Welcome to The Truth in His Heart, your source for conversations at the intersection of arts, culture, and community. I am your host, Rob Lee. Today, I am super excited to welcome an accomplished theater artist with performances spanning off Broadway, regional theater, and film. She's currently portraying Margaret in POTUS, or behind every great dumbass are 7 women trying to keep him alive at the Everyman Theatre in Baltimore, and we'll be discussing her acting journey in a bit of her role in POTUS. Please welcome Chinai Routte.
Rob Lee:Welcome to the podcast.
Chinai Routté:Thank you, Rob. Oh, that's so kind of you.
Rob Lee:Thank you for for making time. Thank you for, thank you for, you know, being able to see the show before you even talk about it. Right? Being able to see the show, this this past Friday. Thank you for the performance.
Rob Lee:And I you know, going into sort of having these really busy weeks and the busy school stuff and all the stuff I was sharing a little bit before we got started. It was a really cool highlight to wrap up the week to get some laughs and then just see just art in the city, you know? So that was
Rob Lee:good. Yeah.
Chinai Routté:It feels good to give it to you guys Friday. Like all of our audiences have been really remarkable and all of our, audiences have been really remarkable. Friday, of course, was the highlight because it was opening night. So, thank you for being there, and thank you for bringing your energy to the space.
Rob Lee:Absolutely. It's it's great, and I'm bearing the lead a little bit, but let's go backwards a little bit. And, if you could for the folks that are undipped and unfamiliar, could you, introduce yourself and share a bit about your work?
Chinai Routté:Yeah. So I'm Shanae Rotei, you all. Born and raised part of my life right here in Baltimore, Maryland and lived the other part of my formative years in Warner Robins, Georgia. People are probably like where is that? It's centrally located in the state and we got there due to my mother being in the air force.
Chinai Routté:So it's a military installation there. And, I picked up my love for acting probably as a teenager. Right? You know, as a teenager, you're trying to figure out what you what you want to do, how you want to express yourself. And it was sort of an opportunity for me to escape, you know, escape all the crazy stuff happening.
Chinai Routté:And so I spent most of my career on stage, hitting the regions, working a a few world premieres under my belt, and haven't had the privilege also to be in, some print works and commercials, what they're calling now vertical media and, okay, and some films. So I've been able to stretch, quite a bit over, you know, few decades.
Rob Lee:Nice. That's great. Thank you. And you're you're you're right in that that point of, sort of those those years, like, the the sort of teenage years. I'd look at you know, I want I'll name one of the, you know, the Baltimore high schools.
Rob Lee:I know we talked about that before we got started, but, you know, I look back on my my time at, City College, in high school in Baltimore, And in trying to figure out what the thing was gonna be, I was taking a few drama classes. And I was like, is that the thing? And I was like, I'm 64. I'm kinda just all over the place, and everybody's short. So it's just like, yo, we're gonna figure out how to frame you.
Rob Lee:Where did your body go? I was like, I can be a tree. You know, it's fine. You can play it. You know, just, just stretch out.
Chinai Routté:You could take up space.
Rob Lee:But, I think the thing that that that kinda caught me was audio early on was recording conversations and really trying to put people onto my my colleagues and my classmates. So that's where some of those those roots roots are at really. So your point there is really, really, really salient.
Chinai Routté:I'm telling you, like, was, you know, as a teenager, when when we moved from Baltimore to Georgia, it was a very strange time in my life. And so you're trying to find groundedness wherever you can, a place where you can feel like yourself or begin to understand who you are as a human. And as a teenager, you're trying to figure out if the things you're thinking about are really the things you love and, and, and who you are. And so I was trying to find a space where I can evolve safely. And it was, you know, in high school, what was my first role?
Chinai Routté:Evelyn in the Wiz.
Rob Lee:Oh, wow. Wow. Yeah. Okay. Okay.
Rob Lee:So in in looking back, and I and I and I appreciate that because sometimes you let people cook, you get those answers that you weren't even expecting. And and and I and I as I think back again about sort of my time around that, I remember I had a buddy who, put me on to Kevin Smith, like clerks, small rats, all of that stuff. And he was doing, speaking gigs at colleges. Mhmm. And, eventually, those speaking gigs that he was doing would later turn into a podcast that he's done, and that's one of the reasons I got into podcasting.
Rob Lee:But I had a longer relationship than podcasting with this dude just speaking in front of people, and that was something for me. Almost it was an audience member. So thinking back with this this concept of being an audience member, could you share a performance that maybe blew you away? You're like, I wanna be I wanna be on stage. I wanna act as an as an audience member.
