Carlotta is searching. For her lost luggage. For a final end to her marriage. And for her connection to Teresa, a 14th century nun. She is not prepared for who she becomes after discovering TERESA'S ECSTASY.
Avila Productions, LLC by special arrangement with The Cherry Lane Theatre, presents the world premiere of Begonya Plaza’s TERESA’S ECSTASY – directed by Will Pomerantz and starring Shawn Elliott, Linda Larkin and Begonya Plaza. Preview performances will begin March 4, prior to an official opening on March 14 at The Cherry Lane Theatre (38 Commerce Street) in NYC. We invite you to join the team in producing this battle of the sexes and bringing our play to life – Off-Broadway in NYC.
In May 2011, INTAR Theater gave us the opportunity to workshop TERESA'S ECSTASY over the course of 29 hours. After its public showing, esteemed theater producer and angel, Jack Sharkey, saw its possibilities and agreed to sponsor half of the budget to mount it Off-Broadway. From there, Eduardo Machado, founder of INTAR, offered to help place this play in the historical Cherry Lane Theatre. Finally, the amazing director Will Pomerantz came on board to direct its premiere.
We are thrilled to be able to offer you, our donors, the chance to become a part of the production team to bring the story of TERESA'S ECSTASY to the stage. With your help, we will be able to pay our cast and crew, commission a painter to create original work specifically for this play, work with award-winning Catalan composer Albert Carbonell, who will write original music, purchase materials for costumes and the set, and, best of all, to share this humorous, sexy, and smart play with NYC audiences.
As you will see, we are offering several categories of giving: everything from a production poster signed by the cast and crew, to tickets for opening night and the following reception, to a copy of the musical score by Albert Carbonell and a tour of the historic Cherry Lane Theatre. We cannot do this show without your help, so please donate. Team Ecstasy is deeply grateful to each and every one of you!
TERESA'S ECSTASY will challenge the audience's beliefs in politics, religion, sexuality, and what it means to connect to other human beings. The viewing experience will be one of laughter, fun, and sorrow.
Tickets $60. For reservations, call OvationTix at 212-352-3101.
or Buy Tickets Online.
The schedule is as follows: Tuesdays @ 7 PM, Wednesdays-Saturdays @ 8 and Sundays @ 2 PM. Please note the following exceptions: Sunday, March 4 and Sunday, March 11 performances are at 7 PM, with no matinee shows. There will be one Monday performance at 7 PM on the 12th but there is no performance on Sunday, March 18.
Begonya Plaza: Playwright
Ms. Plaza studied writing at NYU, AFI and UCLA extension courses while working professionally as an actress. She wrote THE PERSISTENCE OF MEMORY, a screenplay about one year in the life of Salvador Dalí and his muse, Gala, seen from the eyes of a young lover. Glenn Close has signed a letter or interest to play the role of Gala. She wrote, directed and edited SOUVENIR VIEWS, a 24-minute documentary shot in New York and Barcelona with English/Spanish subtitles, about a young man's rite-of-passage journey through New York’s 9/11 tragedy. SOUVENIR VIEWS premiered at the 2003 Tribeca Film Festival, the Festival International del Nuevo Cine Latinoamericano, and aired nationally on the Independent Film Channel. She wrote, directed, and acted in AMERICAN HERO, a 15-minute short film. AMERICAN HERO is a contemplation on the ravages of war as an Iraqi Veteran returns home and tries to regain a sense of self, with the help of his sister. TALK SHOW is a play in which historical characters Evita Perón, Simón Bolivar, Dolores Ibarruri, and Antonio Machín are interviewed in a live, talk-show setting by God. GERNIKA LIVES is a 45-minute personal documentary, narrated by John Randolph, in which Ms. Plaza explores her Basque heritage and the tragic events her father experienced as a young boy during the bombing of Guernica and the Spanish Civil War.
Read more.
William Pomerantz: Director
Mr. Pomerantz has directed and developed new plays with theatres such as Playwrights Horizons, The Public Theatre, Hartford Stage, New York Theater Workshop, Ensemble Studio Theater, Soho Rep, Culture Project (Director-in-Residence), The Signature Theatre (Washington, DC), The Williamstown Theatre Festival, The Studio Theatre, The Mark Taper Forum and The Guthrie. He has directed world premieres by such playwrights as John Guare, David Auburn, Neil LaBute, Craig Lucas, Kia Corthron, David Lindsay-Abaire, Stephen Belber, Noah Haidle, Linda Cho, Kira Obolensky, and Carey Perloff . In addition to his work on new plays, Mr. Pomerantz has also directed texts by Chekhov, Ibsen, Strindberg, Shakespeare, Shaw and Sophocles. Mr. Pomerantz is proud to be associated with Epic Theatre Ensemble, where he is Associate Director for Artistic Development. For the company, he has directed the New York premiere of Howard Barker’s A HARD HEART, starring Kathleen Chalfant, and the world premiere of MAHIDA’S EXTRA KEY TO HEAVEN, by Russell Davis.
