Who doesn’t love shoes? Regardless of whether you’re a woman or a man, you probably have a minimum three pairs: One for work, one for leisurely walks and one for an elegant party night. You’d have a lot more pairs in your shoe rack for sure; but have you ever wondered about the story of people like you wearing their own shoes? “Shoes: The Monologues” are theatre narratives developed by Charlis Cunningham, the overall director who talks about her infatuation with shoes…
Tempo: You are…?
Charlis: Charlis Cunningham and I love life! I am originally from Jackson, Michigan, USA and grew up in the city of Lansing where I grew to love the arts. I have lived here in Abu Dhabi for almost four years teaching kindergarten and learning about the world through my interactions with children. It is a joy to work with young people, but at the core of me there is a writer who loves the rhyme and creativity of poetry and scripts. I wrote my first poetry book in fifth grade and started writing skits in middle school. The skits did not go further than the paper and my mind. I have always been surrounded by the arts performing in my church plays during the holidays over the years, and landed a lead role in my aunt’s community theatre production of “Sala Cinderella” when I was fifteen.
Tempo: What is Shoes: The Monologues about?
Charlis: “SHOES” is about life. It is about pain, happiness, self-reflection, revelation, brokenness, humour, etc. I wanted to tell stories about life, and I specifically wanted to touch on poverty, war, health and other global issues. In an effort to not be too morbid, I also wanted to include some humour because we must learn to laugh at life as well.
Tempo: How did you come up with all of this?
Charlis: The concept came from a conversation with a friend. It was the second time I was having the conversation about wanting to buy new shoes and not needing them and feeling remorseful for the Syrian refugees surviving the bitter winter. In the conversation my friend remarked, “Don’t all women have lots of shoes?” I laughed at the moment, and then a light bulb came on later. How can I tell a story using the analogy or metaphor of a shoe? I initially set a goal to talk about the Syrian refugees, an orphanage in Kumba, Cameroon, cancer, substance abuse, and HIV/AIDS. These were a few topics I wanted to touch on with the play amongst many more. The easiest way was to develop stories that could be funny and moving for this content. War, health and poverty are sensitive issues and I was very afraid to offend people. Sometimes we have to take away the offense and speak about things in an uplifting manner.
Most of the story lines came from my personal life. We would have to sit down with the script for me to point out every truth. All of the stories are my exaggerated feelings; even the gentlemen selling knock off shoes on the street corner who mocks higher education. Yes, I am a teacher and I am currently earning my master’s degree. His character is a complete paradox to my life, but I often think of the time and money we invest in higher education and the necessity of it.
TEMPO: How did you find the actors? Do they fit the characters you had in mind?
Charlis: I have a meetup group called the Abu Dhabi Drama Group. I was able to advertise on there and Facebook. Half of the actors came from the meet up group and the other half are good friends of mine. They all fit their characters perfectly. Somehow it just all fit into place, every personality, every joke, and voice intonation.
TEMPO: As a teacher, how are you able to find time to do this?
Charlis: (laughs) I lost a few hours of sleep, but I started drafting the script this summer. Thankfully, as a teacher I receive my fair share of holiday and weekend time.
TEMPO: You collaborated with BrandMoxie on this? How did that happen?
Charlis: BrandMoxie and Mrs. Sana Bagersh were my saving grace. I emailed Mrs. Sana sometime in August and said I had an idea for a show that I wanted to run by her. She was more than willing set up a meeting to discuss details about the show. I explained the concept and we both agreed that we had similar interests in storytelling and starting a regular event of some type of performing art production. BrandMoxie offered us MoxieZone, a space within their office, for auditions, rehearsals and the show. I must admit that it was a breath of fresh air to receive such support and to be able to turn my dreams into a reality.
TEMPO: How was Shoes: The Monologues received ?
Charlis: We got rave reviews from everyone who attended. My camera guy caught some amazing feedback from audience members and I cannot wait to watch the rest of the interviews in the final copy of the video of the show.
TEMPO: Where do you hope to show it next?
Charlis: My hope is to do SHOES again in a purpose built theatre. I absolutely love the MoxieZone and its eclectic style and quaint feel, yet I am dreaming of spotlights, backdrops and colourful floodlights. I would also like to travel to Dubai with the show and tap into their artsy crowd.
TEMPO: So are there any future projects?
Charlis: I always participate in the Dubai Short + Sweet ten minute play competition, which is right around the corner. SHOES is my first accomplishment of many productions I plan to do and I want to expand it. The stories are infinite and there is so much I did not write about or chose not to include because of the timeline I created for this production of the show. Before I finished writing SHOES I drafted up the outline for “BAGS,” another collection of heartfelt and witty monologues. I can keep going forever with this concept of accessories.
