Year(s)1999-2020
Chapter / SubheadingPlaywright/Actor
Medium / GenreTheater
Production / Project / ActivityCyma's Story
Name of Theatre / Venue / Vehiclevarious
About the Theatre / Venue / Vehicle

Produced at Theater for the New City, Philadelphia Fringe Festival, Fresh Fruit Festival, Dixon Place (with Barbara Kahn); North Hollywood Theater Festival (with Suann Spoke)

Function / Type of JobActor/Playwright
RoleCyma
Important People
Important PeoplePhilly crew: Directed by Lisa Marjorie Barnes, Vocals (recorded) Dora Libson, Costume designer Andy Wallach, Technical consultant Tammy Rose, Flyer/program design Virginia Asman, illuminage, Photo Services Joe Bly
PlaywrightBarbara Kahn
Notes / Anecdotes

Cyma's story is a one-woman adaptation of the first three plays that featured Cyma's journey from Russia to New York City and on to Wyoming. On hearing the news of the outbreak of World War II in Europe, Cyma worries about the family she left behind in Russia many years before. She writes weekly, but has never received an answer. "I don't know if I still have a family. That's the pain that stays with you always." The news brings memories of her childhood in Sherstagrad and the scandal that caused her to leave. "I have been afraid that the ghosts of Europe would haunt my new life...well, it seems they are still very busy, and it's time for me to deal with them."

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Details / Credits
Title / Description Credits Additional Notes (Medium, Location, etc)
Cyma Poster Virginia Asman
Cyma Photo Joe Bly
Dixon Place photo Heidi Russell
Cherry Lane photo courtesy Barbara Kahn
Link (1)newplayexchange.org
Additional Notes

I first performed Cyma's story at Theater for the New City in NYC as preparation for performing it in the Philadelphia Fringe Festival (under the direction of Lisa Marjorie Barnes). I subsequently performed it in NYC as part of the Fresh Fruit Festival at the legendary Cherry Lane Theater and in Montreal, Canada. I performed an excerpt at the 2002 Lower East Side Festival of the Arts, the 2003 Jewish Women Writers Conference in Mainz, Germany, and at New York's Dixon Place for the International Women Artists Salon, curated by Heidi Russell, emceed by Pooya Mohseni.

Reflections / Significant Moments

I brought the play (and my performance) to Philadelphia, where a number of my relatives attended, the first and only time some of them saw my work.

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Tags / Keywords
  • One-woman play, wyoming, refugee, Jewish history and religion, anti-semitism
Permission and WaiverYes

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