Playwright: Lauren Gunderson
Directed By: Krista Schafer
Production Snapshot
Artemisia Gentileschi was the most celebrated female painter of the 17th century, yet her name was all but lost for centuries. Attacked at just seventeen, publicly shamed and tortured to prove her truth, Gentileschi nevertheless fought for her art and the freedom to make it on her own terms. Always contending with her father, consumed with passion for her lover, and ferociously devoted to her children, Artemisia is a modern woman before her time. Artemisia is a work of humor and warmth that celebrates the courage, artistry, and humanity of a woman who attacked the glass ceiling with every brush stroke.
Cast
Kamryn Marck
Artemisia Gentileschi
Kamryn is positively thrilled to return to Open Book this season. She was last seen as Georgiana in Georgiana and Kitty: Christmas at Pemberley. You may have also caught one of her one-woman history shows. Some regional theater highlights include: Ring of Fire (Brown County Playhouse), The Glass Menagerie (Thunder Bay Theatre), and The Sound of Music (Riverbank Theatre). In life, Kamryn is a lover of gardening, puzzles, going for walks, and other activities commonly found in your local senior citizen center. So much gratitude to OBTC, the cast and crew, my dog, Pickles, and my family for giving me the space and support to be here. www.anna-marck.com | @anyamarckgetset
Lisa Michaels
Artemesia Madre
Lisa Michaels (she/her) is thrilled to be making her Open Book Theatre debut with this incredible production! Locally, Lisa has performed with Detroit Public Theatre, Theatre NOVA, JET, and the Henry Ford & Greenfield Village, to name a few. As a proud member British Equity, she has also performed around the United Kingdom, including at Shakespeare’s Globe Theatre in London. When not performing, Lisa is a Teaching Artist with Shakespeare in Detroit and a clinical therapist in private practice. Through her clinical work, Lisa strives to help creative professionals recognize and embrace the importance of self-advocacy and good mental health practices within the arts. TU-VFV-AOK
Peter Knox
Orazio
Peter Knox (Orazio) Although born in Wyandotte General, this is Peter’s first appearance on the Downriver stage. Peter began his theatrical adventures as a set painter/designer but jumped into acting (and occasionally directing) starting with a 1986 production of Dario Fo’s Accidental Death of a Anarchist at Ann Arbor’s Performance Network. He has since appeared at The Detroit Repertory Theatre, Shakespeare In Detroit, Wild Swan Theatre, Encore Musical Theatre, and even as an actor in Detroit Opera’s production of La Bohème. He is a member of Michigan Screen Actors’ Guild and can be seen in several regional, independent films including Time Now, Sunfish & Other Stories, Attack of the Flies, and I Dream of a Psychopomp. When not acting Peter screens films for the Ann Arbor Film Festival and tends the native landscape out in his family’s Manchester habitat. He has not, as yet, been able to incorporate his unicycling skill into any of his roles, but hope springs eternal.
Forrest Hejkal
Francesco
Forrest Hejkal (he/him) is an actor, designer, director, and poet born and raised in Ann Arbor. He's been seen on Michigan stages such as Theatre Nova (Mazel Tov, John Lennon, Constellations) and Spinning Dot Theatre (This Girl Laughs, The Mountain) among many others. He has founded several theater companies, including the Carriage House Theatre of Ann Arbor, and national tours of both street theater and living room theater, and teaches with Spinning Dot Theatre in Ann Arbor. Forrest also runs Heartfire Saunas, where he builds custom saunas and rents out a mobile sauna converted from a vintage camper trailer. He is passionate about community building, farms, swimming holes, music, and his dogs Maisy and Jupiter. When not building things or on a stage, he can be found in a canoe, a tree, or down a dusty trail.
Jeannine Thompson
Prudenzia Madre and Grand Duchess Christina
Jeannine Thompson (Prudenzia Madre and Grand Duchess Christina) is thrilled to be performing in her second show with Open Book Theatre. She was last seen here as Tess in Marjorie Prime. Jeannine most recently had the pleasure of reviving the role of Marta in Mrs. Fifty Bakes a Pie at Planet Ant Theatre. She originated the role six years ago at Theatre Nova. Other recent credits include, Hallie in Sunrise Coven at Penny Seats, Violet Frost in Sherlock Holmes and the White City at Planet Ant, Marty in Circle Mirror Transformation at Theatre Thirty3 and Amanda in Private Lives at the Inspired Acting Company. She also had the honor of working with Wow Town to bring a book character to life for the book release event of Incidents Around the House by Josh Malerman. When she's not on stage (which is her favorite place to be) Jeannine loves turning other people's trash into beautiful new treasures. Thank you so much for being here and supporting the arts.
Meet the Playwright(s)
Lauren Gunderson
Lauren is one of the most produced playwrights in America since 2015 topping the list thrice including 2022-2023. She is a two-time winner of the Harold and Mimi Steinberg/ATCA New Play Award for I AND YOU and THE BOOK OF WILL, the winner of the Lanford Wilson Award and the Otis Guernsey New Voices Award, 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 premieres on the West End this fall. 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 of the Arts 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; MISS BENNET; and GEORGIANA AND KITTY), and Samuel French (EMILIE). Her picture book, DR WONDERFUL: BLAST OFF TO THE MOON is available from Two Lions/Amazon. She is the bookwriter 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 a board member of The Playwrights Foundation, and a member of the Aspen Institute Science and Society cohort.