Chinai Routté:It literally, as you ask this question, the image pops into my head very clearly. It was probably 96, 97, 7 Guitars by August Wilson at the Alliance Theater in Atlanta, Georgia. I, yes, I had never seen so many people who look like me on one, on one grand stage at one time and speaking things that sound familiar to my family. Okay. And beautiful people, right.
Chinai Routté:And moving gracefully across the stage made me feel like I was in the, in what they were talking about. I was so drawn in my mouth was on the floor and we were in a small group doing something cultural, but it was that moment that it shifted my life forever. And there was a woman in the show that, I was really, really drawn to and had the privilege to work with her some years later. She was the director and I was the actor. So Sam of Guitars is already like a fantastic piece of theater.
Chinai Routté:And if you haven't seen it, I think Baltimore is doing all of August Wilson's canon. So if you haven't seen it, your audience must go find it, go read it, Go see it. It is an incredible piece of art, and it really changed my life.
Rob Lee:That is that is great to hear. And I'm I'm definitely gonna seek it out. I'm, like, wank wank aware of, from a media perspective. Hey, Rob, the go to guy. So it's that's that's great, and it's definitely on my radar.
Rob Lee:And and thank you for that. I I think getting sort of the you know, a lot of times, we we get these interviews, and it's just tell me about your work, tell me about this specific thing. But I think it's a lot of energy and a lot of worth in going back and kinda understanding what maybe led the person to this, what maybe forms how they go about it, the thinking that goes into it. Yeah. So I got this next question.
Rob Lee:You were you were touching on a little bit about sort of, like, the the journey, and we're, you know, talking about, you know, off Broadway, regional theater film experience, those those verticals you mentioned as well. When you when you think about it, is there, like, a key lesson during that journey, regarding, like, acting that maybe took you from being a good actor to a great actor or from great actor to an excellent actor?
Chinai Routté:Yeah. You know, there've been a lot of lessons, Rob, over the years, but I'd love to share with you something that I learned this year. You know, as an actor, we spend a lot of time wondering if we're good enough. We spend a lot of time in self doubt sometimes and second, you know, and second guessing ourselves. And, this year I learned how to show up and show out.
Chinai Routté:Right. So I'm, on a set and, and I believe it was, the one of the first films I did this year. And, I was really coming from that space of, you know, the theater space where a director comes in and they really have an incomplete vision of the world that we'll create together. And I've had the fortune of working with some incredibly collaborative directors. Right?
Chinai Routté:And and so I'm in this mind of like, okay, as a stage actor, you know, I show up as my character, and I also have to show up flexible so that if there is some things that I'm not considering about my, you know, my, you know, character, the other characters, the director will help guide me in that space. When I showed up on the film on the film set, the director was really focused on capturing the image of the film. And it's a big difference in me than just the world of a stage play, but it's like, what does that picture look like? And how can we get this image to reflect what will happen frames from now? Right.
Chinai Routté:And this director did not direct me in the sense of like, this is what you need to do. This is who you are, blah, blah, blah. And it was like, you auditioned, we hired you, do what you do, show up and do that thing. And so I sat down and I was like, okay, do you Shanae? And it was like, it was something very simple, Rob, but it was transformative for me because I didn't have to rely on someone else to tell me that you're doing a great job.
Chinai Routté:I showed up, I was hired and I did what I was supposed to do. And as an actor sometimes, you know, let me liken it to, people working in the 9 to 5. Right? So, you know, you you you you get hired to do that job. You do that job, and then you get promoted.
Chinai Routté:Right? So when you're an actor, you don't necessarily follow that kind of track, and so you have to really do your self promotion. You have to be strategic about how you're going to move through this business. And so being your authentic self, knowing who you are, and whose you are, and what you bring to the table is going to serve you whether you're on stage, or whether you're in front of a camera on a film set, or if you're on a TV, episode or series. Showing up as your authentic self, trusting that you got the goods, they hired you for a reason and to do what you know you're supposed to do.
Chinai Routté:Everybody won't be the same director and being flexible and malleable in that way also helps you to navigate as well as being professional, showing up on time, knowing your lines, etcetera. Also kind of shifts the game, but for me that was like, oh, right right right right right right right right. And and some might think that, oh, you're, you've been in the game for a while and you should already know those things, but I tell you, I'm learning something new about myself as I, as I grow every year. And I think we all should be learning more and more about ourselves as we continue to grow. And that was really a pivotal pivotal moment, career wise for me, because now when I show up to a space, I'm not wondering if I'm, if it's okay.
Chinai Routté:I'm not wondering if I'm supposed to be there. I'm clear that I'm supposed to be there, and I know what I've been hired to do.
