BABE #32: CASSIDY ROUTH,Graphic Artist @ Full Frontal w/ Samantha Bee
Cassidy is a freaking delight. We met at a party in college and bonded over mutual friends, growing up in the same general area, and probably our love of whiskey. I remember seeing her art displays on campus and hearing about her experimental performance art pieces and thinking - damn, she's doing things, and she's doing them how she wants to. Now, naturally, she's out in NYC doing the damn thing with Samantha Bee. She's also hilarious and unapologetically herself: two things I really look for in a babe. Anyway, thanks for being here, Cassidy. You rock, HAGS, don't ever change.
The Basics:
Hometown: St. Petersburg, FL
Current location: New York, NY
Alma mater: Florida State University
Degree: BFA in Studio Art // Minor in English
Hustle: Graphic Artist @ Full Frontal with Samantha Bee (on TBS Mondays at 10:30!)
The Interests:
Babe you admire and why:
Hillary Clinton. Always. 💖
Go-to coffee order:
Those lil Nespresso pods with honey & milk.
Favorite TV/Movie character:
Eric Andre (The Eric Andre Show / Adult Swim)
What have you been reading lately?
"For God, Country, and Coca-Cola: The Definitive History of the Great American Soft Drink and the Company That Makes It."
Favorite social media account?
@danspenser aka my next-door-desk friend in the office and a very funny guy on Twitter. I love his tweets so much, I made a fan account (@fan_spenser) that mostly just retweets him. He really, really hates it.
The Hustle:
Tell us about your hustle:
I’m a graphic artist at Full Frontal with Samantha Bee which is a VERY GOOD political show. I use Photoshop and AfterEffects mostly - lots of graphics, lots of fun. I’m getting to use my degree as an artist in an environment where everyone is making great comedy both inside the office and out. I’m learning constantly, and so proud to be where I am. The show is so good! Watch it right now! All the clips are on YouTube, and YouTube is free! Your excuses are invalid, unless you need closed captioning. I don’t think we have that yet.
What does your typical workday look like?
The most interesting day to follow would be a show day. I get in at 7am and start with graphics that are emailed to me that morning. At 8, we have a meeting with the Showrunner, Assistant Director and Script Supervisor. We then run through the graphics we have so far and wait for edit calls. There's a lot of racing against the clock to send graphics across the street to the control room with enough time to organize them for a run-through and then rehearsal. We send the first run of graphics over around 11, and then there's a rehearsal and a rewrite - our time to really freak out. Graphics get cut and new, more complicated ones get written and we have a small amount of time to get them done. Everyone laughs a lot, but more of a fear-laugh than fun-laugh. Our lunch gets delivered around 12 but sometimes we don't eat it until 2. It's high stress but it's good stress. During all of this we are formatting new versions of graphics and sending them across the street and communicating with the control room. Once all the graphics are in, you'd think I'd have time to breathe, but then I have to record the show! And make sure only the final graphics are in the folder for the editors! The show generally starts around 6:30, so it's almost a 12 hour straight day, and then I don't leave until the show has been fed to Atlanta in case there are any fixes that need to be made to the show before it airs. The last 2 hours of the day are generally spent in a bean bag chair with a whiskey or a dead eyed stare.
What is your biggest motivator in your work?
Knowing that people look to our comedy show for real news because the real news gave up a while ago. I am so motivated by my coworkers’ drive to make great work in order to effect change and keep people informed. The show we made the day after the election was very hard, but probably one of my favorites because I knew how many people were going to look to Sam for guidance in their fear and anger and sadness. Lizzo performed one of her songs on that show and it was the first time I smiled that day. Give it a try! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYxe_OVAQt0
What is it like being a woman in your industry?
It’s generally difficult for women; in graphic design, in television, and in comedy. But I’m very lucky to be in a workplace run by women, and I don’t want to take that for granted. Before this, I was an intern at Broad City, which is also an environment run almost entirely by women. I consider myself very lucky to have so far skirted the negative issues that women have to face regularly when trying to succeed in this industry, and hope I can keep up the lucky streak in my career - but I can't count on it.
Any funny/embarrassing work moments?
I spend so much time in the office, it would be hard to embarrass myself in front of my coworkers.
What's your dream job?
I'm here!
How do you manage stress and stay balanced?
Denial! (I also like to relax with some good and bad television, and have a gym membership I try to use a few times a week because it’s expensive.)
What do you love most about being a Babe?
Having other women around. I think a lot of us just inherently understand so much about each other and our experiences. To have that, especially now, is invaluable. To the women who have to deal with more hate and more harassment because of their race or sexual orientation or religion: please know that we are here to stand with you, and to show those harassers that we haven’t given up fighting for our rights and your rights.
What do you hope for your future?
I want to teach myself how not to spend all of my free time watching TV in bed with my sweet, sweet Dominos. I’d like to use that free time writing and performing comedy instead.
Career advice for other babes?
It’s okay to feel how you feel! Use it to your advantage and push yourself through the fear or the frustration or whatever it is that could be holding you back from getting what you want. Know your worth, and don’t undersell yourself. Also, take time to do what’s important to you even if it means taking a few hours at the end of the week to illustrate something or play guitar. With such a highly demanding creative position at work, it's important for me to be personally creative off-the-clock. Those small actions can really help me to feel grounded and separate myself from the day-to-day.
Connect with Cassidy!
Medium // Instagram // Twitter
Photos by Brooke Huesby.
This interview has been condensed and edited.
