Cynthia’s passion for acting began at age 9 working with Chicago children’s theatre troup, Lilliput II. During the years she worked with them she performed many roles including a tour de force performance at age 12 as child Holocaust Survivor “Raja Englanderova” in I NEVER SAW ANOTHER BUTTERFLY. Holocaust survivors present in the audience were found weeping outside the theatre after the show. “This was the first moment that I understood the power of the theatre and that telling stories as an actor was what I wanted to spend my life doing.”
Adult roles include Cynthia’s critically acclaimed portrayal of “Angel Eyes”, a woman beaten and raped by her would be prince charming, in Joyce Carol Oates’s I STAND BEFORE YOU NAKED; “Emma” , the irascible British adulterous, in Harold Pinter’s BETRAYAL; and her portrayal of “Eleonora Duse” in Otho Eskin’s DUET. This play pays homage to the Italian game changer of acting, and her arch rival Saral Bernhardt.
Onscreen watch for Cynthia in such projects as SWING VOTE, directed by Joshua Michael Stern; HAMLET 2, directed by Andy Fleming; LOVE N’ DANCING, directed by Robert Iscove; and NAKED FEAR, directed by Thom Eberhardt. She has worked with such esteemed actors as George Lopez, Amy Poehler, Steve Coogan, and Joe Mantegna.
Cynthia perfomed Eve Ensler’s Obie Award winning play THE VAGINA MONOLOGUES on five separate occasions to benefit the VDAY Campaign.
Critics have said of her performances, “The subtlety of her work belies the depth of her process”, and, “First rate acting…will remind you of the power of theatre.”
Cynthia has trained with such esteemed teachers as Larry Moss, Ernie Martin, Patsy Rodenburg, and at The Neighborhood Playhouse.