Beatriz Pizano

Bio

Beatriz Pizano is an actor/director/playwright and the founder and Artistic Director of Aluna Theatre. Over the last two decades, she has built Aluna into an international company recognized for its unique approach to creation, its daring political work, and its experimentation with multiple-language productions. Her bold creations, in English and Spanish, are marked by a distinct theatrical language drawing from the heritages, cultures, and languages from across the Americas.

She has been the recipient of numerous awards including the John Hirsch Prize, the Chalmers Fellowship, K.M. Hunter award, 100 Colombianos and Colombiano Estrella. She is the first Colombian actress to win the Toronto Critics award and a Dora for her performance in Blood Wedding. She has been recognized twice by the Colombian government (President Santos and President Duque) for her work as a promoter and a mentor to the Latinx artists living and working in Canada. In 2019 she was named TD Bank’s 10 Most Influential Hispanic Canadians. In 2023 she received the Trailblazer & Lifetime Achievement Award from the Canadian Latinx Theatre Artist Coalition (Caltac).

She has written and directed a number of award winning and touring productions for Aluna, including: For Sale, Madre, La Comunión and has co-created touring productions such as What I learned from a Decade of Fear, The Refuge of Freidel, and The Solitudes. Her TYA play, La Maleta, has been produced by Roseneath Theatre touring extensively across Canada and the US, and earning numerous accolades each time. In 2022 Playwrights Canada Press published her one woman show Dividing Lines | Líneas Divisorias.

She is passionate about her work as a playwright, dramaturge and director. In 2019 she was the senior playwright at the Banff Centre’s Playwright’s Lab. She also continues to be a guest speaker and lecturer at York University, UofT, Glendon College, Sheridan College and others.. Her writing challenges Eurocentric approaches to theatre creation. She is a fierce activist who creates spaces and opportunities for racialized artists and playwrights.