Rob Lee:That's that's that's great. That's so important. I see how it works, and I can apply it to what I do in this podcast thing. And I'll I'll share this before I move into some questions about POTUS. But so I had, I had this opportunity.
Rob Lee:It was a, it was a guest that I had on who does a lot of murals in and around Baltimore. Oh. And, you know, interviewed him about
Chinai Routté:Lot of beautiful ones here
Rob Lee:too. Absolutely.
Rob Lee:He does the love murals. And, yeah, Michael Owen. So Oh, wow. I had a chance to interview his I mean, I had a chance to work with his son. His son was making his first two, like, student films.
Rob Lee:He asked me to be Man. So we do it, and, the first one, I was like, so what am I doing? And and, you know, I'm just asking those questions and coming in there with this sort of sense of, like, I don't know if I'm gonna blah blah blah. And I was like, why'd you pick me? And I kinda got what he was going for after after he's, like, breaking it down.
Rob Lee:He's a, you know, new filmmaker, and he he wrote out sort of what he had in mind for me to play based on his dad's interaction with me. He's like, oh, yeah. He wrote this based on, you know, you did this podcast with him, so this is literally you. I tried to capture you. And he was like, just be you.
Rob Lee:I was like, how do I be me? And I was doing that. And, we did a few takes, and I'm I'm kind of a perfectionist. I wanna get it right the first time. So we did it, it went well, it was about like comics, and it was very much aligned to the Kevin Smith thing.
Rob Lee:I don't know how the kid knew. It was definitely there, right? So, you know, it was like, that was like a year and a half ago, maybe 2 years ago. He asked me to come back to reprise my role.
Chinai Routté:Come on. Come on, rehire.
Rob Lee:He was like, do you still have the same hoodie? I want it to look like you've not progressed much in your career, like, shop clerk. And I'm still with the same thing, but I got it a bit quicker. And I had to find myself I was like, oh, he literally hired me to play me. I was like, so you're here.
Rob Lee:You're you're good enough. You're doing this for something that's very foreign to me. So I don't know. It's just what popped in my head as you were describing.
Chinai Routté:Well, Rob, I should also share with you that my career has, like, has been rooted in mostly stage productions. It is only this year that I've really been pursuing, film. So I wanted to make that clear, like, you know, this is a new turn for me in my career and sort of a new pursuit. And so learning these things, is part of this journey for me.
Rob Lee:Yeah. Absolutely. And, yeah, it's like it seems these items seem kinda similar. Like, oh, acting's acting. It's like, no, this is this is different.
Rob Lee:And those those things that present themselves when I do a podcast and when I'm interviewing different people, I'm like, I hope I think I'm interested. It's like the beginning of I feel like it's a Richard Pryor album. Hope they think I'm hooked. Hope they think I'm interested. Yeah.
Rob Lee:That's the vibe that I feel all the time, but eventually yeah.
Chinai Routté:But you are. It's like you have to you have to know why you're showing up to do this that you love to do and trust that the people who need it, the people who desire it, the people who you're doing this for will find it, are coming, are here, and I'm going to soak it all up. And that's the thing that I'm holding onto and trusting in everything that I'm doing. Also, I'm having the time of my life, and it seems like you're having the time of your life too.
Rob Lee:100%. And thank you. That's that's a really good distinction. So let's shift a little bit, because I wanna talk about, you know, like, it's it's still top of mind right now. You know?
Rob Lee:I I was making references all week, all weekend rather to to POTA, so let's talk about it.
Chinai Routté:Let's get into it.
Rob Lee:So, you know, for for folks that are undipped and haven't gone, they they should be going. They should be going very soon. No. I
Chinai Routté:have to get out there.
Rob Lee:So give us a little bit about, like, what is what is this production about, and, what drew you to to this production and specifically, you know, the your approach to playing Marguerite within the, within this, production?
Chinai Routté:So I, I guess hard there. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. I'm gonna just jump in where I can, and maybe we'll circle back if we need to.
Chinai Routté:So I've got the script and no. No. No. I had first heard about it, when it was at another theater and I was like, oh, this sounds like the kind of comedy I want to do. And it's a dream of mine to, like, you know, exist in more comedic spaces.
Chinai Routté:I am pretty silly at the house, and I'd like to live in that truth outside of the house a bit more. And so POTUS came across my desk like laugh out loud, hilarious when I'm reading it. Selena Fillinger like knew what she was doing when she wrote this script, man. And so I got this incredible opportunity to audition at Everyman, which is a plus because it's right at home. And I'd worked at Everyman Theater 12 years ago.
