Mihaela Drăgan, born in 1986, is an actress and playwright who lives and works in Bucharest and Berlin. In 2014, she founded Giuvlipen Theatre Company in collaboration with other Roma actresses, a »revolutionary theater« according to Reuters, and works there now as both an actress and a playwright. Giuvlipen’s performances have a feminist agenda and bring to life the issues of early marriage, antigypsyism, hate speech, hyper-sexualization, eviction, and heteronormativity in order to promote discussion and critical thinking. In 2015, she played in the feature film Aferim directed by Radu Jude, Silver Bear-winning film for directing at the Berlin International Film Festival and in 2017 was the main character of the short Magie Noire directed by Fanny Ardant. She is currently working in Berlin at Maxim Gorki Theatre. She is also a trainer at Theatre of the Oppressed where she works with Roma women on their specific issues. In addition, she has done multiple talks like Producing Roma Feminist Theatre and been a speaker for TEDxEroilor and Creative Mornings. She is one of the six finalists for the 2017 Gilder/Coigney International Theatre Award New York which acknowledges the exceptional work of 20 theatre women around the world.
