About Me

Heather E. Cunningham is primarily a stage actress located in New York City.  She is the winner of the 2014 New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Actress in a Lead Role and has been nominated for the same award in 2019 and 2011 as well as Outstanding Ensemble that year.  In 2007 she was named a Back Stage East "Performance to Remember."

Heather has performed off Broadway for The Bleecker Company and New York Theatre Workshop and off-off Broadway for Nylon Fusion Theatre Company, The Brick, MTWorks, the Soundtrack Series, Metropolitan Playhouse's Living Literature Festival, Boomerang Theater Company, TOSOS, Young Playwrights, Threads New Works Series, Kef Productions, The Vital Theatre, and New York Play Development, among others. In addition to regional theatre and national tours, her residency at the historic Hedgerow Theatre included appearances in over a dozen productions. Heather has performed in cabaret venues around New York City, and her solo debut "Boy Wanted"  was performed at Don't Tell Mama in New York City in 2003. In October 2003 she and two other women formed River Heights Productions.  They had their first production in March of 2005.  When RHP disbanded Heather continued it's mission statement renaming the company Retro Productions.  In 2020, Retro celebrated its 15th year producing indie theater. To date Retro has been nominated for a total of 34 New York Innovative Theatre Awards, winning three and being named the 2017 Caffe Cino Fellowship Award Winner for Outstanding Continued Work in Off-Off Broadway.

Heather is a proud member of the Mozzlestead Development Team, SAG-AFTRA, Actors' Equity Association, and Retro Productions.

Heather was born in Brooklyn, New York. Her father, Jack, is a former set designer and his play, Women and War, is published by Samuel French. Her mother, Rebecca, is a retired professor of costume design and construction at Brooklyn College, as well as the author of the costume text The Magic Garment, Principles of Costume Design. Always knowing she wanted to be in the theater, Heather won many performance scholarships to both the Berkeley Carroll School where she went to 7th through 12th grades, and Denison University, where she graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Theatre Performance. Heather's first public performance was singing "Away in a Manger" for Christmas Services when she was so young she barely remembers it.