Pilar Restrepo

Pilar holds a bachelors in Literature from Universidad del Valle and a masters in Ibero-Latin American Studies from Université Rennes Haute Bretagne. In 1977 she began to get more seriously involved in theater and joined a performance group, La Máscara, a year later. Teatro La Máscara, based in Santiago de Cali, Colombia, focuses on gender theater and uses social context in order to create scenes on this topic. They began to do this before the creation of what is known today as feminist theater, and were the first women to create sketches and demonstrations on women’s issues. During her time in La Máscara, they received threats, and the group had to flee the country and seek exile in Central America because of their performances. Through her involvement in the group, Pilar has participated as an actress, manager, and playwright. In terms of acting, some plays she starred in include El sueño, La mandrágora, and most importantly María Farrar. This piece touched on subjects such as abortion and many cities got to see the group’s performance of it. In the realm of writing, in 1997 she wrote La Máscara, la Mariposa y la Metáfora, and in 2006 she published a book featuring all of the plays staged by the group named La dramaturgia de la urgencia. Through her managing work, she became involved in numerous projects. Pilar has helped to collectively organize the first international festival of contemporary women’s theater in Colombia: Magdalena Pacífica. She is also the co-creator of Laboratorio de Creación Teatral y Pensamiento Feminista.