Sophia Mobbs as Queen Isabel and Henry Hetz as King Philip in Sofonisba at Theater at Monmouth,. Photo: courtesy of German Cardenas-Alaminos

2 hours with intermission.

2022, World Premiere at Theater at Monmouth

2017 Ashland New Play Festival

2016 Production at Dramatic Repertory Company in Portland, Maine

2016 The Kilroys' List

2016 Clauder Gold Prize, Little Festival of the Unexpected, Portland Stage

2016 Finalist, O'Neill Playwrights' Conference

2016 Semifinalist, Princess Grace Award

2015 Honorable Mention, The Kilroys' List

2014 Semifinalist, Shakespeare's Sister Award

2010 Semifinalist, Lark Playwrights’ Week

Sofonisba

After studying with Michelangelo, 27-year-old Sofonisba Anguissola boards a ship from Italy to Spain to paint for King Philip II. Her 20 years at the Royal Court are one long chess game, since Sofonisba must play to and against the expectations of the king, the bishop, the fool, a lovelorn knight, and a 14-year-old queen. What negotiations and sacrifices did she make in the service of her art, and how did she navigate the tricky waters of court politics as an unmarried woman? A play about the hunger for creation--of birth and of art--and what it costs.

Brilliant.

— Megan Grumbling, The Portland Phoenix

Setting
The Spanish Court of King Philip II, 1560-1571. And two ships, 20 years apart.

Characters

  • SOFONISBA ANGUISSOLA. Italian. 27 when the play starts. 47 when it ends. Court painter to King Philip II of Spain.

  • QUEEN ISABEL. French. 14 when the play starts. Queen of Spain, Philip’s second wife.

  • BISHOP ESPINOZA. Spanish. Late 50s. His paternalism is benign and suits the time.

  • KING PHILIP. Spanish. 32 at the start of the play. A good husband, but still a king.

  • DON FRANCISCO FABRIZIO DE MONCADA PIGNATELLI DEL PATERNO. Sicilian. Around 40. He is the son of a prince. Tragically earnest.

  • THE FOOL. Scottish and ageless.

  • ORAZIO LOMELLINO. Italian. 30s. Handsome and strong.

Production & Development History

Productions at Theater at Monmouth and Dramatic Repertory Company. Workshops and readings at Little Festival of the Unexpected (Portland Stage), Lark Play Development Center, Florida Studio Theatre, The Farnsworth Museum (with Everyman Repertory Theatre), National Museum of Women in the Arts (with Washington Stage Company), Project Y, Electric Pear Productions, John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts (Washington Stage Company). Written with a grant from the Ludwig Vogelstein Foundation.