Julia Heynen is an American
stage actress. She defined the role of
Helen
Helen may refer to:
People
* Helen of Troy, in Greek mythology, the most beautiful woman in the world
* Helen (actress) (born 1938), Indian actress
* Helen (given name), a given name (including a list of people with the name)
Places
* Helen, ...
in
Jacob Appel's ''
Helen of Sparta
Helen of Troy, Helen, Helena, (Ancient Greek: Ἑλένη ''Helénē'', ) also known as beautiful Helen, Helen of Argos, or Helen of Sparta, was a figure in Greek mythology said to have been the most beautiful woman in the world. She was believe ...
'' at the
Venus Theatre
The Venus Theatre is a major American regional theater in Laurel, Maryland. The theater was founded by Deborah Randall in 2001. The theatrical company is currently the largest production company in Maryland focused primarily on the retelling and a ...
, a role in which critic Ted Ying singled out her performance as a "forceful personification of the face that launched a thousand ships" and praised her as "beautiful, confident,
ndcharismatic." She also originated the part of
Ophelia in Chris Wind's ''Not Such Stuff''.
Critic Sophia Carteret wrote of Heynen that she "lets Ophelia's voice speak out as Shakespeare should have done. She lets us see the conflicting emotions of a girl learning to see the world with a woman's eyes; one who, in aiming to do right, comes to see that the duty of listening, reflecting, and obeying can be less important than the acts of observing, questioning, and seeking to correct the errors committed by oneself and others. Given the longest segment in the play, this character shows the most complexity and personal development on stage and the actor gives the role all that it needs to succeed both dramatically and intellectually."
Heynen earlier starred in regional productions of ''
Private Eyes'', ''
Hedda Gabler'',
Pirandello's ''
Six Characters in Search of an Author'' and nearly three dozen other productions in the Washington and Baltimore areas.
As of the summer of 2010, she is starring in the Red Branch Theatre's production of
David Auburn's ''
Proof
Proof most often refers to:
* Proof (truth), argument or sufficient evidence for the truth of a proposition
* Alcohol proof, a measure of an alcoholic drink's strength
Proof may also refer to:
Mathematics and formal logic
* Formal proof, a con ...
''. The ''New Dramatist'' named her a "local legend" in 2009, the first from the Baltimore-Washington region in eight years.
In 2011 Heynen moved to Chicago, where she currently resides as of spring 2014. She is currently a part of the Denver Team at
iO Chicago.
Heynen is a graduate of
Goucher College.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heynen, Julia
Living people
American stage actresses
Goucher College alumni
Year of birth missing (living people)
Place of birth missing (living people)
21st-century American women