Mujer Venado

Lila is a warrior. She is the daughter of a hunter who taught her all he knew. She’s ex-army, too. When circumstances converge, Lila finds the perfect opportunity to avenge her baby sister’s murder while exercising the skills taught by the Canadian government.

ARTICLE 11 and Aluna Theatre bring to RUTAS the live Canadian premiere of Deer Woman written by Nlaka’pamux playwright Tara Beagan, one of the most influential playwrights on Turtle Island. Performed in Spanish with English surtitles for the first time, Mujer Venado speaks to the national and international crisis of missing and murdered Indigenous women and girls and 2 Spirit people in Canada and across the Americas.

October 1, 2026 at 7:30 PM
October 2, 2026 at 7:30 PM
October 3, 2026 at 7:30 PM

Every performance will have a 20 minute talkback afterward.
Sensory and/or Content Warnings:
Graphic descriptions of historical and contemporary hate crimes, childhood sexual abuse, and graphic depictions of other violence.

“Deer Woman is my attempt to tell a story I hope inspires a feeling of empowerment as well as acknowledging the rage families have felt at being powerless to seek justice. No one is, or should be, untouched by this genocide.”

Tara Beagan

“When Tara Beagan and Andy Moro asked me to collaborate on the Spanish adaptation, I was beyond words and honoured. I also knew RUTAS was the right place to present this work. We don’t shy away from speaking the uncomfortable truths. Although Deer Woman has presented in New Zealand, Australia, and the Edinburgh Festival to great success, no other Canadian theatre companies has to date mounted this important piece. For both Tara and Andy, creating this version with a Latinx performer will allow them to speak about the ongoing shared femicide crisis across the Americas.”

Beatriz Pizano, Aluna Theatre Artistic Director

“Deer Woman, a visceral, profoundly moving play written by acclaimed playwright Tara Beagan, leaves an indelible mark on the psyche of the audience…it challenges western views on power and justice, presenting a nuanced, authentic narrative of Indigenous experiences”

Brennan Kenneth Brown

About the artist

ARTICLE 11

We executed our first commission in September 2013. We, Tara Beagan and Andy
Moro, have come together as ARTICLE 11 to channel our mutual desire to pursue the creation
of live performance works with a holistic approach and a rigorous attack. We create well-
resourced works, refuting the culture of poverty prevalent in indie Canadian theatre. We work in
an inclusive model inspired by traditional Indigenous ways of living.

We remain committed to work that challenges the artists and the medium with an active pursuit of deepening practice and expanding the understanding of what the theatrical form is. We recognize and celebrate that theatre’s strongest asset is the ability to create communion among a group of individuals. As a living, breathing, shared experience, the medium must evolve with society.

Our projects are an investment in the development of the contemporary Indigenous theatrical canon. This investment necessarily extends beyond a premiere production. We disseminate our full-scale productions as complete yet evolving works, not as touring versions of something that has been more whole. This is an acknowledgement that we as Indigenous peoples are not bound by colonial borders, but bound by common experiences and concerns for humankind.

Andy Moro

Moro works in dance, theatre, opera, film and installation. Lately Neptune Theatre, Tarragon, the NAC, Atlantic Ballet, Diana Lopez Soto, Vertigo, Edmonton Opera, Dancers of Damelahamid. He recently did production design for feature film Do Us Part, shot and edited the documentary The Road to Hasalala Danxalax and directed and edited Reckoning (in post.)

Tara Beagan

A proud Ntlaka’pamux and Irish “Canadian” halfbreed, Beagan has written 40 plays, eight published. Beagan is a Dora and Betty nominated actor, a Dora winning writer and a Betty nominated director. She was the 2020 laureate of the Siminovitch Prize for theatre, playwriting and the 2025 winner of the Governor General’s award for Drama.

Lissete VC

Lissete VC is a Mexican bilingual actor and singer based in Toronto, Canada. She graduated as a professional stage performer from Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes and expanded her training through an exchange program at Universidad Mayor in Santiago, Chile. Her experience includes theatre, film, television, puppetry, dance, and playwriting, including participation in international festivals and multicultural productions. Committed to continuous growth, she constantly challenges herself as an artist, embracing new creative opportunities and diverse forms of storytelling across cultures and artistic disciplines.