RappleEye (1999 play)

Cynthia wrote, co-produced, and performed in RappleEye for the New York International Fringe Festival at Walker Space/Soho Rep, and at the Pure Pop Theater Festival, New York, New York.

Taking its inspiration from the industrial landscape of Red Hook, Brooklyn, RappleEye made its premiere at the third annual New York International Fringe Festival, directed by Shannon Corbin Rednour (August 1999) and continued its New York run at the Pure Pop Theater Festival. The play used poetry, flashback, and atmospheric sound to spin a disturbing tale of three young women involved in the murder of their neighborhood ice-cream man. Cynthia performed the role of Remsen-girl. The production also featured Rebecca Harris, Valjahna Cox, and renowned photojournalist/actor Marvin Schwartz as Mr. Swyrli.

Cynthia performed the play (in excerpts) at:

Pulse Ensemble Theater’s “Open Pulse Arts Lab” solo show series (December 1999); at Dixon Place, where she won third place in the very first Storytelling Slam held by The Moth (theme: “Deception”, February 2000); and at Surf Reality as part of Faith Pilger’s “Idle Anarchy” series (May 2000).

Cynthia subsequently directed a staged reading of RappleEye at Brooklyn’s legendary Sunny’s Bar (then called Sunny’s Red Hook Yacht & Kayak Club), performing the role of Theadora (June 2000). Marvin Schwartz (Mr. Swyrli) and Rebecca Harris (Finny) reprised their roles. Heidi James played Remsen-girl. This reading was made possible through a grant from the Brooklyn Arts Council and was featured on “Spontaneous Combustion”, a Brooklyn Community Access Television (BCAT) artists’ series produced by the Micro Museum.

The Red Hook crowd had a great time with lines like: “I’m blacklistin’ your balls on these streets. Tellin’ all the little kiddies you sell poison ice-ies.”