When Shon Middlebrooks strides on stage as the titular role in T2’s production of the Pulitzer Prize finalist “The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity”, written by Kristoffer Diaz and directed by Dexter J. Singleton, it’s hard to separate the man from the character: Middlebrooks embodies Deity’s bombastic swagger so fully, you’re tempted to assume he’s just being himself on stage. But on the contrary—as it turns out, Middlebrooks’ insightful, thoughtful personality is as far from Deity’s brash braggadocio as you can possibly imagine. We talked to Middlebrooks about how he found the core of Chad Deity and what it’s like performing in a show with such rigorous physical demands.

There seems like there are more than just a few sides of Chad Deity—can you talk a little bit about how layered your character is?

I think one of the coolest things about Chad is his performative nature— so what you get at first sight is this uber big, uber confident character, who can be read as very ego driven, and also probably not the sharpest tool in the box. But it’s an act to make people enjoy him, sometimes even to laugh at him— it's very strategically designed to do so. But underneath is a very, very sharp mind, one that is able to negotiate this world of wrestling. He knows he's probably not the most talented wrestler, but it doesn't matter—it’s about the spectacle, and it's about the bottom line, and he really, really gets that. And he's really all about it, because it's a means of survival for him and his family. So that’s the really kind of cool switch with him.

You're obviously an athlete—did you have any experience with wrestling before this show?

I didn't, so this was really, really exciting. It was an introduction to a way of holding my body, a way of using my body, that was different than what I’ve typically done. So just to learn, organization wise, what I'm doing—when you're lifting, powerbombing someone, the level of relaxation that it takes to do these moves. You have to relax and just kind of have focus and trust yourself so much.

Shon Middlebrooks was last seen on the T2 stage in 2020’s “The Royale”, directed by Dexter J. Singleton, another show that uses the backdrop of sports to tell an emotional story.

You said that you have to trust yourself’— there has to be a great deal of trust between you and the other performers as well, I would think.

Yeah, absolutely. We're both leaning on each other. Just like when we talk, in that opening monologue, about what wrestling is and how it works—it’s that dance between both of us, trusting that I’m going to catch you, me trusting that I have solid placement in my body to make sure you don’t get hurt.

Chad is pretty hard on Mace and V.P. throughout the play, primarily based on his business acumen being offended by some of the choices they’re making—but there’s a moment in the play when Mace has experienced a pretty intense spiritual and physical kick when Chad’s attitude towards him shifts to something almost gentle. Can you talk about your motivation in that moment as an actor?

I really appreciate that question. I really, really do. Because for me, it's always about humanity. It's always about a human being—who is that person underneath all of this stuff, this stuff that we can dismiss as just this one note? There is a breathing human being underneath there that is triggered. I’m particularly interested in that in people. I think that’s why I like acting. I don't always understand characters like Chad, so for me to play something like that, to really get to his core, his center—that’s helpful for me. It was just really, really important for me to give him humanity, give him something that shows he’s not a monster—because with every monster, there’s a story of how he got there. That moment that you asked about showed that he cared. It was really interesting, we had a moment in the rehearsal process where it was a decision of who was going to go to Mace to help him—and I said, I need to do it. I advocated for that. It was very important because I defend him—it's in the text. And regardless of the business, Chad understands the relationship. He knows exactly what mace does for him, and he also knows Mace is extremely talented. So there’s a huge amount of respect there, and care. You know, and care.

You were last on the T2 stage in ‘The Royale’, also directed by Dexter J. Singleton. Both are shows that have sports as a backdrop. Is this a genre that’s particularly enjoyable for you to be a part of?

It's great, because I'm a physical person. I like to move. I like to be in my body. To be able to still do the things I love to do, the physicality outside the acting and be able to bring it into the work, it’s such a good combination for me. Drama schools are not the biggest fans of lots of muscles, because of the tension it creates in the body, which is understandable because you do need to stretch and stretch a lot. But to be out in the professional world and see the value, and see it as something that people want, in tandem with the work, feels very liberating, feels very cool, very full circle for me and my journey with this as an actor to be able to have both. I love it. And I love that there are spaces for actors like me in that way.

Shon Middlebrooks talks "Chad Deity"