Photo credit: Butter & Scotch
In a beautiful moment of synchronicity, our first official rehearsal for the remount of Artemisia's Intent just happened to be the 425th birthday of our heroine, Artemisia Gentileschi. That's right.....
July 8, 1593: Birth of Artemisia Gentileschi in Rome
July 8, 2018: Birth of Artemisia's Intent remount in NYC
Crazy coincidence or divine will? I'd like to think of it as a little tap on the shoulder from Artemisia herself, a reminder that her story - from over 400 years ago - still has much to say to us today.
One striking example of this is comparing Artemisia's voice with that of pop singer Taylor Swift.
When we began working on this show in January 2017, Taylor Swift was in the midst of a legal battle against a radio DJ for sexual harassment. Centuries earlier, in 1612, Artemisia had gone to trial, testifying against her former tutor for rape. Despite the passage of time, Artemisia's ordeal was alarmingly familiar. Two young, female artists whose careers were at the whim of men in seats of power, men who used this power to take advantage of their bodies and attempted to silence their voices.
The script is crafted, in part, with text from each of these legal proceedings. (Curious about our research? Investigate!). When we brought their words into rehearsal, the echo was deafening:
"I say this, that everything I have said is the truth, and that if it were not the truth I would not have said it."
"You can ask me a million questions—I’m never going to say anything different. I never have said anything different.”
Which words are Artemisia's? Which are Taylor's? And who is just now finally able to find the strength to speak up?
Happy birthday, Artemisia. We are so grateful that you were able to find your power and speak truth to it through your powerful art.
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UPCOMING PERFORMANCES OF ARTEMISIA'S INTENT:
July 26th @ 7:30PM at The Kraine (NYC)
July 31st @ 8:30PM and August 1 @ 7PM at The Wilbury Theatre Group (Providence, RI)