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Cindy and fellow cast singing "Bohemain Rapsody"

Behind The Scenes:
(October 2004)
(September 2004)
(November 2003)
(September 2003)
(August 2003)
(July 2003)
(June 2003)
(May 2003)
(April 2003)
(March 2003)

Meet The Artist:
(October 2004)
(September 2004)
(November 2003)
(November 2003)
(September 2003)
(August 2003)
(July 2003)
(June 2003)
(May 2003)
(April 2003)
(March 2003)

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October 2004 Newsletter : : Behind The Scenes : : Meet The Artist : : FAQ


Meet the Artist: Who is Cindy Cheung?
An Actress of Many Talents (and Accents!)

Cindy Cheung, a longtime performer with Second Generation (2g), is a talent destined for the stage and screen. You will see her in the upcoming Spiderman sequel, co-starring with Tobey Macguire. Perhaps you have already seen her as the fresh-off-the boat Korean housewife in Masha No Home, the hilarious translator in the first workshop production of Making Tracks at the Taipei Theater, the monologuer in I Enjoy Being A Girl, or the bouffant-haired New Jersey native Lucille in the current: The Karaoke Show. Her roles with 2g productions and in the theater world have been as diverse as the accents that she so brilliantly pulls off.

"I had such an overwhelming sense of belonging" Cindy says of her early experience with East West Players, an Asian American theater company in her native LA. As bizarre as it may sound, Cindy said that she had actually been too shy to even try acting. "I guess I was supposed to be a computer engineer. All through college, I did what I thought I was supposed to and not really what I wanted to," the applied mathematics/computer major recalls. Everything changed in the last year of college when she found Here And Now, an Asian American college-touring group comprised mostly of undergrads with no theater experience. Here, for the first time, Cindy experienced something that she really wanted to do. All the same, she confessed to going through the motions and landing a software engineering job to build F-14 fighters at a naval base. Just short of jumping in her car and driving off to her post-UCLA life, Cindy picked up the phone and made a decisive call. Luckily for us, she opted for the stage instead of the naval base.

She began taking acting classes at East West Players and landed roles in shows like Into the Woods, Sweeney Todd and S.A.M. I Am. She worked with the company for about 3 years and decided she needed to spend more time developing a stronger foundation away from "the business." Against the advice of those who believe that field experience was more valuable, she left to pursue an MFA in acting from the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco.

After graduation, the Big Apple and 2g welcomed Cindy with open arms. She met Welly Yang, founder of 2g, through a friend after watching his performance in Falsettoland. The two met again soon after when she auditioned for the Off-Broadway production of Making Tracks. Since then, Cindy has been an important part of the 2g family, appearing in projects like the Concert of Excellence, The Karaoke Show and Masha No Home. Welly shares, "Cindy is a remarkable performer and actress. She inhabits every role she plays in a complete way, from the way she talks, to the way she walks, and gestures. She has that rare ability to be make you roar with laughter while simultaneously tearing your heart apart." For Cindy, 2g has provided her the strong Asian American community that she has come to realize is an important part of why she is a performer. 2g has played a big part in her career in the city; in fact, Cindy says that many of her projects in the last few years can somehow be traced back to people she has met through 2g.

Since coming to New York, this five foot nine Chinese (part Korean) beauty has mostly worked in theater, but has also done film (Robot Stories, the upcoming Spiderman II), TV (Cosby, Seinfeld), songwriting (including "No Rush"- dedicated to her new husband) and writing, including a monologue for 2g's I Enjoy Being a Girl in which she candidly shares her experience of buying a padded bra from a Hasidic-run lingerie establishment on Orchard Street.

Cindy is not one to sit around and follow the mundane. Not that she has ADD, but she starts "to lose interest if an acting project becomes a job." She makes sure that her time is spent on undertakings that are "fun", "challenging" and "personally meaningful." She revealed that she was actually a little nervous about doing The Karaoke Show, "My first thought was pop! I can't sing pop!" Those who have seen her belt out Bonnie Tyler at the show to catcalls and applause know she had no reason to be nervous.

Currently, Cindy holds a day job at a human resources firm in midtown playing a dual role as both a finance specialist and a vocal coach for executives in the corporate world. Theater remains her first love. Recently, Cindy took on the role of a creator. "Creating your own work is incredibly empowering," she asserts. With Mr. Miyagi's Theater Company, a group she began with four friends a couple of years ago, she is currently preparing for their original show Sides…The Fear Is Real, which will run at the Producer's Club for three weeks this May and will hopefully be a part of this summer's Fringe Festival. As fresh and fascinating projects continue to come her way, her fans know that Cindy will keep dazzling with her insurmountable talent.