*Panel took place on 6 April 2018*
Panelists: Katherine Barrell, Dominique Provost-Chalkley, Tamara Duarte, Emily Andras
Moderated by: Bridget Liszewski
Transcript
Moderator: Hello. Alright Earpers, are we ready?
[Audience cheers]
Moderator: Let’s bring out the cast of Wynonna Earp.
[Audience cheers]
Moderator: They’re all too nice and deciding who comes out first.
[Audience applauds and cheers]
Moderator: Alright, we have, she’s fed up with your Patriarchal Bullshit Land, Kat Barrell.
[Applause]
Moderator: The deca-threat that who wowed us many times in Season two, Dominique Provost-Chalkley.
[Applause]
Moderator: We thought she was a fairy-godmother, but she turned out to be a revenant, Tamara Duarte.
[Applause]
Moderator: And the person who has us all screaming “Fandras”, showrunner, Emily Andras.
[Applause and cheers and shouts from the Audience]
Moderator: Still think nobody likes you guys?
[Laughter]
Emily: Hello
Moderator: ok, so, since we are at ClexaCon, I guess my first question is, Season Two was very gay.
[Audience cheers]
Moderator: Emily says you can always get gayer, so how is Season Three shaping up?
[Laughter]
Emily: What is the straightest show you can think of? I feel like Season Three makes Season Two look like that straight show.
[Audience cheers]
Emily: Fairly gay. Would you say it’s pretty gay?
Dom: Yeah it’s pretty gay. Definitely pretty gay.
[Laughter]
Audience member: On a scale…?
[Laughter]
Moderator: So I think we’re all fans of Wayhaught and you guys….
[Audience cheers]
Moderator: …and Wayhaught ended things in season two actually on a pretty good note um so will that sort of, I mean they went though stuff but now they’re doing good. Does that carry on into Season Three?
Dom: yeah absolutely, um I think [to Emily] am I allowed to speak about this? I’m so scared that I’m going to get fired after this panel, literally. Um yeah we get to see Wayhaught in a really lovely place this season. [To Kat] Don’t we love?
[Audience applauds and cheers]
Dom: Certainly more domestic and settled place which I hope you guys enjoy, you know, that kind of thing yeah.
Kat: Yeah it’s really nice to see them kind of um just a little bit more comfortable with each other and there’s a little bit more of a family vibe and just hanging out in the Earp Homestead and it’s really quiet lovely.
Audience: Awww.
Emily: Nothing bad happens.
[Laughter]
Emily: It’s just them sitting on a couch, you guys are gonna love it.
[Laughter]
Kat: Super boring
Moderator: Yeah one of the big Wayhaught moments was the Alternate Universe episode where you guys kind of established that no matter where or when, Wayhaught is meant to be. So maybe this is a question for Emily too, why is it so important for you to establish that no matter what, it’s always going to be Wayhaught?
Emily: Because I value my family’s safety.
[Laughter and applause]
Emily: You got me, you got me. No, I truly think that the couple, what are they called? Way-haught um because I really believe that a huge theme of Wynonna Earp is destiny and fate like so much has happened to Wynonna and Waverly and the rest of the gang that feels like the universe is not giving them a choice, but maybe being soul-mates, if they are destined to be together is something that’s actually kind of beautiful and they can hold onto when all the other stuff happens. Thank you.
Moderator: Now, Tamara last year at Clexa Con, we got like a preview and were told that you were going to be on the show and now a year later you’re back on the panel so what is it like coming back a year later.
Tamara: It’s bigger and better. It’s um it’s quiet incredible to see like just how many people there are and it just keeps on getting like, this momentum is huge and everyone traveling from different parts of the world, so like being here is like super surreal. It’s an amazing experience like seeing all the fans is amazing, like actually like interacting with everyone ’cause no one knew who I was last year. so.
[Laughter]
Tamara: Now they know who I am.