Chinai Routté:So this, you know, is like a homecoming for me, you know, being at the theater, being able to do a thing that I've wanted to do, it stretch in so much with POTUS. And Margaret is the first lady, talking to your audience now. It's Margaret is the first lady y'all in POTUS, or 7 women, you know, trying to keep a dumbass alive. And, POTUS is this political satire, really talking about a lot of social political themes that we don't shake a finger at. We just talk about.
Chinai Routté:Right? And one of the the biggest ones is, gender equality. Right? And Margaret is, the first lady to POTUS. And I am really working at playing her on the edge of things.
Chinai Routté:Margaret is, you know, this well educated, fierce and confident woman. Right. But she is on the edge of a breakdown or breakthrough. And, and Margaret absolutely is, capable of running the country herself being in the high office instead, you know, as we find a lot of times with women, we're having to box ourselves in order to prop up others, right? We're having to, our accomplishments and who we are is consistently marginalized.
Chinai Routté:We're having to, you know, fight through the glass ceiling and having to prove ourselves everywhere we go. And in this particular farce, these women are all faced with, how to stop doing that. You know, what, what is the moment or what are the things or what are the things that lead to the moment that shifts it for us? And I have to say this, I don't even know what you're going to ask me next Rob, but we feel quite privileged to be doing this play during this political season. Like it could not have been planned better.
Chinai Routté:Like we start like 2 weeks before rehearsal was one way. Then when we show up into the rehearsal room, new things are happening.
Rob Lee:Absolutely. And, you know, I I I think all every every detail is there, and there's even these moments in in the production that I really, really I laugh at a lot because it's a version of something that I've said and that it's not the same thing, but it's more like kinda looking to the audience. It's like, oh, well, maybe maybe you should be in this role. You know, that's the eternal question. And, you know, why aren't you doing this?
Rob Lee:And and that's that's the thing like
Chinai Routté:Quotables. Quotables.
Rob Lee:When I'm when I'm, you know, sort of doing this, they're like, why didn't someone ever approach you to do this? I was like, I don't know. Maybe you should ask them. Mhmm. They're eternal questions.
Chinai Routté:It's the eternal questions.
Rob Lee:And I I I I love that. And and I I I enjoy comedy. Right? I have this because I I work with an improv group, you know. And I asked this question, on occasion of, like, you know, who's allowed to be funny and what's allowed to be funny these days.
Rob Lee:And, you know, the production starts off real strong. I was like, this Yes. I was like, this is literally like the first line. And I'm telling my partner about it. She's like, oh, she's like, yes.
Rob Lee:We're going.
Chinai Routté:And we are try I'm trying so hard. No spoiler alerts, right? We want the people to come because I really want to go so deep with you, Rob, because it's a, it's like, is it a sucker punch or is it just in your face? Right? You know, maybe I should ask you, did you feel sucker punched or did how did you feel with the, you know, the first line of the play?
Rob Lee:It was it was a little bit of a sucker punch. I was I was I was not expecting I was like, oh, oh, this is where we're at and This
Chinai Routté:is where we're at.
Rob Lee:And and then once I'm I'm kinda in it as as an audience member absorbing. Right? I'm like, oh, okay. I know where we're going now. I know that this is what it is.
Rob Lee:So I'm like, oh, because I've been to a few, productions there at Everyman, and this was very different from the the previous productions and all enjoyable, obviously, but, you know, this one was just, oh, there's there's language. This is how I talk. And, you know, I was out of this podcast glasses guy, but, you know, this is how I talk. And I'm like, alright. I was like, you know, if I can hear a little bit more of this, I was like, oh, they're talking about that.
Rob Lee:You know, we have, an injury that requires a doughnut to be sat on that's being referenced. And I was like, I said this in conversation recently. So please believe I have a great time and Go ahead. I see the audience as well. Yeah.
Rob Lee:So for for you being being on stage, being in your role, and, you know, working with your castmates and and and the crew, talk about that that feeling of being on stage and getting those when when something hits, when it hits the way that you're like, alright. We we know we rehearsed this. This worked really well, but it's hitting hitting right now. It's,
Chinai Routté:so first of all, I wanna say that the 6 women that I work with are incredible, like, hands down. Right? And every night I go onto the stage having the time of my life because I know I'm working with 6 women who are incredibly talented and that I trust. We have fostered, you know, this incredible space where we're looking out for each other. We're holding each other up, and we all have the same goal in mind, right?
