Personal & Junta Directiva

Beatriz Pizano

Artistic Director
beatriz@alunatheatre.ca

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.

“Colombian-born Beatriz Pizano is one of Canada’s important Latin-Canadian writer/directors.” — Paula Citron, Classical 96.5 FM

Trevor Schwellnus

Artistic Producer
trevor@alunatheatre.ca

Trevor is a Toronto-based Scenographer – designing sets, lighting, and video for performance with independent artists. He has developed his approach to direction and dramaturgy through Collaborative creation in a designed environment at Aluna, leading the creation of Nohayquiensepa (Nooneknows) and What I learned from a decade of fear. His design work for Aluna’s La Comunión, Madre, and For Sale launched him on his artistic path. One of his chief obsessions is the intersection of design, dramaturgy, and cross-cultural art-making.

Trevor has collaborated in theatre and dance with Modern Times, Jumblies, Fixtpoint, Cahoots, The Theatre Centre, Buddies in Bad Times, Independent Aunties, Obsidian, Tarragon, Small Wooden Shoe, One Reed, Marie-Josée Chartier, Ame Henderson / Public Recordings, selfconscious Theatre, Dancemakers, Theatre Passe Muraille, and others. He has 6 Doras (of 17 career nominations), a Harold, and a Children’s Choice Award. In 2015 he was shortlisted for Canada’s Siminovich Award.

Maria escolán

María Escolán is a theatre artist and producer from El Salvador living
in Toronto. Recent workshop showings of her work in development La
Mujer Fragmentada have taken place in Toronto with Aluna Theatre’s
CAMINOS Festival, in San Salvador with Asociación Cultural del Azoro,
in Victoria BC with Intrepid Theatre’s UNO Fest, and in Vancouver, BC
with rice & beans theatre. Past collaborations include live
translation performance in Pequeños Territorios en Reconstrucción with
Teatro Linea de Sombra, Assistant Directing/Performance with Nightwood
Theatre’s Children of Fire at Aluna Theatre’s Rutas Festival 2022 in
Toronto, and Assistant Directing Peace Country with rice & beans
theatre. María holds a BFA Degree in Theatre Performance from the
School for Contemporary Arts, Simon Fraser University and a BA Degree
in Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Social Justice from the University of
British Columbia.

Maria paula Carreño-Martínez

Associate Artist / Metcalf Intern
alunaoutreach@gmail.com

Maria Paula Carreño-Martínez (she, ella) is a trained actor and performance art creator of diverse ancestry born in Bacatá and residing near Tkaronto. Her performance creations have been showcased at Buddies in Bad Times, The Al Green Theatre, three editions of CAMINOS by Aluna Theatre, The Harbourfront Centre, Theatre Erindale, The Fairview Library Theatre, The AluCine Film Festival, and she has been in a number of voice, film and tv projects in Canada, Colombia, and France, she also produces and is working towards dramaturgy and directing. She is your outreach and development coordinator at Aluna, always excited to get fiestas (with food) happening and to get folks connected through performance.

Charrisa Wilcox

Festival Production Manager
production@alunatheatre.ca

Charissa spent the last couple decades working at the Iconic Queer Canadian Art Organization, Buddies in Bad Times Theatre (BIBT) as the Head of Production. Throughout her freelance career she has worked with such companies as Aluna Theatre, Tapestry, Modern Times, New Harlem Productions and Nightwood Theatre. Charissa is also the Artistic Producer and co-founder of FLYING SOLO and the lead designer and fabricator of FLYING SOLO’s cutting edge circus apparatuses.

tushar dalvi

Marketing Coordinator
rtcdigitalmedia@gmail.com

Tushar Tukaram Dalvi is an experienced theatre practitioner from Mumbai, now living in Toronto. Besides his theatre work, he’s also a Marketing professional. Recently, he collaborated with Necessary Angel Theatre for their production of «New» by Pamela Mala Sinha. He also assisted Kingston’s Spider Web show Production with FOLDA (Festival of Live Digital Arts) this year. Additionally, he markets and promotes his own theatre company’s productions. He has also contributed to Ranga Theatre in Mumbai, helping them with their festival, IndieMoon, in Bhopal, India.

Tushar is a multi-talented artist involved in Acting, Directing, Light design, Scenography, and Film making. He started acting on stage in 2006 and has worked with respected theatre directors in Mumbai. In 2016, he founded the Rangaai Theatre Company, specializing in creating immersive and sensory-based theatrical experiences for intimate spaces. His work weaves fiction, various mediums, and interactive elements to tell compelling stories about contemporary social issues.

FLAVIA MARTIN

Studio Coordinator
alunaspace@gmail.com

Flávia F. Martin (she/her) is a Portuguese Canadian creative who has been spending most of her time stage and assistant stage managing for theatre. Flávia has had the privilege of working with Aluna Theatre, Modern Times, Peggy Baker’s Dance Projects, Victoria Mata Productions and Necessary Ange. When she is not stage managing, Flávia can be found answering the Aluna studio emails.

andrea perez

Summer Student: Production Assistant

Andrea Perez (she/her) is an emerging Canadian-Latinx artist who has a passion for acting, playwriting, production, and theatre criticism. She’s at the University of Toronto studying Drama, Classics, and Creative Writing, learning about the craft storytelling in its many facets. She participated in Stratford Festival & Intermission Magazine’s inaugural ‘IBPOC Critic’s Lab’ led by cultural critic Jose Solis. Some of her recent acting credits include ‘Olivia’ in Twelfth Night (Thaumatrope Theatre), ‘Goody’ in Crab Mentality (Flowers Co.), and ‘Janet Weiss’ in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (UC Follies). Andrea is beyond excited to have the opportunity to collaborate, create, and learn at Aluna Theatre this summer.