Biography
Sonya Joyner is a performer of stage, television and film. Born and residing in Boston, MA, she has performed in the New England area and most recently shot a TV show in New York. She embarked on an acting career in 2003 and still hasn't come up for air. After gaining a solid acting foundation in theatre, Sonya is focusing more on television and film these days. In 2021, the social justice film "What Happened at the Veterans Home?" in which she starred, is making a very successful journey on the film festival circuit. The film addresses the reaction of veterans homes administrations in America to Covid-19.
Sonya has been spreading her wings and dipping her toes into the Producer and Director pools with the upcoming Digital Drama Series Spin-Off, Love Undone. As an actor, she will reprise her role from the original series, Unconditional Love (an Award-Winning Digital Drama Series) as shade slinging Juanita Hill, but this time as a lead! Love Undone premieres on YouTube, Saturday, November 13, 2021 at 6:00 pm, before moving to its regular time slot on Sundays at 6:00 pm. She directed and edited Episode 104 which will air Sunday, November 28, 2021 at 6:00pm. Make sure you subscribe to the YouTube page so you don't miss one messy minute!
Sonya is also a performing member of Red Sage Stories, Playback Theatre & Art for Social Change. Red Sage Stories is a predominantly BIPOC theatre troupe that helps folks feel heard and validated through improvisational storytelling and dramatization. Red Sage Stories focuses on the heart and essence of a story. They have continued to flourish and provide service during these Covid times and have successfully navigated and adapted trainings and performances for Zoom. This spring, in addition to their regular conference appearances, they worked with a group of young ladies in Nigeria, and taught them Playback Theatre as well as general theatre skills. The girls successfully created two wonderful performance pieces for the Annual Children's Theatre Festival Nigeria in May. The festival was viewed virtually all over the world! RSS also completed their "Store-d Stories" project, which aired on Boston Neighborhood Network during the months of June and July. It focused on some of the community store owners in the Jamaica Plain neighborhood of Boston and their beginnings and struggles throughout the pandemic.
During haunting season, you can find Sonya extracting fear and fluids as "Dark n Twisty", at highly-rated Barrett's Haunted Mansion in Abington, MA. "Dark n Twisty" is a character that allows Sonya to showcase her improv skills as she recites creepy nursery rhymes, often created on the spot, for customers. When not acting, Sonya is always training to improve her craft through various workshops, and classes.
