Naming True

by Natalie Symons

Two lives unexpectedly collide when Amy, a transgender teenage girl shows up unannounced in a Florida motel room to visit Nell, a dying woman who’s lived much of her life on the streets of Detroit and wishes to self-publish her childhood memoir. Over the next 24 hours Amy and Nell are forced to confront the difficult truths that have brought them together while Amy races to upload Nell’s manuscript before time...

Two lives unexpectedly collide when Amy, a transgender teenage girl shows up unannounced in a Florida motel room to visit Nell, a dying woman who’s lived much of her life on the streets of Detroit and wishes to self-publish her childhood memoir. Over the next 24 hours Amy and Nell are forced to confront the difficult truths that have brought them together while Amy races to upload Nell’s manuscript before time runs out. Naming True explores questions of faith, identity, and how we attempt to reconcile guilt and loss. This tragicomedy, involving a stolen laptop, an old manuscript and a peculiar cat, asks what significance hope plays in our spiritual lives. Inspired by T.S. Eliot’s The Waste Land, Naming True is a stirring, often heartbreaking tale of survival, redemption, and the deep human desire to share our stories.

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Naming True

Recommended by

  • Ashland New Plays Festival: Naming True by Natalie Symons
    “

    NAMING TRUE is a beautiful story about two people from very different places and a distant connection in the past that brings them together. Christiana Clark and Rachel Crowl recorded it for us at play4keeps.org and it's a very powerful experience to hear them bring their characters to life. If you can make it through this play without getting choked up and shedding a few tears, better check to see if your heart's still beating. Natalie Symons' work here is poignant and compelling, with redemption found in even these bleakest of circumstances.

    NAMING TRUE is a beautiful story about two people from very different places and a distant connection in the past that brings them together. Christiana Clark and Rachel Crowl recorded it for us at play4keeps.org and it's a very powerful experience to hear them bring their characters to life. If you can make it through this play without getting choked up and shedding a few tears, better check to see if your heart's still beating. Natalie Symons' work here is poignant and compelling, with redemption found in even these bleakest of circumstances.

    ”
  • Jan Neuberger: Naming True by Natalie Symons
    “

    I saw a terrific production of this play at Urbanite in Sarasota. Was so impressed by the extent to which this playwright was able to voice two characters, each with a life-shaping awareness of their outsider status, their "otherness," at least on the terms by which society defines it. The situation was utterly convincing and very moving. Cut to a couple of years later, when I had the pleasure of hearing a reading of Symons's THE PEOPLE DOWNSTAIRS. Here is the rare writer who understands the difference between "loser" and "victim"--and who knows how to write character-driven comedy.

    I saw a terrific production of this play at Urbanite in Sarasota. Was so impressed by the extent to which this playwright was able to voice two characters, each with a life-shaping awareness of their outsider status, their "otherness," at least on the terms by which society defines it. The situation was utterly convincing and very moving. Cut to a couple of years later, when I had the pleasure of hearing a reading of Symons's THE PEOPLE DOWNSTAIRS. Here is the rare writer who understands the difference between "loser" and "victim"--and who knows how to write character-driven comedy.

    ”
  • Jackie Apodaca: Naming True by Natalie Symons
    “

    NAMING TRUE is a beautiful story about two people from very different places and a distant connection in the past that brings them together. Christiana Clark and Rachel Crowl recorded it for us at play4keeps.org and it's a very powerful experience to hear them bring their characters to life. If you can make it through this play without getting choked up and shedding a few tears, better check to see if your heart's still beating. Natalie Symons' work here is poignant and compelling, with redemption found in even these bleakest of circumstances.

    NAMING TRUE is a beautiful story about two people from very different places and a distant connection in the past that brings them together. Christiana Clark and Rachel Crowl recorded it for us at play4keeps.org and it's a very powerful experience to hear them bring their characters to life. If you can make it through this play without getting choked up and shedding a few tears, better check to see if your heart's still beating. Natalie Symons' work here is poignant and compelling, with redemption found in even these bleakest of circumstances.

    ”
View all 4 recommendations

Character Information

  • Amy Hult
    Amy’s worldly awareness should not be mistaken for sentimentality. Amy is not a wilting flower or meek teenage girl, but rather a willful young woman who is unapologetic in her quest to find answers - never maudlin or sheepish in her pursuit. The
    possible pitfall will be to play the purity of her truth. Resist this and rather understand the regret, hurt, and muted anger at her core. Amy’s lived her entire life fighting to be seen as she sees herself. This is compounded by the guilt over her mother - which in turn has caused her to question life in a way that is far beyond her young age.
    19
    Not Black
    Transgender Female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      Teens,
      20s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      Asian, Pacific Islander, or Asian American,
      Indigenous, First Nation, or Native American,
      Latinx/o/a or Hispanic,
      Middle Eastern, North African, or Arab American,
      Native Hawaiian and Other Pacific Islander,
      South Asian or South Asian American,
      White
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Female,
      Non-binary
  • Nell Jordan
    African American cisgender female. Whip-smart, quick-tongued, rarely loses a fight. In imagining Nell, think of a woman who under a different set of circumstances might have achieved greatness. She is highly intelligent and even when claiming otherwise, she is not dumb to this fact. Nell, although deeply wounded, does not see herself as a victim and never, under any circumstances, indulges in self-pity. Nell, like Amy, is plagued by guilt and regret. While she’s aware that she’s a victim of injustice, what disturbs her more is that she and her brother are prisoners of their response to injustice.
    40's-50's
    African American / Black
    Female
    Can be played by:
    • Actor Age
      40s,
      50s
    • Actor Race/Ethnic Identity
      Black, African, Caribbean, or African American
    • Actor Gender Identity
      Female

Development History

  • Reading, Arts Garage, 2022
  • Reading, Theatre 22, Seattle WA, 2016

Production History

  • Professional, 2017

Awards

  • Emerging Artist Grant
    Creative Pinellas
    Winner
    2016
  • Jeff Norton Dream Grant
    Theatre Tampa Bay
    Winner
    2017
  • Hope & Optimism
    Cornell University & University of Notre Dame
    Finalist
    2016
  • Playwright of the Year Award
    Bridge Initiative Women in Theatre
    Finalist
    2016
  • Dramaworkshop
    Palm Beach Dramaworks
    Winner
    2016