Audition Notice
For MainStage Production of
Artemisia
By Lauren Gunderson
Directed by Melissa Gard
A historical drama about the life of one of the most celebrated female artists of the 17th century who lived her life on her own terms.
Time: 6:30pm Thursday January 29 and Wednesday, February 4. Attend one or both.
To arrange an alternate audition time or for questions, contact Melissa at melissa@actingensemble.com.
Place: Acting Ensemble on the Avenue, 602 E Mishawaka Ave, Mishawaka IN 46545
Auditions will consist of cold readings from sides provided by the director.
Rehearsals: . Please arrive at the audition knowing your conflicts.
Performance dates: April 10, 11, and 12 (matinee), 16, 17, 18, and 19 (matinee)
The Story: Artemisia Gentileschi was one of the most celebrated female painters of the seventeenth century, yet her name was all but lost for centuries. Assaulted and publicly shamed at just seventeen, Gentileschi lived her life on her own terms as an artist, a mother, and a lover. Artemisia was a modern woman before her time; ARTEMISIA is a play that celebrates her artistry, courage, and humanity.
Characters:
ARTEMISIA GENTILESCHI — Seventeen, feisty, smart, strong, confident.
Also plays PRUDENZIA FIGLIA, her daughter. Sixteen-twenties, sweet-natured and mischievous.
ARTEMISIA MADRE — Thirties – fifty, feistier, smarter, stronger, more confident.
PRUDENZIA MADRE — her mother. Forties, kind and steady.
Also plays GRAND DUCHESS CHRISTINA OF LORRAINE. Hilarious and flighty.
ORAZIO – her father. Forties-sixties,, like Artemisia but a man. A bit brutish and hasty
FRANCESCO – her lover and friend and confident. Forties, a really good guy.
Setting: Italy and England. 1610’s – 1650’s.
Genre: Historical Drama; Biography
Adult material, content, and language.
“While [Artemisia] Gentileschi’s life and work is often defined by her experiences with men, Gunderson’s play allows for Gentileschi to create her own narrative. Gunderson utilizes humor and deep emotion to portray Gentileschi as she really was, a strong-willed and passionate artist.” —The Badger Herald.
“The savvy blend of past and present may bring to mind Tom Stoppard, especially Arcadia… Yet the collision between past and present is salient. ‘Has that much really changed?’ is the question that’s bound to occur to the audience.” —Isthmus.
Lauren Gunderson is one of the most produced playwrights in America since 2015, topping the list thrice, including 2022/23. She is a two-time winner of the Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award for I and You and The Book of Will, the William Inge Distinguished Achievement in Theater Award, the Lanford Wilson Award and the Otis Guernsey New Voices Award, and was a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, the Arthur L. Weissberger Award and John Gassner Award for Playwriting. Her musical adaptation of The Time Traveller’s Wife premiered on the West End last year. Revolutionary Women, her new anthology of five plays, was published by Bloomsbury in 2023. She studied Southern Literature and Drama at Emory University and Dramatic Writing at NYU’s Tisch School, where she was a Reynolds Fellow in Social Entrepreneurship. Her play The Catastrophist, about her husband virologist Nathan Wolfe, premiered digitally in January 2021 and is now in The COVID Art Capsule in the Library of Congress. She co-authored the Miss Bennet trilogy with Margot Melcon. The Half-Life of Marie Curie premiered off-Broadway and at audible.com. Her work is published at Playscripts (I and You; Exit Pursued By A Bear; The Taming and Toil and Trouble), Dramatists Play Service (The Revolutionists; The Book of Will; Silent Sky; Bauer, Natural Shocks, The Wickhams and Miss Bennet) and Samuel French (Emilie and Peter Pan and Wendy). Her picture book Dr Wonderful: Blast Off to the Moon is available from Two Lions/Amazon. She is the book writer for musicals with Dave Stewart and Joss Stone (The Time Traveler’s Wife), Ari Afsar (Jeannette and I and You), Joriah Kwamé (Sinister), Kira Stone (Built for This) and Kait Kerrigan and Bree Lowdermilk (Justice and Earthrise). She is writing the Broadway-bound play about tennis icon and activist Billie Jean King. She is a board member of The Playwrights Foundation and a member of the Aspen Institute Science and Society cohort. LaurenGunderson.com