Chinai Routté:We want to get this story told and get it told well, right? And so watching the audience absorb our, our text, We are we're we want to be so precise that every joke lands with them and so we want to give them the comic relief that they they don't even know that they're coming for. And we we we also pursue sort of like we have a little bit of joy, you know, when the not a little bit. We have a lot of joy when the audiences hear what we're saying or they've remembered something that happened earlier in the play and the payoff happens later. And they've, like, we we hear audible, you know, responses.
Chinai Routté:Like, what was that? Last night, I heard a, oh, okay, from an audience member. And those kind of things, thank God I'm a professional and I don't break. Right? But there are these moments that well in me like, oh, sis, yes, come on high five.
Chinai Routté:You know, it is, it is, it is a moment of joy when the audience gets it, when they feel it. It's also really, really satisfying when we have audience members who come in with maybe a different perspective, they don't know what they're going to get. And we've landed in a place within them that they are curious about that they have questions about right? Like maybe they don't agree with something that is being said or they did they had a different opinion prior to coming into the theater space with us and then they exit maybe wanting to go and do a little bit more research or having a dialogue with whoever they came to the theater with or whoever they sat beside. You know I think those are also wins
Rob Lee:for us
Chinai Routté:as storytellers that all we want to do is present, tell the story and have the people leave with more curiosity than they came with. Maybe an agreement in their own spirits about how they felt about a thing. I'm thinking about 2 audience members that sat in the front row and cried their eyes out during the show. Right. Because something about it resonated with them.
Chinai Routté:And there was, they left rejoicing. Right? So I, you know, I'm not completely aware of what moment kind of solidified it for them, but I know these are some of the reactions that I'm witnessing, you know, from the stage. And it is, it is all a part of the journey that we're walking together us as the actors on stage and our audience is a part of this play, is a part of this storytelling. We're all taking this journey together and we want we don't wanna control how you feel.
Chinai Routté:We want we want you to be lifted. We want you to be empowered. We want you to be curious, you know. And even if you question a few things, we're okay with that too.
Rob Lee:Yeah. I you know, thank you. And I I'll say, like, as I'm I'm absorbing and I'm watching, I'm enjoying, I, you know, again, like, I guess the way that I I was feeling that it was, sort of different from other productions, and and this is said with all love and respect. It had this almost this sitcom sensibility that was in there that I really enjoyed. I'm like, oh, we have these music cues that's going into this next sequence.
Rob Lee:I'm like, what's gonna happen next? And
Chinai Routté:Shout out to Cresset. She is incredible on the sound.
Rob Lee:And I'm I'm just in enjoying it from from that way because it's for for me and and I've I've seen all types of productions, but for me, it's like I'm enjoying this and absorbing this. And as I'm talking to people just navigating through the world, like I mentioned that night to my partner, I was like, if you gotta go see this, we gotta go back. You know, you gotta go meet us next time. We should talk about this. And I'm trying my hardest in that conversation not to spoil it because I remember it so well because it reminded me of something very digestible in that sort of sitcom and and smaller format way, and it doesn't feel like I'm here for mostly, like, a 2 hour production.
Rob Lee:It's great. I enjoy it. Mhmm. Thank you. Absolutely.
Rob Lee:And, I wanna ask a a little bit more about sort of your preparation for Margaret. I I kinda skipped over that a bit. Were there, like, any inspirations or experiences that helped shape the portrayal that maybe you've pulled from? And talk a bit about that.
Chinai Routté:Yeah. I, I'm a huge fan of Michelle Obama. So I spent a lot of time, I have read her memoir, have had a lot of opportunities to watch her speeches. Also our dramaturg was incredibly, resource of president. So she gave us some perspectives on who these women were and are, what their platforms were, and sort of like what made them stick out from the rest.
Chinai Routté:So I kind of delved into, that information trying to ground Margaret. The play is wild, right? So, you know, and, and, and, and comedy lives in the truths of our lives, right? You know that old saying, you know, you you, laugh to keep from crying. And I feel like that's Margaret, right?
Chinai Routté:She is doing all that she can, you know, to not be in a ball, you know, weeping in a corner like she really does stand, above, you know, the crazy mania that is her life and her arrangement. I also watched a couple of like, you know, comedic, films around politics, deep, as a as a TV show I caught that. Primary Colors was one of the films that I caught. Just trying to soak up you know as much of the, the world as I possibly could so that I could sort of land in a place. And then the script gave me everything else I needed.
Chinai Routté:Our director Laura Keppley was wonderful in being our guide in terms of the the whole picture as well as our individual characters. So I, you know, kind of grinded myself in those ways to kind of bring Margaret to life. And what's so beautiful about doing plays is that, opening night is one show, closing will be a different. So I have all of these shows in between to continue to grow and deepen and broaden Margaret and, and, and more ways than I'm even anticipating. There are nights that things come to me differently or things that I'd like to try, and it won't come out of the storytelling much, but there are different intentions and objectives that I'm pursuing in those nights that that are curious to me, that I'd like to pursue.