Moderator: That was her [Emily’s] fault. And speaking of the Cons, like over the year you guys have gone to like a ton of them and got to interact with the fans and what is like so great about you guys getting to come to these and meet fans and see fans that you recognize you know from different Cons all the time and keep building that relationship what’s that…
Dom: I feel like I know everyone here, every time I see someone I’m like “oh hi! oh hi. How’s it going?” Um you know, but to the point where we start seeing faces again and you feel like we’re building that relationship to people which is kind of really lovely. It feels like, I mean this fandom is so incredible because it feels very much like a family and it’s so inclusive and I keep saying it, but I actually think Clexa Con is like my favorite convention actually and umm
[Audience cheers]
Dom: 06:05 [unintelligible] warm and inclusive vibe so um yeah I think it’s amazing and the you know, as you go on you see all these wonderful faces again, and thanks for coming back.
Moderator: Um so one of the things I think we were talking the fans that really awesome is that your show has inspired the fans to do so many good things um whether it’s like “Earping Your Fandom” or like donating for Spirit Day or whatever, so what do you guys think it is about this show that’s instilled this in your fans to want to do all this good?
Emily: I mean, I just think our fans are so good looking and smart that it was inevitable. I don’t know, it’s funny because the show is very much about a made family like you can make your family no matter what you are and even if the people who are supposed to accept you and love you don’t, you can find your people and I think you can rule with kindness even in the face of incredible odds so maybe that’s what the fandom has clutched onto, but also I think just the people involved-I often get emotional talking about my cast but they are such genuine, warm, loving people who take so much pleasure in connecting…
[Audience applauds and cheers]
Emily: Yes, really. 07:24 they really believe in the show and they are so moved that people are watching the show and get the show and I’m like “I can’t believe you guys get the show”, but me too, I just feel like um there’s a sense that we can all just lift each other up and we can do great things together with kindness and that’s a strength not a weakness, which the world needs now more than ever. So there you go.
[Audience applauds and cheers]
Dom: [while audience is cheering] Very well said.
Emily: You can still shoot a demon if it gets in your way, like that’s ok.
Moderator: So Kat, have you steered clear of some Brittney Spears concerts while you’re here? Since Nicole seemed to have so many problems in Vegas?
Kat: Uh, no, but I’d really like to go to a P!nk concert eventually, so…
[Audience cheers]
Kat: um yes, I have steered clear, never been much, I was never into Brittney really.
Dom: What?!
Emily: WHAAAAT?!?!
[Audience “ohhhs” and laughs]
Dom: What?! I know [unintelligible] 08:23
Kat: Ah, I really shouldn’t have said that, uh sorry. Kind of misspoke.
Dom: [impersonating Brittney Spears] “baby, baby”
Kat: Sorry, Dom.
Dom: [At the same time as Emily] She [unintelligible] really great songs.
Emily: [unintelligible] Bieber’s pretty great
Moderator: Um, well I guess what was nice about Nicole though for real is that we got to see her outside of just her relationship with Waverly in season two and she really um, showed you know, it’s ok to be ambitious, it’s ok to go after things in your career. So why do you think that storyline was so important for Nicole and how we see her still fighting for that career wise in Season Three.
Kat: Um I think, two parts to that, I think it’s important for us especially at this time with what’s going on in the media to see women who are ambitious and not apologizing for it, I think that…
[Audience applauds and cheers]
Kat: it’s pretty great and I love seeing, you know and that balance too you know, there’s always that balance of work and family and having a social life and just trying to keep it all together. So I just really think it’s wonderful to have a character that’s so career ambitious and we definitely get to see so much more of Nicole’s storyline in this season which I am really excited about.
[Audience applauds and cheers]
Kat: Really awesome we definitely get to see a lot more of her back-story and her career and it’s just been a really, I’ve love shooting this season so much ’cause it feels like Nicole’s really in the Scooby Gang this year so a lot of fun times coming up for you guys.
Moderator: And some of the best scenes in the first two seasons were with Nicole and Wynonna…
Dom: [makes shocked/offended sound]
[Audience: “Ahhhh”s and laughter]
Moderator: …so do we get any more of those this year?
