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Cherise Stefanie is loud, adventurous, cuddly and as colourful as a box of crayons. She may also be the lovechild of Tim Curry but to date no one has been able to confirm this. She makes important work about people, sexuality, social injustices and the pursuit for happiness.
Cherise is a British playwright and performing artist based in London, who has been developing her own unique style of theatrical madness since 2006. In 2015 she decided it was time to go solo. Her last play, The Door, was performed at The Park Theatre in 2013.
What first attracted you to the theatre?
I wanted to find fame and fortune and thought that getting into theatre was the best way to go about achieving that! (Obviously that is a joke)
In all seriousness, first and foremost I love storytelling, plain and simple. Secondly, I think that theatre is an incredibly important cultural platform as it can be accessed by anyone, and everyone (every gender, every colour, every age, every social class, every physical shape etc) can get involved in it whether as a creative person or an audience member so it appealed to me as an inclusive art form; there is something incredibly relevant in that.
I’m not clever enough to be a politician or a scientist or a Nobel prize winner, but I am creative and have loads of opinions and a voice, so I use theatre as a way of trying to make the world a better place, one social injustice at a time. Corny, I know, but it’s true.
If you could pick any one person or theatre company to work with on your next project, who/which would it be?
Bryony Kimmings is absolutely boss, I love her work. She’s hilarious and smart and knows how to get a message across to an audience without making them feel like they are being bombarded with figures from the Office of National Statistics or watching someone unravelling their own real personal tragedy and using their time on stage as therapy. I’ve watched some shows that made me think, ‘Oh my God I’m actually being tortured. This is a form of torture. Tell me what you want me to confess and I’ll do it if you let me out of here.’ Bryony makes you think, ‘Please tell me more, I hear what you are saying and can get on board with it, and I am enjoying myself at the same time. Plus I wanna hear another song.’
What is your opinion of Off West End theatre, in general?
I think there is a lot of snobbery and elitism in British Theatre and sadly this means that not all the brilliant things that are on Off West End get the coverage or the recognition they deserve, and also that there are still not enough opportunities for new and emerging artists, even though, like I said before, theatre is the most accessible of art forms, there are still a lot of barriers. It’s only the bigger venues that have a good amount of support, like Hampstead or the Almeida, that are usually able to deliver truly exceptional work as they can afford to take risks that smaller places can’t afford to. The smaller venues often have to put the cost of any risk onto the artist which means that a lot of new artists or artists from a less affluent background can’t afford to get their work out there and end up in the upstairs of pubs or other spaces people don’t really go to. There are so many fantastic productions that fall under the radar because of this.
What was the most inspiring performance you have ever seen? Why?
Jess Thom, Backstage at Biscuit Land, hands down most inspiring thing I’ve seen. I went because I thought it would be amusing to watch a show with someone who had tourettes. How small minded of me and what an eye opener the show was. The poster and advertising drew me in with the novelty of the act, but what I got was an inspiring performance that made me question my own attitude to disability, my tolerance of other peoples differences, and how we can make theatre more inclusive for everybody. I laughed and cried and came out with a different perspective. How often does that happen to you at a show you stopped in to see on a whim at the Edinburgh Fringe?
What piece of work are you the most proud of?
The Real Girl. It hasn’t even had its first showing yet but I am already so proud of it and also of the journey I’ve been on so far to bring it to life. It is the first piece of work where I haven’t allowed any thoughts of commercial success to have an effect on the creative process. This is a true, honest piece of work, and I have complete artistic integrity. It’s been wonderful to do something I truly believe in and have it come out like I imagined from the beginning. I have to thank my amazing producer for putting her belief and trust in my ideas, without her I would not be having the same experience.
What makes a really good character?
Someone that’s got depth, that has strength and vulnerability, that has secrets, that has warmth and humour, that has a clear purpose.
What things in your personal life do you draw from when you perform?
My personal life is my performance so you could say every moment is valuable.
Musical, comedy or drama- what’s your preference to watch?
All of them have their place, it depends on what mood I’m in.
Can you tell our readers about what you’re doing now/next?
I’m performing in The Real Girl at the Tristan Bates Theatre in August 2016. The Real Girl is about the struggle people face trying to find their identities in an image based society. How do you make yourself stand out from the crowd and be heard, and how do you get people to really listen? It’s a show for anyone who enjoys things that are a bit messy and don’t make much sense because this is a show about life, and life can be messy and confusing, so come watch me and we’ll stick it out together; it may all come right in the end.
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