Helena Hale to Perform 'Artemisia' at Westmont

The internationally acclaimed actress Helena Hale will perform her one-woman play, “Artemisia Gentileschi, Of Lies and Truth,” 7:30 p.m. May 10 in Porter Theatre on the Westmont campus. Admission is $10 for general audience and $7.50 for Reynolds Gallery members.

Hale has performed the play in major museums and theaters throughout the United States as well as in Florence, Italy. It tells the dramatic life-story of Artemisia Gentileschi, the extraordinary 17th-century Italian Baroque artist who was highly regarded for her paintings, which depicted women as strong and independent.

Gentileschi is best-known for her work, “Judith Slaying Holofernes,” and her paintings hang in Florence at the Uffiizi Gallery and the Pitti Palace, in the English Marlborough House and Buckingham Palace, and other museums worldwide.

“Helena Hale's performances are always magical,” said Westmont’s Art Council president, Wayne Hoffman. “She will transport herself – and you – to 17th-century Italy for an evening with the great artist who broke free of the restrictions and conventions of her time.”

The play was written by Hale and was originally directed by Bates Lockhart. Costumes are by Tracy Jackson and music was composed and arranged by Randy Tico.

For tickets, call the art department at (805) 565-6162.