Dom: I’m joking, I’m joking.
Tam: More drunk, more drunk.
Kat: [to Emily] Will we?
Emily: Yeah! I love Wynonna and Nicole and I love that tension that they like love each other but also, obviously, anyone who’s dating Wynonna’s little sister isn’t gonna be quiet good enough for her, but also Nicole’s a cop and Wynonna’s a criminal right? So, I sure hope there’s not another episode where they get into trouble and they have to rely on one another to get through it, that would just be the worst.
[Laughter]
Emily: But there might be, there might be some. They’re very good together too, I feel like, Mel and Kat have incredible comic timing, but they don’t have the same kind of comic timing so it really like, turns into something kind of incredible.
Moderator: and Tamara, Rosita came in and I think a lot of us were pretty resistant to her
[Laughter]
Tamara: Don’t throw anything at me.
Moderator: but you got, you and the writers made us love her and then she betrayed us, like so hard. I’m still not over it.
Tamara: I’m not over it.
Moderator: but um, did you have any idea that that’s where things were headed for her and do you, is there like any way she can come back from what she did to Wynonna?
Tamara: I had no idea, I was reading the script and I was like “Ah, oh my god. ah! oh my god”, yeah there was a lot of that happening and what I love about Emily is that, we don’t know, we don’t know, we have absolu…I didn’t know I was a revenant, I didn’t, there’s like, you just find things out as you and and it’s so great because I think that’s where the magic happens because you’re not like looking ahead and you’re not preempting and planning ahead with your acting or whatever and I think that’s where that magic comes in, but um, what was your other question?
Moderator: like can she ever come back from what she’s done?
Tamara: oh can she come back? I don’t know, [to Emily] can she?
Emily: yes, of course. Look what Doc Holliday did to her [motioning Tamara’s baby bump].
[Audience applauds and cheers]
Dom: 12:10 [unintelligible]
Tamara: I don’t think they had condoms back then.
Emily: bull shit, he’s like “oh I can’t use the internet and I don’t know what a condom is”. like ok, just figure it out, alright. Tamara is seven months, doesn’t she look incredible?
[Audience cheers]
Tamara: almost, one week more.
Emily: oh ok. but I definitely think her story is not done, Rosita I mean, like Wynonna’s gunna hunt her down, but don’t you feel like Rosita also did what she could do survive?
Audience: Yesss.
Tamara: Would you that?
Emily: God no, god no.
Tamara: no
Dom: We were all, we were all kind of mean to you at the end, as well,like you know, like it was….
Emily: She slammed your head though, remember.
Dom: Yeah, that was not very nice.
[Audience Laughs]
Moderator: yeah, will we learn like more about her past because I mean, we all thought she was good but that was basically because she was telling, like what she told us. So maybe she wasn’t so good after all. I’m still hurt, Tamara
Emily: revenant [unintelligible] 13:15
Tamara: yeah, there’s a lot of reva…yeah,
Moderator: I know I’m not gonna [unintelligible]
Tamara: which I love that they’re, the revenants actually have such an amazing background and they’re human, well they have a human quality to them, like Bobo and his back-story and I think that um it really creates like a connection and it, you just know how to do that so well like whether it’s a human or not you can still universally connect to it.
Emily: well they’re all part of the same curse right? They’re all kind of forced to do this dance over and over again.
Kat: yeah, but that is something I really love about what you guys do in the writing room is that you, I feel so much empathy towards the bad guys.
Dom: and yeah, it’s like, it’s not always so black and white like we’ve all done stuff that we’re not proud of we’ve all, you know, made mistakes like this ….
Emily: we’ve all put a gunslinger down a well.
[Audience Laughs]
Emily: when they piss us off, we’re like “listen”. No, thank you so much, thank you.
Tamara: and you’re right about being black and white, it’s not black and white…
Dom: there’s so much gray
Tamara: there’s so much gray, and even with sexuality, like, even for Rosita there’s so much gray and I think that’s what I love about her is and like the show in general it’s so, it’s great.
