Synkroniciti is excited to welcome playwright Cyndy A. Marion of New York with “Dirty Laundry,” which won our “Patterns” short play contest. This is a moving and human portrayal of a mother, Louisa, and daughter, Chris, going through the ordeal of Louisa’s dementia and loss of independence. The situation is familiar to many of us, but few people speak about it because it stirs up heavy and exhausting emotions. Dementia brings on personality changes that can be shocking and unexpected. Lifelong weaknesses become crippling and things once counted as strengths become unsure. The body and the mind age at different rates. It’s hard to watch a loved one gradually slipping away. You want to recoil and hold on at the same time. Cyndy is candid in exposing the emotional complexity and we feel the frustration on both sides.
“CHRIS: I’m not leaving. You can hit me if you want to. Berate me if it makes you feel better. I know you’re not really mad at me. You’re mad at the disease. It’s scary, I know. But, I am here for you.
LOUISA: (with tears in her eyes) I’m not scared! I think I’m doing pretty well for someone my age.
CHRIS: You are doing well. Physically. But mentally…
LOUISA: (interrupting her) You just want to put me down. Say terrible things about me.
CHRIS: Mom, I’m not trying to put you down. It’s not your fault your memory is declining. I love you. I’m just trying to protect you. (beat. Louisa says nothing. But there are tears of emotion in her eyes)
LOUISA: You smother me. I know you mean well, but I want to do things on my own. For as long as I can. I’m not going to just lay down and surrender. I’m going to fight. I have no intention of losing my mind.
CHRIS: That’s not something you can control.”
There are so many details here that ring true: the dogged insistence on independence despite an inability to take care of daily tasks, the childlike susceptibility to phishing and fantasy, the baffling impulse to give away food. Every day annoyances become major breaking points for those with dementia and their caregivers. If you’ve ever been a caregiver for someone with severe cognitive decline, you will recognize many of these patterns. It’s comforting to know we are not alone.
Read “Dirty Laundry” in Synkroniciti’s “Patterns” issue, available here: https://synkroniciti.com/the-magazine/purchase-individual-issues/.
Cyndy A. Marion’s plays include: Broken Story (produced in NYC and LA and published by Off the Wall Plays), You Are Perfect (produced in NYC, Toronto, LA and Danville, IL), Thistles (Produced at NYC’s 59E59 Theaters; upcoming November 2026 west-coast premiere at Theatre 68 in North Hollywood), The Edge (staged reading at Queen of Rogues, Woodstock, NY) and Dirty Laundry (winner of Synkroniciti magazine’s “Patterns” short play contest).
Cyndy is the Producing Artistic Director of NYC’s White Horse Theater Company for which she has directed, produced and developed numerous plays. She is currently co-writing a new musical, NEWARK, with Helen Hayes award-winning composer Nygel D. Robinson. BA Davidson College, MFA in Directing Brooklyn College, member: SDC, Dramatists Guild, WGGB & The Players.