Meet Andre Soares | Author. Stage & Film Actor. Activist.

We had the good fortune of connecting with Andre Soares and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Andre, what led you to pursuing a creative path professionally?
I think it’s been ingrained in my DNA (we are a family of creatives) but I’ve ALWAYS wanted to connect with people and make them FEEL things.

It probably stems from my own sensibility with Art, as a whole.

There are books, movies, songs, paintings out there that moved me, challenged my views, and I wanted to replicate that sharing my own experiences. There’s definitely a desire to connect here.

Can you open up a bit about your work and career? We’re big fans and we’d love for our community to learn more about your work.
I am an author, screenwriter, stage and film actor based in Atlanta, GA.

Ok, hear me out *laughs*:

I started out writing short stories on time travel (one of my favorite subjects yet I haven’t published on it…yet!) when I was six.

It looked crazy and, for the most part, didn’t make much sense. Now, as I refined my pen, it started taking shape.

I began theater around the same time (7) and pursued both interests, sharing my stories with teachers at conferences and facing my fears on stage at the local community theater.

Growing up very poor, I had to take on multiple jobs to survive and continued writing as a hobby. I moved to the US in 2009 (New York City) to chase my dreams of becoming a working actor and writer.

I joined and left the Army respectively in 2014 and 2018 and graduated the same year with a AS in Creative Writing and Business Management.

2018 is indeed a pivotal year for me: I went back to the civilian world and met amazing performers from a Phoenix-based company called Showstoppers. That’s when I started working for them as a performer/character artist/dancer for public and corporate events. I also worked as a quality assurance analyst for a Fortune 500 company to supplement my income.

I founded my production company and publishing imprint, Process Protocol LLC in 2019 and published my debut novel, “The Forerunner”, last year.

My second novel released December 25, 2021 and I am currently preparing for the launch of my third story, set for April/May 2022.

My background is very diverse and quite unique: it’s one of the things I’m very proud of and what makes my storytelling so “peculiar”, “foreign” in design.

I was born in Brazil, grew up in France and Africa. I have strong ties to the West African community (Mali, Ivory Coast, Benin, Togo and Senegal) and a few countries from the eastern front (Ethiopia, Malawi and Somalia) and have made my priority to represent the culture I belong to in literature and film.

My first series is based in East Africa and I have more projects under my sleeves that explore different regions of the continent.

Being foreign, I also bring a different perspective to American science-fiction and overall storytelling tropes (in tv shows, novels, full length feature films etc…).

I partner with black creators and my end goal is to eventually support a better and more diverse representation in Art, through grants, workshops, lectures and donations.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
Atlanta is a beautiful city! I traveled all across the globe (except Asia) and lived in five different states out here and this is the place I want to settle down in.

Atlanta is greener than most cities in the U.S. I would definitely recommend some popular parks like Piedmont, The West Side Park, Stone Mountain park but also hidden gems like Chastain Playground and Woodstock Castle.

If you like to bike, try the BeltLine: it was just extended and you have a bunch of great joints along the trail (as well as Street Art!).

The Alliance Theater (where I studied acting and audition techniques) is an amazing spot as well: a lot of tony-award winning plays are produced there. Shopping wise, there are a lot of good options but I like to go thrifting in the city or on the south side (Clayton County).

The night life is vibrant too but keep in mind, a lot of clubs charge extras for sneakers (yeah I know…).

Try Magic City on a Monday or The Havana Club on the weekend.

Last but not least, Atlanta is a melting pot of cultural foods and has some of the best restaurants in the country.

Brunch is a huge thing out here so I’d recommend The Atlanta Breakfast Club, Breakfast at Barney’s, The Corner Grille, Garden Parc, MS. Icey’s Kitchen, West Egg Cafe…

You also have all-day staples like Dat Fire Jerk Chicken, Hattie Marie’s BBQ, Roc South, Tassili’s Raw Reality Cafe and more…And all of them are black-owned!

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
There are a lot of people that contributed to my growth and my success but to name a few:

K.S. Ferguson (my mentor, whom I owe a lot creative writing wise), my two mothers and brother in law (who always believed in my career choices), my battles (colleagues) from the U.S. Army (who showed an unconditional support for my craft after I left the service in 2018), The Warrior Alliance (a veterans’ organization that helped me with my relocation to Atlanta, GA), Oliver Shannon and Tosha (former colleagues and amazing individuals who have always been supportive of me and present when hell broke lose), Victoria (a creative spirit that radiates joy), Jasmine (who has been one of the most supportive persons I’ve ever met), Moniqua (a bright woman I look up to), Michael Andrews (an author based in Atlanta and an amazing writing partner) and so many more!

I am forever grateful for their positive influence on my life’s course.

Website: https://www.thesoaresprotocol.com/

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