Interview: Michelle Elaine of POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE at STAGES

When I first moved to Houston in early 2021, theatre's across Houston began the slow process of reopening. One of the first productions featured an actress that I sorely wish I knew her incredible body of work before the pandemic. That actress, Michelle Elaine. Not only is she an exceptional actress but also one of the most amazing individuals in the Houston arts scene. When I found out she was cast in one of my favorite farces, short titled, POTUS, I was ecstatic and decided to interview this outstanding actress. 

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Can you tell us about your role in "POTUS" and what drew you to this character?

My character is Margaret, the First Lady of the United States and she is a very fierce “get-it-done” type of woman. When I was searching for a way for me to easily sum her up, Beyoncé’s song Diva came to mind. Margaret is a loving mother and faithful wife, but I think she ultimately wants to conquer the world.

"POTUS" explores the lives of the people surrounding U.S. Presidents. What kind of research did you do to prepare for your role, and what interesting facts did you work into your character?

In preparation for my role, I watched a lot of documentaries about a few of our past First Ladies: Michelle Obama, Eleanor Roosevelt, Jackie Kennedy and even Hillary Clinton. All of these women possess a unique fire that makes them stand out from the rest. I think I pulled a lot from Michelle Obama most naturally because of our similarities as Black women, mothers and wives, but also because she is such a remarkable woman and she moved with so much intention over the past 16 years. Before she stood by her husband through his historic presidential campaign, she had a very prestigious job as the Vice President for Community and External Affairs at the University of Chicago Medical Center. She walked away from that position in order to support her husband in his goals and aspirations. Throughout her husband’s campaign and beyond, she had to carefully navigate how every single one of her decisions would be perceived by the media, America and the world!

All of the First Ladies I studied were true trailblazers. Eleanor Roosevelt was one of the first women to do more with her title as First Lady than just picking out china patterns. Jackie Kennedy understood that she was chosen to marry JFK because of her status. She accepted this fact and realized that there were additional benefits to joining forces with her husband. Hillary Clinton stood out to me for her power and her fight to have her own piece of history. As the intelligent, powerful, resilient woman she is, she inspired me to find my voice as Margaret. Both Hillary Clinton and Margaret understand that it can get crass and crude behind the scenes at The White House and they both handle it like the fierce women they are.

Can you share any memorable moments or anecdotes from your time working on this production?

The most memorable part of my experience in this production has to be the incredible energy I feel every single time I walk into the theatre. Working with an all-female and non-binary creative team is just the most incredible feeling imaginable and has allowed us all a remarkable experience. Every day I walk into the room, I’m looking around in awe that I get to create this moment for our audience with six other amazing artists.

Thinking about our crew makes me think about how we have reinforced the meaning of women's empowerment in this production. Not only are we an all-female and non-bianry team, but we have been mindful to empower everyone to speak their truth. This culture was created by our badass leader, Ashley Love. From day one, Ashley made sure our workspace was an encouraging and safe place for us to be humans, actors and teammates. She made sure that the environment was exactly what we needed to decompress from whatever happened that day in our lives and to take what we needed to find ourselves in our characters. Together our team created guidelines, boundaries and even new terms to cultivate the best production we could. I will never forget what Ashley has done to help us show up for each other day after day. I will always treasure that; it means the world to me.

What do you enjoy most about performing at STAGES, and how does it differ from other theater experiences you've had?

Honestly, the dedication from the staff to create a truly safe space. While Ashley kept our needs and wellbeing at the forefront of her mind the same can be said for ALL of the Stages team. From the very first night at Meet & Greet, it was clearly understood that we were encouraged to speak up if anything was offensive or harmful to us. Of course, harm happens, and we acknowledge that, but we were always encouraged to speak up if there was a misunderstanding or issue that arose. Once we identified that someone was offended, we added to the guidelines and boundaries we originally created to adapt to what was now needed. This is truly the first time I have ever had this type of safety and protection. I can’t express how momentous that was.

I believe you are one of the best actors in the Houston theatre scene, is there anything you could share for people who want to be like you?

Well thank you, Armando! I would say, train, be patient, keep training, try to enjoy the process and save your coins. I say try to enjoy the process because it’s not easy constantly being rejected, but you can be purposeful in learning from each response and growing from the no’s, and building your skills based on the feedback you receive along the way. You  have to trust the process while also very closing managing the things you CAN control like writing, working out, traveling- doing things that inspire your creativity, especially when the work slows down.

In your career, are there any extraordinary moments that you can say that has made you the extraordinary actor that you are today?

Yes, I think about the moments in which I faced the biggest learning curve, which happened right after school. When you are in school, you have a very curated experience for your training and when you graduate, once you start having those real-life professional experiences, that's when you realize if you are actually prepared for the industry.

