TERESA'S ECSTASY
incidental music for an off-Broadway show. | 60'ca. (2012)Commissioned: by playwright Begonya PlazaPremiered: Cherry Lane Theatre, West Village, Manhattan, New York March 4, 2012
Albert CARBONELL - PLAYBILL - TERESA'S ECSTASY 2012 [Off-Broadway Play].pdfAlbert CARBONELL - PLAYBILL - TERESA'S ECSTASY article 2012 [Off-Broadway Play].pdfPROGRAM NOTE
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 Andrés, 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, Andrés. 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 Andrés, who all along repudiated authority and moral restrictions, now proves otherwise.
Production Info
Cast: 3 total (2 female, 1 male)Full Length Drama (about 65 minutes)Single Set
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 Andrés, 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, Andrés. 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 Andrés, who all along repudiated authority and moral restrictions, now proves otherwise.
Production Info
Cast: 3 total (2 female, 1 male)Full Length Drama (about 65 minutes)Single Set