Chinai Routté:So, I'm really hoping that you and your partner come back, so that you can kinda check out what's new with Margaret and the other 6 ladies.
Rob Lee:Oh, abs absolutely. That's that's that's on the list. And I am one of those people when I'm absorbing something, when I'm watching something, and I'm like, yeah. See what they made that small tweak. That intention is slightly different.
Rob Lee:Yeah. She said it this way before.
Chinai Routté:I see you.
Rob Lee:So so touching a little bit more back on the the the humor component, especially with you know, thematically there are these these these points in it where it definitely hits on sort of, well, we're not getting their due, you know, frankly. And, you know, sort of the way that politics, this country, all of these different things go, and that's, you know, fairly evident. And it's it's a farce, but it's fairly evident in sort of how things are structured. It's like this person could beat the president. This person is actually doing a lot more work than they're getting credit for, and, this person, has to maybe do this power stance to feel like they're getting their their date their due.
Rob Lee:You know? And I know in different industries, you know, there are times where we're presented as maybe less than. And so when we're, you know, doing a presentation or even speaking on a subject, sometimes it's just like, oh, I really feel this in this way, but we're able to maybe dull that down with humor. So how do you kind of balance maybe how you might connect to something? And like, this is messed up.
Rob Lee:This is screwed up. But also, I gotta get get this line out. I gotta get this bit out. It's funny. How do you balance that?
Chinai Routté:You know, we we trust the we trust the script. We trust that the the groundedness of the words. We trust our scene partners. We trust ourselves that we're not just, you know, you know, out here trying to get those laughs, but we're actually trying to tell a real story about people. These women all really kind of exist out in the world.
Chinai Routté:You know, it's an amalgamation of many different people where you can look at these women and POTUS who we, who, who we know. You guys will get it. You guys will get it when you see the play. But, who we know, and we can kind of figure out, oh, he's, he's like this person, this person, and that person, you know, political heads, you know, in our real life. These women are like this person, this person, this person that we've seen, you know, in the news and so or they're, you know, a mesh of all of those.
Chinai Routté:And so we want to tell the truth of their story of their lives, and we don't wanna water it down by just trying to get a laugh. Yeah. You know, like I said before, real life sometimes can be really hilarious because you have to laugh to keep from crying. Right? So humor is always steeped in the truth and the truth, the truths of your story.
Chinai Routté:And I feel like, you don't have to reach very far to laugh at some of the things that these women are saying and that they're doing because it is, some of it's quite ridiculous and, and, it's meant to be laughed at, but it's also like, that's a thing that has really happened and, you know, or it's a possibility that could, that could probably happen. And I, if it was happening in my real life, I probably would be laughing the same way. So, yeah, I think it's a balance. We trust the words always. You trust the words and, you just out there telling that story.
Chinai Routté:That's really what it is. You don't wanna fake it. You don't wanna fake it.
Rob Lee:Absolutely. And, you know, there's there's there's 3 words that come to mind, when I when I think of it and I you know, this is this is a this is a little bit of a teaser, but it's not really giving too much away. I just think of, you know, just three letters really, not even words, just FML, you know. Just think of those.
Chinai Routté:I mean, oh my gosh. Like, we could literally have a show of spoilers. Literally. Oh my god. Patreon only.
Chinai Routté:Oh my god. Patreon only, friends. Join the Patreon. Because there's so so many details are so intricately important to the to the story and to this to the things that happened in the story that I just I wanna tell them all, but I can't. Y'all gotta come see the show.
Rob Lee:Yeah. Look. You guys gotta pull up. I mean, this is serving as, like, an additional trailer. You know?
Chinai Routté:Come on. Additional trailer. Yeah.
Rob Lee:So, you know, and and and this is sort of the the last real question I got for you. Sure. Okay. I have a couple, you know, rapid fire ones I've been looking at. Right on.
Rob Lee:So and we touched on a little bit earlier sort of the timing of the this production is coming out. And, you know, as you you touched on it a moment ago as far as, like, where we're at now early in sort of the arc and, you know, there's multiple shows before the end of the arc, and then we have this race happening during a selection here that can maybe serve as a bit of fodder and, know, additional bandwidth there. How how do you think the the timing of this of this play, of of the message will, you know, kinda, like, align? And how do you see it perhaps resonating with people as we get closer and closer to that big
Chinai Routté:day? Yeah. They're gonna need to know. I I wanna say it so badly. They're gonna come into the space, and they're going to make the connection between POTUS and what is happening in real life.
