CHAT WITH Cont'd from page 15

Q- What they should do when they are rejected?                                                     Cindy: Easy to say but, “don’t take it personally”. It's the arena we've chosen to be in. Make the best of it.                                                                  Q- In your opinion, what are the 3 most important qualities in an artist?                                        Cindy: Talent, skill (talent and skill are two different things, you know.) and enthusiasm.                      Q- And the 3 most important strengths?         Cindy: Flexibility, persistence, a sense of humor  Q- Your favorite foreign singers?                      Cindy: Vera Lynn, Julliette Greco, Amalia Rodriguez, Piaf, Ute Lemper, Carlo Buti, Aznavour. Q- And your American favorite torch singers? Cindy:  Helen Morgan, Libby Holman, Billie Holiday, Gogi Grant.                                           Q- Your favorite American stage performers, men and women?                                                      Cindy: Faith Prince, Nathan Lane, Lily Tomlin, Bill Irwin, Kevin Kline, Julie Harris.                               Q- Do you get mad sometimes?                      Cindy: Yup.                                                       Q- What makes you mad?                                 Cindy: People who don't keep their agreements. When I'm told what a situation will be and then that's not what it is at all and see I've simply been manipulated. When people expect me to conform to their way of thinking and it’s not my way at all. Dishonesty. Bullshit.                                            Q- And do you make people mad at You?             Cindy: Sometimes.  I tend to try to balance a situation as best as I can. I hate confrontations. But sometimes they are unavoidable.                  Q- You have a new CD now. Why so late?        Cindy: As stated earlier, I do have a new CD. You should buy it! Then you can tell me if it was worth the wait!                                                            Q- Do you live your life on stage or do you live your theater character in real life?                               Cindy:  I certainly don’t live my theatre character in real life. When I’m on stage, I get to be everything I am in real life that people never see. It’s almost like therapy in a way. It’s a wonderful release. Things that you would carry deep inside you in real life, you get to use on stage. It’s cathartic. Like an enema, only better.

Q- What is the difference?                                                  Cindy: Total freedom!  Onstage, I’m all the things I am in real life, only a lot more so.                                                                    Q- Cindy, why theater is so important to you?                            Cindy: I get a chance to share myself with people. I see that sometimes I actually make a difference in other people’s lives. I can help people get in touch with their feelings…happy and sad and crazy.                                                                                      Q- Do you get along all the time with producers and directors? Cindy: For the most part. When a director is asking me for something and I don’t agree, we’ll talk about it and try to arrive at a point where we’re both happy. Maybe.                                           Q- If you had to relive your life, what kind of life you wish to create, remember or forget about?                                                       Cindy:  If had to relive my life, I wish it wouldn’t take so long to gain the wisdom and inner knowledge that I've finally found. It took all my life to grow and to get where I am now as a human being. It was a struggle sometimes. We make foolish mistakes because we don’t have the wisdom to make the right choices. But in spite of everything, I can’t say I have any regrets. NON, JE NE REGRETTE RIEN! And NOW, you know who Cindy Benson Benson IS ! Yup, on stage, she is all things she is in real life, only a lot more so…