“We forget what we share. What we need is more interaction.”
— Cheryl Hamilton

  LEWISTON — Lessons learned from Lewiston’s experience with Somali migration are being taught all over the country. Now, Cheryl Hamilton is bringing her powerful personal account to Portland and Brunswick in solo performances of “Checkered Floors.”

The Maine premiere at Portland’s Old Port Playhouse will be Jan. 5-9. Those dates coincide with the anniversary of the “Many and One” rally in Lewiston that drew 3,000 residents out in the cold to denounce the arrival of a national hate group protesting the recent Somali migration to Maine.

Hamilton was the greeter at the door for this event and refugee resettlement director at that time.

As a national refugee consultant, Hamilton has spent the past six years conducting workshops across the country on refugee-related topics. “Checkered Floors” is her first foray into theater.

“For years, I have shared the lessons from Lewiston from a professional perspective, but I’ve always felt compelled to share my personal story because the world refugee crisis affects us all,” Hamilton said.

“We hear a lot about how refugee resettlement in the United States can change refugees’ lives, but it also changes the lives of the people where refugees are resettled. It’s not simple. It’s not us against them,” she said.

Hamilton’s story tells of both her personal struggle to recover from a sexual assault and her observations of the challenges facing refugees in a new and strange place.

At the time she was trying to write about the Somali resettlement, she also was defending herself in a trial.

“The two experiences had a lot in common,” she said.

Hamilton said she tried to put all of her experiences into a book, but it was “heavy and uncomfortable” material. A theatrical presentation evolved with encouragement and collaboration with Loyola University Professor James Bunzli, who directed “Checkered Floors.” An experienced solo performer, Bunzli is most recently known for directing International Slam Champion Gayle Danley in “Naked” at the Everyman Theater in Maryland.

Part of Hamilton’s incentive for developing the play came from the distress she felt when she saw Lewiston portrayed negatively in national news.

“It’s hard for me to see Lewiston criticized,” she said. “I think Lewiston-Auburn should be tremendously proud” of the way in which its citizens have managed the arrival of many newcomers.

“We forget what we share,” she said. “What we need is more interaction.”

In “Checkered Floors,” Hamilton tells her audience how she met a man named Mohammed, and how that 65-year-old Muslim man from Somali “became my rock.” She said he was instrumental in helping her get through her own personal crisis even though he was dealing with so many of the wounds suffered in trying to make a new life in Lewiston.

“I never expected to find the help I needed from one of the Somali refugees,” Hamilton said.

“I’ve told my story. I would love to help more people tell their stories,” Hamilton said. “People need to feel safe asking questions.”

Linking her story to a stage presentation came naturally to Hamilton, a graduate of Edward Little High School. From a young age, she appeared in Lewiston-Auburn Community Little Theater presentations, including “South Pacific,” “The King and I” and “Grand Hotel.” Her father is Bill Hamilton, who has been involved in set design and construction for many CLT shows.

Hamilton first presented “Checkered Floors” in New York City at the 2008 Emerging Artist “One Woman Standing” festival. The play premiered in Baltimore at a World Refugee Day celebration in 2008. Since then, she has presented it at colleges, conferences and community theaters across the country. This will be her first performance in Maine.

“Checkered Floors” will also be performed by Hamilton at the Frontier in Brunswick at 7 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, Jan. 26-27, and at 2 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 29. Tickets are $12. She said she hopes to present the show at other Maine locations.

Performances in Portland will be at 7 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, Jan. 5-6, with an artist talk back; 8 p.m. Friday and Saturday, Jan. 7-8; and 2 p.m. Sunday, Jan. 9, with an artist talk back. For information about Old Port Playhouse tickets, $15, call 773-0333. Old Port Playhouse is at 19 Temple St., Portland.

More information about Hamilton and the show may be found at www.checkeredfloors.com.