Chinai Routté:And it's gonna either, like I said before, make them more curious or make them be in agreement with some things they've been grappling with. Or they're gonna be like, you know because what we're saying is again not shaking a stick at any one thing or you know idea, It's just making it be known. And either you're gonna squirm in your chair or you're gonna be like, I already knew that. I'm ready for it. Let's go.
Chinai Routté:It's a perfect time. It's a perfect time. Like, I feel like what we're doing is supporting what is happening out here. And, it's really going to, Uh-huh. I wanna say it so
Rob Lee:bad to you. I'll say I'll say this. I I I think and it's it's one of the things you touched on there a second ago. I think it's an invitation to explore further. And I listening to some of the things in the in the play that I was like, that's they wouldn't yeah.
Rob Lee:They did. They did that. That's this is what was happening. And I would hope, you know, folks going there, seeing it, having those laughs when I think when you have a emotional response, one of those involuntary things. Like, laughter is involuntary.
Rob Lee:You know? So it's like, I'm gonna I'm not gonna laugh at it. Okay. I'm laughing now. I can't stop it.
Rob Lee:I think that that clicks, that happens. It's like, why did I do that thing I didn't wanna do? Let me look into why I did that thing that I wasn't expecting to do. Yeah.
Chinai Routté:That's the curiosity popping up. That that's the questioning. It's you you gonna be bolstered. You're gonna have some questions, or it's gonna be in alignment with what you already believe. And I'm I feel like, you know, in a small way that I'm doing my part.
Chinai Routté:Yes. I'm doing my part.
Rob Lee:That is that's great. And that's a great spot for us to end on before we start just pulling the whole thing. I mean, we'll just sit here and just say, yeah. Remember this part in the second half posing a mission, right, when like, alright.
Chinai Routté:Listen, we we must figure out a way to do, like, a post show
Rob Lee:You got it. We could we could
Chinai Routté:blow up. Like, we really should have a conversation about it because once it's gone, we could we could just act. And it's still so much time before the, you know, election where we'll have a a lot of nice things to talk about.
Rob Lee:We'll we'll have a we'll have a part 2, I think. It'll be really
Chinai Routté:I love it.
Rob Lee:Alrighty. So I got 3 rapid fire questions for you. Okay. And as I tell everyone when we do this, like, in you're an actor, you you you you get it. And I find, like, when I have these conversations with with actors, it's always, like, just it's easy.
Rob Lee:My my job is easy. I'm just sitting here. I act like you know, I ain't trying to fumble over my words again. So here's the first question I got for you. Obviously, you know, I enjoyed it.
Rob Lee:I I attended on Friday. It focuses very funny. I I, like, laughed a lot, and so I'm curious. How do you what's your go to tactic not to break? Because there's a sequence in it when I I would just say you're wearing yellow or a a shade of yellow.
Rob Lee:And I'm like, how how is she not laughing right now? Like, literally, how is she not laughing? So what is that tactic for you? Like, how do you, like I mean, obviously, being a professional, but how do you, you know, stop from laughing?
Chinai Routté:Mostly because I'm in it. I don't even feel the need. It's when I'm off stage that I have no control, that I am laughing, and I'm pinching myself sometimes. There are other ways of like, depending on how my body is positioned, I'm able to sort of be in a more uncomfortable way so that the laughter cannot escape my mouth. Yeah.
Chinai Routté:And for those of you who have been to the show or if you're coming, you'll notice some, something very specific about my costume. And it's not comfortable. It's not comfortable. And so that allows me to stay in the space a bit more, because I have to really focus on not being, in that discomfort so that I don't laugh out loud. But off stage is a different story, Ron.
Rob Lee:That that makes a lot of sense.
Chinai Routté:These women are hilarious. Okay. And sometimes, you know, I have to get it out. I have to get it out.
Rob Lee:Oh, no. Like, ah.
Chinai Routté:Or it's when the when the crowd is laughing, that's the best time to do it.
Rob Lee:Oh, yeah. It's just like, yeah. I'm muffled. Like, yeah. You're just drowned out by everyone's guffard and chortling.
Chinai Routté:Exact I love that. Yeah. Yes.
Rob Lee:Pied out with our words
Chinai Routté:of it. Chortling. Come on.
Rob Lee:So there there's another thing that that that that sticks out to me about about the play is that it's and and even the description I was giving when I was I was talking to my partner about it, it's very physical. You know, there is a lot of movement. There is a whole segment where a lot of movement is happening by one of your your your castmates. I'm like, okay. We're out here.
