Ep 2. Beatriz Pizano, Award-Winning Writer/Director on Making The Arts More Diverse

"All journeys are full of challenges. I think you have to be true to yourself and not compromise what you believe in"

Beatriz Pizano is a Colombian-born award-winning artist and activist who has been called one of Canada’s most important Latin-Canadian writer/directors. Back in 2001, when there was a lack of cultural diversity on Canadian stages, Beatriz struggled to find work as a woman of color. But she didn’t give up there, and instead opened up her own theatre Aluna to mount her plays and overtime grew it into a platform forother diverse artists to showcase their art as well. Beatriz is an inspiring voice in the theatre industry and continues to create more opportunities on stage for BIPOC artists today.

In this episode, Beatriz talks about her early years in Canada as a fresh immigrant | Getting cancer in her twenties, being forced to give up a career in dance and returning to her first love: acting | Challenges faced by BIPOC artists in theatre: “[We] still have to work triple hard to get the same recognition to this day” | Creating your own opportunities | The job that changed her life | The creation and evolution of Aluna Theatre | How Aluna is creating opportunities for BIPOC and women artists in Canada | How to make theatre more diverse | Advice to BIPOC artists: be true to yourself, know your values and hang on when you want to give up.

To learn more about Beatriz Pizano and to see pictures from the interview, visit https://www.sissi-wang.com/episodes/ep-2-beatriz-pizano

Aluna Theatre: https://www.alunatheatre.ca/

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