Jack Sharkey: Executive Producer
Mr. Sharkey is a producer and benefactor for theater, film and music projects. A great supporter of the solo form, Jack’s theater credits include Nilaja Sun's celebrated tour-de-force NO CHILD...(Epic Theatre Ensemble, Edinburgh Festival Fringe, Dublin Theatre Festival). Other theater credits include Donnetta Lavinia Grays' THE NEW NORMAL (Coyote REP Theatre) and James Carter's FEEDER: A LOVE STORY (terraNOVA Collective), Anika Larsen's SHAFRIKA, THE WHITE GIRL (Jaradoa Theater) and Rock Wilk's BROKE WIDE OPEN (Unplugged National Tour). Music projects include Julie Foldesi’s Debut CD "This Part of Town", Julie Reiber’s Debut CD "Love Travels", Becca Ayers’ "Live at The Laurie Beechman" and "Lovesick", and Lauren Molina’s music videos GONNA BE ALRIGHT and TRY TO SAY. Film projects include Samantha Buck, Jenny Maguire, and Sophia Raab Downs’ documentary 21 BELOW and Alysia Reiner’s short SPEED GRIEVING.
CAST:
Shawn Elliott: For the stage, Mr. Elliott co-starred on Broadway in the original productions of CITY OF ANGELS, MARIE CHRISTINE and JACQUES BREL IS ALIVE AND WELL AND LIVING IN PARIS. His Off-Broadway credits include CYRANO DE BERGERAC, A PARK IN OUR HOUSE, NEW JERUSALEM, and EULOGY FOR A SMALL-TIME THIEF. Regional theater credits include: HAMLET, MAN OF LA MANCHA, ANTIGONE, DON QUIXOTE, DARK RAPTURE, NOTHING SACRED, THE PROMISE, THE TEMPEST, DEATH AND THE MAIDEN and WHOSE AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? Mr. Elliott has appeared in a number of films including the award-winning festival favorite 13 CONVERSATIONS ABOUT ONE THING with Alan Arkin, Matthew McConaughey and John Turturro. Other film work includes DOUBLE TAKE, HURRICANE STREETS, IMPUSE, CAUGHT, DO THE RIGHT THING, THE DEAD POOL, SHORT EYES and CROSSOVER DREAMS. Mr. Elliott can also be seen in two soo-to-be-released films: ARBITRAGE, with Richard Gere, and BROKEN CITY with Mark Walberg, Russell Crowe and Catherine Zeta Jones. His television appearances include the made-for-TV-movies SOMEONE HAD TO BE BENNY (HBO), DEATH IN SMALL DOSES (ABC) and PROMISED A MIRACLE (CBS). He has had recurring roles on several series, including NBC’s LAW & ORDER, THE DAYS AND NIGHTS OF MOLLY DODD (Lifetime), and the award-winning PBS show GHOSTWRITER. In addition, he has guest starred on many shows including CSI MIAMI (CBS), AMERICAN FAMILY (PBS), 100 CENTRE ST. (A & E), THE COSBY SHOW (NBC) and MIAMI VICE (NBC). In addition to his early solo recordings, he can be heard on the original cast recordings of JACQUES BREL IS ALIVE AND WELL AND LIVING IN PARIS, CITY OF ANGELS, and MARIE CHRISTINE. In 2000, Mr. Elliott was awarded the Rita Moreno Award for Excellence by the Hispanic Organization of Latin Artists (HOLA). Shawn is married to two-time Tony Award-winner Donna Murphy. He is a lifetime member of the Actor’s Studio.
Linda Larkin: Ms. Larkin is the voice of Princess Jasmine in Walt Disney’s ALADDIN, as well as THE RETURN OF JAFAR, ALADDIN AND THE KING OF THIEVES, and the Emmy-nominated ALADDIN television series. Ms. Larkin has appeared in numerous plays, movies, and television series, most notably as Poppy in NOISES OFF (Alley Theatre), Dierdre in I HATE HAMLET (Actors Theatre of Louisville), Violet in NOTES FROM THE CONFEDERACY (Cherry Lane Theatre), Carrie in TWO NINAS (winner, GenArt Film Festival), Ms. Danforth in JOSHUA (Sundance, Fox Searchlight), Kelly in THE NEXT BEST THING (Paramount), and Meredith in the Webby-nominated series PUPPY LOVE. Ms. Larkin is married to Tony-nominated actor, Yul Vazquez.
Begonya Plaza: Ms. Plaza has been directed by Michael Mann, Clint Eastwood, Amy Jones, Oliver Stone, Tim Hunter and Walter Hill. Her stage credits include Philip Seymour Hoffman's IN ARABIA WE'D ALL BE KINGS, Austrian director Kurt Palm's one-woman show of erotic songs and poems by Bertolt Brecht, Yevnegy Lanskoy's YERMA AS YERMA, and IN FRIENDS. Ms. Plaza has acted opposite Robert De Niro, Tom Cruise, Willem Dafoe, Klaus Kinski, Roddy McDowall, and Carol O'Connor, and starred in the CBS series, DARK JUSTICE, shot on location in Barcelona.
