Carlotta is not afraid to search with eyes open for the first time, inspired by Saint Teresa of Avila and her publisher, Becky, a Jewish lesbian from New York. Carlotta is resolute on resolving her marital uncertainties with Andres, a Catalan artist living in Barcelona, where the women make a stopover on their way to Avila. Carlotta is uncovering her own sense of self while further investigating the life of this impassioned revolutionary female of the sixteenth century. Santa Teresa de Avila was an empowered mystic, feminist heroine who defended divine law above man’s law. During a time when the Inquisition was in its fervor, and the Saint’s spirituality could easily have been interpreted as heresy, this woman of Jewish ancestry, singlehandedly reformed a branch of the Catholic church, the Discalced Carmelite Order, to its strict original intentions of fraternity, silent prayer, and service. Teresa also founded over a dozen monasteries and wrote some of the greatest classical Spanish literature. Becky’s independent spirit illuminates Carlotta’s view of a persistent dysfunctional dynamic that she has been willingly exchanging with her estranged husband, Andres. Carlotta arrives with intentions of working things out but the charming, stimulating banter and fiery provocations now dissatisfy her starving heart. The two women return from Avila with a clear allegiance of passion and understanding, but Andres, who all along repudiated authority and moral restrictions, now proves otherwise. Beware of having unintended spiritual epiphanies. Begonya Plaza’s new play, TERESA’S ECSTASY, is about the unexpected influence of Saint Teresa of Avila, a 16th-century Carmelite nun, on modern-day Carlotta, a Spanish writer … The well-written, touching and often funny drama … -Jennifer Farrar, Associated Press .. . TERESA’S ECSTASY, a sumptuous three-person comic drama about sex, love and spirituality … -Erasmo Guerra, New York Daily News
