CYNTHIA GRACE ROBINSON
Born and raised in The Bronx, New York, I use my platform as a Writer to amplify the voices of characters and narratives rarely portrayed on stage and screen. I believe as storytellers we have a unique opportunity to broaden the spectrum and deepen the complexity of the stories we choose to tell.
About Me.
In addition to being a Writer, I have years of experience teaching Creative Writing, Literature, and Dramatic Writing on the college level. I've been captivated by the power of storytelling my entire life. Each story I tell is born out of something deeply personal, seasoned by my bold imagination, and exploring my belief in the resilience and strength of the human spirit.
My work has been produced in the United States and internationally. Works include THE BLACK PEARL (Coastal Carolina Theatre Dept); FREEDOM SUMMER (NCBlackRep); DANCING ON EGGSHELLS (Billie Holiday Theatre); PEOLA'S PASSING (New Perspectives Theatre Company; Festival de Teatro Alternativo, Bogota, Colombia); GOLD STAR MOTHER (EstroGenius Festival); ASCENSION (National Black Theatre Festival; NYCFringe); THUNDER: A MUSICAL MEMOIR (NYCFringe); WHAT IF...? (Negro Ensemble Company; Bishop Arts Theatre Center); LETTERS FROM LORETTA (Center Theatre Group Commission); IN THIS LIFE: A MUSICAL (in development).
Awards and honors include:
Center Theatre Group (Los Angeles) “Not A Moment, but A Movement” New Play Commission;
National Playwrights Conference at The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center (Semi-finalist);
Rhinebeck Writers Retreat (Finalist);
River Writers Unit at The Lark;
Quick Silver Theater Company/Playwrights of Color Summit (POCS);
Rising Circle Theater Collective/INKTank Residency;
AUDELCO Award for Excellence in Black Theatre (Nominee);
Final Forty Playwright, Samuel French OOB Short Play (Finalist);
Tribeca All-Access Open Stage Inaugural award winner;
Best New Play, Independent Reviewers of New England (Nominee);
State University of New York Chancellor's Award for Excellence in Scholarship and Creative Activities;
Calvin B. Grimes Scholar-in-Residence at New York University.
My work is published in: HOLY GROUND: Plays from The National Black Theatre Festival (Theater Communications Group); SHE PERSISTED. Monologues from Plays by Women Over 40 (Applause Theatre & Cinema Books); The Book of Estrogenius 2012: A Celebration of Female Voices (manhattantheatresource); We’re Not Neutral: Reset Series 2020: Collected Short Plays (Conch Shell Press).
I serve as Co-Director of The Fire This Time Festival New Works Lab. I am a proud member of The League of Professional Theatre Women, The Dramatists Guild of America, Inc., Honor Roll Playwrights, and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. I earned my B.A. in English from Syracuse University and my M.A. in English Education from New York University. My post-graduate work was completed at Trinity College, Oxford University.