Sofonisba at Washington Stage Guild at Undercroft Theatre

She was one of the first known female artists. And one of the first women artists to establish an international reputation. A student of Michelangelo, 27-year-old noblewoman and renowned portrait artist Sofonisba Anguissola travels from Italy to Spain to paint for King Philip II. In her 20 years at the Royal Court, she must play to and against the expectations of the king, friendship with and service to a 14-year-old Queen Isabel, and 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. Area Premiere.