Synkroniciti is excited to welcome playwright Sonya Hayden, residing in New York City, with “TOURIST,” a thought-provoking extended monologue exploring the contrast between conservative rural America and the big city. Harper is a middle-aged woman visiting her successful daughter in New York City. She’s self-conscious, awestruck and frightened and we hear her voice her deepest thoughts to her absent husband, who has stayed behind in his everyday routine at home. Taking place in the Richmond, Virginia, airport; on the plane; and in the city; it paints an honest portrait of a hard-working, good-hearted woman full of unconscious bias as she has her horizons expanded and her choices questioned.
“I look at this person I created, I pushed out from inside of me and I don’t know her at all. She belongs in this other country, in this other piece of America. She has filled into herself, her lines are all colored in but in different shades than mine.”
It’s always been challenging for parents to acknowledge the different lives their children lead once they leave home, but perhaps it’s never been more difficult than it is now, with the widening divides in American society. Sonya encourages us to try to understand one another and meet each other with respect. It’s a sensitive portrayal, and Harper comes alive for us as a complete human being. Hearing a character’s internal thoughts is always shocking because we all have thoughts we aren’t proud of, revealing our shortcomings and obsessions. Sonya does not shy away from Harper’s prejudice, all the more frustrating because Harper is not a malicious person, nor does she fail to show her humanity and love for her family. More than that, we see in Harper a brave desire to understand, even if it means creating distance from her husband and home. At one point she admits she doesn’t know what her husband would make of it and will probably never tell him. Travel is a great teacher and eye-opener, but only if we let ourselves explore and bring home new perspectives.
Read “TOURIST” in Synkroniciti’s “Patterns” issue, Vol. 7, No. 4, available for purchase here: https://synkroniciti.com/the-magazine/purchase-individual-issues/.
Sonya Hayden (she/her) is a playwright, composer, lyricist, and librettist originally from Virginia, now based in NYC. Recent plays include THE DICTATOR’S DENTIST (Overall Festival Winner, NYC Play Reading Festival, Rewls Productions; New Perspectives Theatre’s Women’s Work Play LAB), CASSIE GOES TO CONGRESS (New Perspectives Theatre), THERE’S ALWAYS TOMORROW (Piccolo Spoleto Festival), JUST LIKE MAGIC (Little Fish Theatre), and THE CLUMPS (Pittsburgh New Works Festival, MainStage Series). Master’s in Playwriting, University of Edinburgh; B.A. Music, Princeton. She holds the world record for cups of Earl Grey tea downed while writing.