[Applause]
Dom: ‘F’ boxes.
Tamara: F bo…F? boxes?
Dom: yeah, like [hand motion]
Moderator: did you have any idea about Rosita’s queerness when you got the part?
Tamara: Sorry?
Moderator: Did you have any idea about that?
Tamara: Yeah? Yeah, I did, I knew I knew she was bisexual, I knew that she went both ways and, but yeah, I, and I ….
Emily: Revenant, human.
Tamara: Yeah, revenant, human all of it, she’s just like in the mix…
Emily: all of it… 14:58
Dom: So much [unintelligible]
Tamara: all of it. She’s just like “give it to me”.
Emily: [at the same time as Tamara] [unintelligible]
Tamara: that’s how I got into this mess.
[Applause]
[Laughter]
Moderator: cool. One of the things that I did want to discuss with Waverly and Rosita was they had the storyline where they kissed…
[Audience jeers]
Emily: Y’all’s favorite. Everyone’s favorite storyline
Dom: Boooo
Moderator: no, but like what do you guys do as actors and then even when Kat, when you found out that Nicole had a wife, what do you guys
[Audience jeers]
Dom: [Dom and Kat speak at same time] Let’s not forget that ok? [80%]
15:35
Kat: [75%] Let’s not forget about that, I mean.
Moderator: what do you guys do when you get a storyline like that that you know the fans are not going to be happy with?
Emily: Whoa!
[Audience whoaaaaaaa]
Emily: ok, but what do you do, for real?
Kat: I think you just trust Emily.
[Audience cheers]
Kat: No, honestly, I’m not even gonna lie. No, no no no, but I think you have to, you have to trust, we have to trust that Emily, I mean we’re only seeing, we’re seeing the script, I’ve said this before, but we’re experiencing them in a similar way to what you guys do as you watch the show. We’re only getting scripts a couple of weeks in advance, sometimes a week before we shoot them [cheering from another room is heard] It’s not as much fun as in here!
Emily: Sometimes it’s days
Kat: yeah, and I think you just you have to know that there is somebody, a whole team of really great people looking out for the bigger picture, you just have to know that it’s there for a reason. yeah.
[Applause]
Moderator: [to Emily] So Really Great Person, Really Great Person, um you being so close to the fans as you are how do you like tell the story that you want to tell and don’t worry about that?
[Audience Laughs]
Emily: I am close to the fans, but I like torturing the fans. I love you, you’re like my children, but like my real children, you don’t always know what you want. You think that you know what you want, but what you want is to feel a lot of things, right? And you want to drink, an excuse to drink some whiskey and yell at me about it. I certainly am aware of the pressure and responsibilities on the biggest …this is why I resist Fandras, ’cause I’m like we’re always 10 minutes from a big pyre of Fandras shirts just on fire and like just it’s a whole thing, it’s always seven seconds away. So, I would be lying if I said it wasn’t hard, but truly you just have to do what’s best for the show and tell a compelling story, you know what I mean? So I’m trying, that’s what I’m trying to do.
Audience Member: You’re doing it!
[Applause]
Moderator: Um, so one think I think that’s really cool is Syfy as a network seems to really get behind, you know, what you guys what to do as far as telling queer stories…
Emily: Yeah they do!
Moderator: so whether it’s like that or backing Mel’s pregnancy, storylines like that, is that unusual to have a network that’s that supportive and do you think that that’s sort of how things are changing in the future?
Emily: Um, I think it’s incredibly unusual and I think both Syfy and Space should be thanked for how incredibly supportive they are of what we do and we should thank them now because in a few weeks we’re just gonna start yelling at them for season four.
