I slept soundly that night. I knew what to do about my career as an actress. For the first time ever, I felt in control. I felt sure. I felt confident and powerful.
The next morning, I waited for the doors of the Santa Monica Library to open. That vast white airy space held all my dreams, and especially this one: the Actor I was going to be.
I took out every single book they had on Saint Teresa of Avila. There were many. Apparently, she was a prolific writer, and apparently lots of other people liked to write about her. Cool. I had material.
The librarian gave me a raised eyebrow over her glasses, pursed her lips and kept checking out my books. “You know you are only allowed ten, right?” “I know”, I smiled. There were 18. Then I pulled out my husband’s library card. “My husband loves her too”. I left with 18 books on Saint Teresa of Ávila.
My husband was leaving town for a few days and it was just going to be me and my cat in our wood cabin in the woods. Perfect.
Over a period of 5 days, I read and read and read. I ate, fed the cat, then read. Slept, got up, brushed my teeth, drank coffee and read. Drank some more coffee, pet the cat, and read. Went for a walk, then read some more.
A lot of the books were scholarly and dry. Saint Teresa was Catholic – not exactly my world. Her writing desperately needed editing. I was aware that her books must have been translated from Spanish, but the writing was religious-y and not very exciting.
Until I reached this one. I read it in a day and night, and knew that this was the story I was going to tell on stage.