Synkroniciti is thrilled to welcome back Houston-based writer Treanor Baring with “The Mesmerizing Secret,” a sparkling play about embracing life, whether you understand it or not. Visiting an art museum, Fredericka and Mia Tomlinson find themselves in a small, unmarked room with no exit, faced with a beautiful golden box. It is clearly on display, but there is no description, no security cameras, no glass case. As their reaction to the situation becomes more and more urgent, they reveal intergenerational hope and fear, contrasting the strengths and weaknesses of youth and experience. What might they learn from one another?
“FRED: I want you to live your dreams, not mine.
MIA: Really?
FRED: Yes, really.
MIA: Then when are you gonna start living your dreams?”
Read “The Mesmerizing Secret” in our “Family” issue, available here: https://synkroniciti.com/the-magazine/purchase-individual-issues/.
Treanor Wooten Baring’s first name was supposed to be Jane. But, when she was born, in an hour and a half, her mother took one look at her screaming, kicking girl-boss baby and said, “That ain’t no Jane.” Armed with her great-grandmother’s unpronounceable family name (it rhymes with “Dana”) as her new first name, Treanor grew up in the Mississippi Delta surrounded by artists and writers. She published her first poem at age five.
She went to film school in Boston and became a producer/director for educational television. Her plays have been performed in the U.S., Canada, Australia, the U.K. and Vietnam. She is the spring 2022 winner of The Ghost Story Supernatural Fiction Award. Her essay, “The River,” has recently been nominated for a “Best of the Net” award by Synkroniciti. Because she knows what a blessing it is to have one’s creativity nurtured, she considers it her life’s purpose to promote creativity in herself and others.