The Charlotte Jewish News - October 2001 - Page 20
Actor’s Theatre Premiere of “Thumbs” Features Cynthia Farbman
The Tony/Emmy award win
ning writer/composer Rupert
Holmes of “The Mystery of
Edwin Drood” fame has chosen
the Queen City to be the pre
miere location for his upcom
ing comedy thriller. Thumbs.
And a member of our own
community has been chosen in
a starring role.
Thumbs is a murderous,
hilarious duel of wits as two
women from different walks
of life confront a killer whose
methods and motives are as
twisted as a roller coaster ride
from hell. This devilishly
devious comedy thriller makes
its exclusive 2001 Preview in
Charlotte (and nowhere else)
prior to its 2002 New York
premiere.
Among the local cast mem
bers is Cynthia Farbman, an
attorney and member of
Temple Beth El who moved
from Villanova, PA with her
parents to Charlotte in 1978. She
attended high school at Charlotte
Country Day School where she
was given the Artistic
Achievement Award for her par
ticipation in dance, theatre, choir
and visual arts. Cynthia went on to
earn a Bachelor’s of Fine Arts,
cum laude from the University of
North Carolina at Greensboro.
Cynthia spent several years in Los
Angeles where she performed
small roles in television and
movies while continuing her act
ing training. In 1994 Cynthia went
on to earn a Doctorate of Law
from Tulane University in New
Orleans. After graduation from
law school, Cynthia moved back
to Charlotte and established her
law practice in uptown Charlotte.
In addition to being an actress.
Cynthia is an opera singer who
has performed the roles of Queen
of the Night in The Magic Flute
and Countess Almaviva in The
Cynthia Farbman
Marriage of Figaro with CPCC
Opera Theatre. She recently per
formed in the summer collabora
tion between Opera Carolina and
CPCC Opera Theatre. Cynthia is
presently studying voice with Dr.
John Blizzard of Wingate College.
Cynthia has been taking acting
classes for several years at the
Film Actors Studio with Lon
Bumgarner and she appeared as
Blanche in Theatre Charlotte’s
production A Streetcar Named
Desire.
The Actor’s Theatre production
of Thumbs will be directed by Lon
Bumgarner, who Farbman has
said is “the best acting teacher
I’ve ever had. He is the reason I
wanted to act in ‘Thumbs.’”
It seems a strange combination,
to be an actor and an attorney, but
it was a natural transition for
Farbman. “I was disillusioned
with Los Angeles,” she says.
“Another actor I knew was mak
ing good money as a paralegal
and I wanted to do that, too, but
I wasn’t sure I could pull it off.
‘You’re an actor,' he said to
me, ‘act like you belong.'” And
she got the job which eventual
ly led to her law degree and
current practice.
But how can one person fit it
all in?
“I never considered that I
couldn’t do it,” she says. Every
aspect of her life is important
to her: her law practice, her act
ing, her opera singing, and her
Judaism.
“Being Jewish is very
important to me,” Farbman
insists. “1 always completely
identify as a Jew.
“I believe that we all have
our God-given gifts. Mine is
my singing and my acting. It's
our responsibility to recognize our
gifts and make the world a better
place. I’ve come to an understand
ing that doing these things is not
about promoting myself. It’s about
giving a gift to the world.
“There’s no greater Joy than
when people say about a perfor
mance, ‘You’ve touched me.’
That’s what I think my purpose is.
“I’m getting more in touch with
Judaism,” she continues. “I’m
studying Kabbalah. God has a
path for each of us. You can either
listen to the voice or you can fight
it. Things have gone badly when I
didn’t listen to that voice. My life
has turned into something won
derful when I started to listen to
that voice. The more I’ve taken
the power out of my own hands
and turned it over to God, the
more powerful I feel. And more at
ease and at peace.”
Of the opening of “Thumbs”
here in Charlotte, Executive
Artistic Director, Dan Shoemaker
says of this incredible opportunity,
“It is an honor for a small theatre
to be given this kind of exposure
to a new play by a recognized
playwright, Rupert Holmes. It
says a lot for our theatre and our
community.”
Holmes is best known to the
general public for his Top 40 hit.
Escape (The Pina Colada Song)
and has written many popular
songs that have been recorded by
artists from Barbra Streisand to
Britney Spears. His songs have
been featured in such films as
Shrek. How Stella Got Her Groove
Back, Love Walked In and The
General’s Daughter.
The show will run October 3-21
at the Duke Power Theatre at
Spirit Square. Wed/Thurs at 7:30
PM, Fri/Sat at 8 PM and Sun, Oct.
21 at 2 PM only. Tickets $14-$18.
Opening night Oct. 3 all seats $9.
Tuesday Oct. 9 at 7:30 is “Pay
What You Can Night.” Details and
Reservations 704-372-1000.
Corporate reservations are also
available.
Spielberg’s Shoah
Foundation Shifts to a New
Focus: Education
By Tom Tugend
Los Angeles (JTA) '— After
videotaping the testimony of more
than 50,000 Holocaust survivors,
filmmaker Steven Spielberg’s
foundation is shifting to an even
more daunting task, a worldwide
educational campaign against big
otry and intolerance.
Spielberg launched the
Survivors of the Shoah Visual
History Foundation in 1994 after
filming “Schindler’s List.”
Completing an archive containing
testimony from 51,661 eyewit
nesses was “a dream that became a
remarkable reality,” he said.
Each of the survivors inter
viewed has become “a teacher,
putting a real face, a real voice, a
real experience in front of this and
future generations,” Spielberg
said. “The archive is their perpetu
al link to our expanded long-range
objectives of remembrance and
education.”
