Harriet Tubman Visits a Therapist

by  Gage, Carolyn

Published: 1999

Acts: 1

Language:

Category: Drama

Acts: 1
Male Roles: 0
Female Roles: 2
Flexible Roles: 0
Has Chorus/Extras: No

Synopsis

Harriet Tubman Visits a Therapist is a gripping confrontation between two women who share the same oppression, but whose definitions of survival are in direct conflict. Harriet Tubman, suspected of planning an escape on the Underground Railroad, has been sent to the Therapist for an evaluation. The Therapist, another African American woman, warns Harriet about the dangers of radical action. Harriet accuses the Therapist of colluding with the enemy in the guise of practicing therapeutic intervention. As the Therapist attempts to convince Harriet of the benefits of accepting the things she cannot change and learning to live one day at a time, Harriet uncovers the Therapist’s secret - a secret which will give her access to the information she needs. The plot takes a sudden twist during one of Harriet’s spells of sleeping sickness, and in resisting the suggestions which justify the Therapist’s ideology, Harriet discovers a source of spiritual support rooted in her own activism.