Dr. Cindy L. Halbert-Seger
Cindy is an American who has lived in Germany since 1995. She was born in 1960 in Barberton, Ohio and has a Ph.D. in Fisheries from the University of Washington. She originally joined the Writers in Stuttgart (WiS) group in order to write her memoirs of a daughter’s tale of the Prince of Print and the Underworld of Copywriting. Then got plucked from the WiS to play Gertrude Stein in the theater production “American Café Paris” and “Shakespeare in Paris” which toured in Germany, Italy and Belgium between 2008 and 2009. Since then she has returned to writing but can’t resist opportunities to participate in public readings and occasionally finds her way back to the theater.
Cindy’s first reading at a Dark Monday event left people rolling on the floor with her satire on Turkish English teachers “West meets East – Ayla and Anita”. Her story of her 101 year old Oma left hearts palpitating in a “Heart of Stone”, her inside knowledge as a bed bug scientist made people squirm in their seats in “Taking the Bite out of Bedbugs”, while her story as the sister in “The Schnaps Brotherhood” distilled new insights into Swabian culture. Most recently she morphed into another unforgettable character as an old German apple tree variety (Rote Sternrenette) in “Ode FROM an Apple Tree”.
In between her readings, she left people wondering who dialed the wrong number as the gum-chewing, caustic operator in “Sorry Wrong Number” and brought levity as an impertinent German immigration official to a serious play on refugees in “Springtime in the Fog”. Cindy’s writing reflects her hybrid identity culturally (half Swabian – half American) and professionally (half scientist – half educator). Her writings are often spiced with German words to capture the intrinsic flavor of the Swabian culture, while her scientific eye captures details that others might miss. As an educator, she can’t resist informing. The details in her stories are always well researched and based on real-life events.
HER GENRE: creative non-fiction – especially satire.
Currently she’s working on compiling all of her stories into a book called “Ex-Pat Stories from Schwabenländle”. She’s looking for an agent and/or publisher. If you have any ideas, leads, or comments, contact her at Cindy@WritersInStuttgart.com. She always answers her E-mails and would be happy to hear from you.
During her day job she is also actively engaged in teaching Expert English, Academic Presentations and Natural Sciences at the University of Stuttgart and other institutions of higher education. If you want book her for a seminar or workshop, go to www.ExpertEnglish.de .