I think the most eye-opening experiences I have had to endure are my experiences with certain directors– most of them were a little traumatic. The first time, I was doing a show called “Gee’s Bend” at The Ensemble Theatre, working with the wonderful Elizabeth Van Dyke. I remember I was completely inside my head. This was back in 2011, so it was only two years since I graduated college. I was doing great acting on the inside, but it just wasn’t coming out. It wasn’t coming across as phenomenal as I thought it was in my head, and Ms. Elizabeth took the time to tell me, “Michelle, it feels like nothing is going on here!” That was devastating to hear. I spent many nights crying, trying to figure out what to do. Ms. Elizabeth took the time to meet with me outside of rehearsal time to break down my character’s situation for me and teach me how to truly embody her circumstances. She taught me how to physically tap into my character’s pain, not just intellectually. The character’s feelings were mine and mine were hers. This was the most eye-opening experience for me. I was able to access that emotion and put it into my body so that the work would be more expressive and true to the characters experiences.

Another important experience has to be any time in which Eileen J. Morris, the Artistic Director at the Ensemble Theatre, met with me. Ms. Eileen is actually my mentor and has been for many years. She will always be there for me to give me the time and guidance outside of rehearsal to give me the attention that I need. She also always reminds me of this “come from” that I will have no matter what. Which means, no matter what, my character will always “come from” a woman because that’s what I am. My character will always be black because that is what I am. No matter what show I am in, I have to think about what that means for me in this show. What does that mean if I’m doing a classical piece? What does that mean if I’m doing a contemporary piece? For example, in “POTUS'' my character is meant to be cast as a black woman, however, her race is never mentioned in the dialogue. Halfway through rehearsals, I realized this was a very important layer to my character that I hadn’t proactively considered in the work. I am married to a white president, which adds more layers of conflicts we would have to face as a bi-racial couple, a new layer of scrutiny coming towards me, especially after my husband dropped this four-letter word that sets the story into motion. Just as Michelle Obama had to smile two times as much, Margaret needs to work harder because of how America views her.

If you could choose any dream role, whether from theater, film, or literature, what character would you love to portray, and why.

This is a hard one. If I’m honest, I just want to work. Looking back, a role that was a dream role was the role of Clyde in Ensemble Theatre’s “Clyde’s.” I recently won the award for Best Supporting Actress in the 2023 Houston Theater Awards for the role. Now, playing a sadistic restaurant owner wasn’t necessarily the dream, but I love playing such a challenging role. Lynn Nottage always delivers on that. Clyde was truly a delicious role to play. All in all, any role that challenges me to dig deeper into who I am and pushes me as an artist to elevate in my work, is a dream come true. I would love to be featured in a starring role on the silver screen! Just give me a line and a check, and I will be just fine!

Lastly, what do you find most rewarding about being an actor, and how has your journey in the performing arts shaped you as a person?

The most rewarding part about the privilege of performing for an audience is that it’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do and be. Plus, someone writes me a check for it! How has that shaped me as a person? It’s made me become resilient and learn perseverance. It has also made me understand the importance of knowing who I am and understanding all of me. Who am I as a character? What are my values? My boundaries? How has growing up in the Southwest side of Houston and Third Ward impacted who I am today? As an actor, I am the canvas and in order for me to be used, I have to truly understand myself, be present in the moments of life. I have to learn my truth  and that is no easy task.

Are there any future projects or roles you're excited about that you'd like to share with your fans?

Yes! I am so excited about this one. This summer, I was given the Helen Gurley Brown Foundation’s BOLD Venture grant to co-produce a web series with The Ensemble Theatre. I wrote this series six years ago, and now it has come to life. It’s called “Cast Me, Dammit!” and it is a story about my journey. It’s actually a story about any actor’s journey. It’s about a quirky actress who’s struggling to find work and has to solve the catch-22 of landing a role. She can’t get a role because she hasn’t had a role to prove she can do it. So she decides to create a reel and send it out to her agent to show that she deserves more roles. Of course, she thinks this will be the answer to all of her problems and she enlists her two roommates to go on this venture with her. I am so excited about this project, because not only is it my story, but it is the story of every creative, especially actors. We have all struggled at some point where we are tired of hearing no! I just want to make this happen myself so I can at least express myself. The project is very special because the lead cast is made up of three fierce black women. We hired an all-black female design crew, and it is co-produced by the oldest black theatre in the Southwest. There is a whole lot of “Black Girl Magic” around this project. The five-episode series will premiere at The Ensemble Theatre on October 9th, and tickets are on sale on their website.

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POTUS: OR, BEHIND EVERY GREAT DUMBASS ARE SEVEN WOMEN TRYING TO KEEP HIM ALIVE is running at STAGES until Sunday, October 8th. Tickets are available at their box office, 713-527-0123 or at their website. 

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