Couture, Melissa Poll

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