Rob Lee:How do you, like, stay limber and stay loose between maybe scenes that you're not in, but you're gonna be in coming up and it's just saying, I don't wanna, like, tear a hamstring or something to blow an ACL.
Chinai Routté:Yeah. That's really a great question, Rob, because a lot of people don't think that what we do is physical. It's both mental and physical. And, so we do things outside of the theater to prep us to be on the stage. So I'm doing some exercise daily.
Chinai Routté:I'm stretching. I'm so grateful for, one of those massage guns. One of my castmates is so gracious that she'll show us different ways to stretch our body, but also, several of my castmates and some of the, the designers that we, worked with were, trained in the Alexander technique. And it really does make you focus in on, your body as your instrument, your voice, how to use your body and your voice. And, because of one of those costume pieces that I referenced earlier, I'm having to learn how to how to stand in my body, you know, without it, you know, without sort of compensating, you know, hunching over or, you know, shoulders up.
Chinai Routté:So in between scenes, I'm really focusing on my core, drinking a lot of water. And, and we do like, you know, just little vocal exercises. Something that gets me going every show is, my, you know, my little playlist I have, and I like to have a little dance party before every show.
Rob Lee:Love that. This is this is the last one I have, and this may relate to one of those articles of of of clothing that you're you're wearing or have you, or actually, you know, a few of the articles of clothing that you're wearing. So they're very distinct in color, so I must ask Mhmm. What is your favorite color?
Chinai Routté:I love most colors, dual tones. So when the costume designer David Burdick, brought the costume plot out for me, I was like, yes, yes, and yes. He was like, you're not afraid of yellow? I was like, absolutely not. Like, it's the first time that I can remember.
Chinai Routté:Yeah. Like, like having such bright colors on stage. Right? And so my favorite colors would be purple or like a magenta, fuchsia pink. I love blues and greens, but I live in any color, any color of the rainbow.
Chinai Routté:I give it to me. I'm gonna do it. And, you know, blessed with a little melanin, you know, so we
Rob Lee:could do it.
Chinai Routté:Hey. I
Rob Lee:love it. I love it. And, definitely, there's a regality to your character, to your presentation, and the the colors, of what the wardrobe is just definitely accentuates that. So it's it's great.
Chinai Routté:Thank you.
Rob Lee:And, yeah. Shout out to you. Shout out to this production, and, guess we can close out there.
Chinai Routté:That's fantastic. Thank you so can I say thank you, Rob? It's been a pleasure speaking with you and a pleasure talking about this production that brings me such joy, but also, talking about some of the wonderful artists that I've enjoyed working with during this process has been a pleasure. So thank you for the opportunity.
Rob Lee:Thank you so much. This has this has been wonderful. And, there there's 2 things I wanna do as I close out. 1, again, thank you. You know, graciousness is always important to just really articulate those those things.
Rob Lee:And, you know, I I like being able to have an experience. So this, you know, sticks out. It's very near and dear, not just because it's recent. It's just like, hey, you know, I I don't remember this play, especially in this year as well. And and secondly, I wanna invite and encourage you in these final moments to, share with the listeners any of those final details, the last hard sell, if you will, website, social media, all that good stuff for folks to come out, check out POTUS, and to to follow you.
Chinai Routté:Awesome. Okay. So I would love for your audience to join us at Everyman Theatre between now and September 29th for POTUS or behind every great dumbass are 7 women trying to keep him alive. We are every day of the week except Monday. So go to every man theater.
Chinai Routté:That's theatre.org to get your tickets run now because I've heard they're going pretty fast. Okay. Friends. And I am on social media. You can find me at China with an I on Instagram.
Chinai Routté:That's my favorite place to be. And, if you come to the theater, please let us know you're there by laughing with your full body, speaking back to us, if something feels good or you have a question about something, always works as well. And they always send, surveys after you come to the show, Let the theater know how you feel about this production and how it spoke to you. We always wanna hear what our audiences are thinking and feeling after they experience a piece of art on our stage. I think I have given everything to your audience.
Chinai Routté:I am so grateful. I wanna see you all there. Please, please join us between September between now and September 29th.
Rob Lee:And there you have it folks. I want to again, thank Shanae Routay. Go see POTUS folks, but I want to thank Chinai Routte for coming on and, sharing a bit of her journey with us. And for Shanae Routay, Everyman Theatre, POTUS, all of those good things that we talked about today. I'm Rob Lee saying that there's art, culture, and community in and around your neck of the woods.
Rob Lee:You've just gotta look for it.
