Dubai’s First Lady of Comedy uses art to help heal others

She has been coined Dubai's 'First Lady of Comedy’; when the American-Italian Mina Liccione flew over to Dubai for a long week of performances in 2008 little did she know she would pioneer a comedy community first of its kind in the region.

“When I arrived in Dubai in 2008 there was no local comedy scene. We had to build it," the multi-talented artist says. "I chose to come to the Middle East armed only with a clown's nose, a pair of tap shoes and a dream to build something for the community here."

That community has been built. In 2008 Mina and her husband Ali Al Sayed founded Dubomedy, the first comedy and urban arts school in the Mena. Moreover, Mina has accepted a professorship at the American University Sharjah (AUS) this year, where she helps developing a performing arts programme, a first in the UAE.

"I had no idea what to expect from the first 'comedy 101 class' of 12 students. Now 4-5 years later we have trained hundreds of students and built a strong community and comedy circuit."

“In the AUS, the majority of Mina's students are Arab females, especially in dance and theater. "I am honoured to see them grow, find new means of expression and get inspired," she says.

"I’ve also had a number of women come up to me after performing comedy telling me how much they related, how they learned something or now look at something in a different way. I’ve had a number of women tell me I was the first female comedian they had ever seen and that I changed their minds about stand-up comedy. How can that not inspire a person?"

Mina being a female comedian and her husband being an Emirati of the same profession, an interesting community has evolved around the two.

"Many female students came to classes because a woman is the teacher, whereas many more locals attended because they felt inspired by Ali,"

tells Mina."In our classes there are around 20 people all from different places."

One of the projects that Mina leads is Funny Girls; the first and only all-female stand-up comedy show in the region. "We train the women and then offer a platform to perform, break stereotypes in a supportive environment in hopes of inspiring other women to do the same,"

explains Mina.

"Women performing comedy was very rare for Arab women and stand up was very, very new in Arabia… we wanted to cultivate stand-up comedy in a positive way that reflected the region and all its cultures."

That challenge was not limited to the gender issue. "People thought that comedy was dirty," Mina reminisces. "Then, when we said we did clean comedy they said it wouldn’t be funny. We had to prove ourselves and show people that comedy can be clean and positive and be used to help the community."

For Mina comedy is a way of life. From her early ages she could be found performing; on TV, in the circus, in charity events and on a Broadway show. She would call herself a performing and teaching artist, but comedy has always shaped her performances, as well as her teachings.

"As a performing artist and comedian I have a responsibility to cheer other people and make the world a more joyous place. I do my best to use my art to help others heal, express themselves, find peace within and let them know they are not alone," says Mina.

The Clowns Who Care project is an excellent example of her drive to use comedy to help others. Having followed a certified clown therapy program back in the United States, Mina developed a clowning in community tour to centers for children and adults with special needs, which she imported to Dubai with great success.

In the UAE laughter has unified people, thinks Mina. "Everyone I met said they needed to laugh more and they wished there was a community so when offered the opportunity to launch the very first comedy and urban arts school in the MENA region I jumped at it.

"It was a chance to build a community, help people express themselves creatively, help women find their comedic voices, use art as a tool to bridge the cultural gaps and allow people to meet each other and be part of a community.

"We really changed the face of comedy," says Mina. "Many of my jokes are about being married to an Emirati- embracing the culture in funny ways and my attempts at learning Arabic, as well as about my family and Emirati in-laws. My comedy reflects my life. My husband and I perfectly represent the East-meets-West-world that we live in; we embrace each other and use comedy to tackle stereotypes and bring people together."

Although the couple is busy round the clock bringing humor to life, their shared passion seems to be the key to their success in work as well as in live.

"We have to make time for ourselves to pause, laugh and enjoy the moment. When we take a few days off we come up with the best ideas.

Two day retreats are our refreshers," Mina comments.

"I also think having a husband who is also a comedian and very passionate about building the community and helping others keeps me inspired and supported. We are a team. He has a huge heart and inspires me to want to do more to help the community. When I feel low, he brings me up and vice versa. We share our ideas with each other and help each other bring them to life. Passion for your art comes from working for a cause and not for applause."

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