Artist Bio

(Bio as of January 2003)

Cynthia Von Orthal most recently appeared at the Goodman in The Rose Tattoo during the 2002/2003 Season. She is an actress, writer, director and puppet designer. She has performed at many theaters across the country and in Europe, including the Goodman, Steppenwolf, Victory Gardens, Blue Rider, The Actor’s Gang in Los Angeles and Trejnar Studios in Prague. While at Hystopolis Puppet Theatre, Ms. Von Orthal co-created an all puppet version of The Adding Machine, which won an International UNIMA Award for Excellence in Puppetry. Her own company, Von Orthal Puppets, has designed puppets and masks for several productions, including Breathing Under Water with Running With Scissors; The Two Towers and Return of the King at Lifeline Theatre; The Passion of Lucy with Wildlife Theatre; Freud, Dora and the Wolfman, a collaboration between Live Bait and Pegasus Play­ers; and Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland at City Lit. Ms. Von Orthal has produced an origi­nal all puppet musical, Akuba’s Dream, which she wrote with her husband, composer Paul Mertens of Poi Dog Pondering. She has appeared on Roseanne and in the film A League of Their Own, and is a gradu­ate of the Goodman School of Drama.

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