Using state-of-the-art media
technology, the educational effort
will be aimed particularly at a new
generation of students, said
Douglas Greenberg, president and
CEO of the Shoah Foundation.
“We will pursue this effort with
the same urgency as our original
mission of interviewing aging sur
vivors,” Greenberg said in a phone
interview. “We hope to change not
only how people think, but how
they behave.”
To oversee the,outreach pro
gram, the Shoah Foundation is
establishing an education depart
ment with an annual budget of $2
million. An international search
for a director to head the depart-
(Continued on next page)
Domestic
Violence
(Continued from page 18)
rest choose this behavior. Hidden
more in upper class families,
abusers exist in all groups. Some
use as excuses for violence their
excessive drug and alcohol use.
Husbands and boyfriends are the
killers of thirty percent of all
female homicide victims.
How often does it happen?
Every 15 seconds a woman is beat
en and every month 50,000
women seek protective orders.
Why does it happen? Violence
is chosen and accepted as a proper
response to stress. Violence is
learned in families as a way to
resolve conflict. Children learn
from their parents that violence is
effective for solving problems.
Violence in the home has been his
torically tolerated by society and
religion. The same religious tradi
tion which created the concept of
Eishet Chayil, a woman of valor,
also created the climate which
made the abuse of women possi
ble. Condescending attitudes
toward women are legitimized in
traditional prayer books and in
halakhic literature (page 17, 106,
107, Resource Guide for Rabbis).
Violence is pervasive in the media
and on the streets; a routine
response to aggravations.
What can we do? We can edu
cate ourselves. We can hear truths
we have avoided. We can listen to
the voices of Jewish battered
women. We can use partnership,
not power, in our relationships.
We can support battered Jewish
women through the National
Hotline for Survivors 800-799-
SAFE, the N.C. Coalition Against
Domestic Violence 919-956-9124,
and the Mecklenburg County
Domestic Violence Advocacy
Council. In Charlotte, the Shelter
for Battered Women provides
counseling and emergency resi
dence for women and their chil
dren. Many services designed to
end abuse are available at the
Shelter including daytime child
care, support groups for adults,
teens and children. The director is
Nancy Nicholson, 704-332-2513,
who reports that 900 women per
year are served by the Shelter.
We can recognize signs of abuse
and take measures to deal with
them: speak out in our families,
community groups and congrega
tions; raise funds for shelters,
financial and legal aid, and advo
cate for more professional training
among police and courts. Even
kosher meals for Jewish women in
the local shelter can be provided.
How can domestic abuse be
prevented? Restoring the dignity
of women. Rabbi Twerski argues,
is in the hands of the community.
He-believes a strong sense of per
sonal dignity will enhance self
esteem and independence and
deter abuse. He cautions parents to
raise their daughter to never accept
abuse; to learn to support them
selves, to give them strong identity
which does not seek fulfillment
through relationships. Barbara
Engel of Chicago, activist and con-
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sultant, insists that men and not
just women publicly join the battle
against domestic violence. Unless
men are part of the solution, she
says, it is very hard not to be part
of the problem (JUF News, April
1997).
Jewish men must pass on to
their children, especially their
sons, the importance of respect:
Respect for women, equality of
women, and the importance of
never using superior strength or
physical power over someone.
Domestic abuse is everyone’s
responsibility. That means taking a
stand that violence is never O.K.
Violence is a choice that we must
stop people from making. Whether
an abuser can change depends on
his desire to change, his recogni
tion of the need to change, and by
his own effort. No one else can
change him.
We must expose the secret of
domestic violence and explode the
myths of Jewish uniqueness.
Failing to do so only heightens the
danger and alienation felt by
Jewish victims. It is not true that
there is something wrong with a
woman that is causing the prob
lem, but rather there is something
wrong with a woman due to what
happed to her. The “shanda” is not
hers to assume.
Society as a whole and the
Jewish community in particular
must condemn spouse abuse and
indicate in every possible way that
it will not be tolerated. Shalom
Bayit is the responsibility of both
partners.
A four-year-old Domestic
Violence Unit in Charlotte, with a
staff of seven, is responsible for
the homicide rale dropping 52%.
Arrests are made at the scene when
police are called and three judges
are assigned to hear these cases. A
26-week program for offenders.
New Options for Violent Actions,
teaches anger management and
non-violent behaviors. HEROES
is a program developed to help
children in abusive situations cope
with their stress.
Jewish Family Service agencies
are treating those women who
reach out for assistance. There is a
high number of cases reported
among refugees according to Saul
Cohen and Ben Greenspan in their
article. Do Jews Abuse Their
Wives? The local Jewish Family
Service offers confidential coun
seling and referral services to fam
ilies who are experiencing vio
lence: 7(H-364-6594.
Let us make our homes havens
where partners and children feel
safe and protected. Let us do our
part to help restore respect. Let us
behave as though the world
depends on our humanity and our
decency. It does.
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Hadassah
(Continued from page 17) •
Israel and supporting our brothers
and sister who clearly feel aban
doned by their American co-reli
gionists.
Then, suddenly, everything
changed. A suicide bomber quietly
walked into a Sbarro’s a few
blocks away from all of our self-
congratulating. Any one of us
could have chosen to be there. All
of us had walked by on shopping
forays. It was random act of hatred
that woke us up to the stark reality
that Israelis live with everyday.
It is always spectacular to be in
Jerusalem. The convention was an
outstanding experience. We all
need to support the Israeli econo
my and the Israeli people. I would
go again tomorrow if I could'
afford it and had a good excuse,
but things are definitely different
now.