[Audience cheers]
Emily: We’re gonna sneak in with like some cake and then the cake can open and we’re all gonna be yelling. They are incredibly supportive. I don’t know yet, I feel like it’s unusual to be that supportive, I’ve certainly had resistance to queer story lines my whole life and on Wynonna I don’t feel any of that resistance which is so freeing. I feel like because of there’s more tv shows, though not every tv show has to service everybody so maybe there’s more openness to letting the creator tell one type of story that appeals to one audience versus something that has to appeal to absolutely everybody, like in the 80s or whatever. But they have been amazing, Syfy and Space are both incredible and they’re just like “yes, go for it” I can’t think of anything that we have attempted that they have said “no” to, except for expensive stuff, which is fine. Which is fine. But, no, they’ve been incredible so.
Moderator: And um, Kat and Dom you…
Dom: Oh, no I’m just gonna yap more about something, but I just think that that’s like, it’s really hard to hear that that’s like unusual. Do you know what I mean? It’s like it’s so like it’s 2018 like it’s, but it’s amazing that they are and we should celebrate that, but it’s also, you know…?
Emily: but that’s why this event is so important because this showcases, all you people either wandered in off The Strip or you are here to be like “we support these types of stories, please make these types of stories” and you all should go out and make these types of stories. [unintelligible] 20:23
[Applause]
Emily: That is why literally why Clexa Con is so important and why we’re here as well to say “look at these incredible people who support what we do, can we please just keep telling stories for them?” so thank you so much.
[Applause]
Moderator: Along those lines, Kat and Dom, you guys have both worked on projects now, Carmilla, Working Moms, that have really good queer rep as well. So did you guys talk at all with the actresses on those shows like what their experiences have been like, if they’ve been like similar to the ones you guys have had with this fandom or were they different at all?
Dom: I remember when I went on to Carmilla and …
[Audience applauds and cheers]
Dom: It was fun. It was a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot, a lot of fun, for many different reasons. It was like really fun to play a baddie and…
Emily: plus you got to do a British accent for the first time
Dom: [unintelligible] but I remember we were all sat like on the floor, like all of the actors in the kind of common area and we just had this like amazing conversation about representation and like diversity and inclusivity and it was so exciting, but I just remember looking around and thinking like, the fact that we’re talking about this, you know, shows that like as actors, we want it too, you know what I mean? It was like so exciting and it was amazing feeling doing that, it was like virtually all female cast, which is like really rare and so cool to be a part of so I think that all…
[Someone’s cell phone sounds]
Dom: Someone’s phone is going off.
[Audience laughs]
Dom: Is it mine?
Emily: you gotta let the cat out. You gotta let the cat out.
Dom: but yeah, it’s such an exciting feeling to be a part of stuff like that, and I feel like I’m so lucky that I got Wynonna because I think that’s what led me to Carmilla to do that as well and to be part of both is just such a lovely gift, you know? It’s great.
[Applause]
Moderator: Um so one of the things I think is cool about Wynonna is the characters are queer and there’s queer storylines, but you guys never actually talk about it in the show or make it like a big thing. So have you guys noticed that since you’ve been doing more of these cons or just having more conversations about that, has it shifted to where you know the conversations are more about, they’re not really about the characters being queer, but they’re just like, what am I trying to say here?
Emily: can we give it up for Bridget? This is amazing.
[Applause]
Moderator: yeah, I feel like it’s like you don’t have to talk about how they’re queer, like you can just have conversations about what the characters are doing and I don’t, maybe that’s just me stating a fact.
Emily: it’s true
Dom: here, here.
Moderator: but I think, it’s just how you guys treat it in the show where it’s not a thing.
Emily: I don’t want it to NOT not be a thing though either, to be clear, you know what I mean? Like, I think it does define very much who Nicole and Waverly are, but, I don’t know if anyone here is gay but uh,
[Audience laughter]
Emily: I don’t know if you’re JUST a gay person, you probably have jobs and families, and pets and partners and problems and taxes so I just think like it, you know, I really feel like that’s what it used to be like where when you introduced a gay character they just had to be gay and they were like were like “oh wanna get a sandwich” and they’re like “I’m gay”.
[Audience laughter]
Emily: We get it, we know. Not to take away from it, but you really want them to be different gay people or different bisexual people or what have you, so, but on the other hand we want to be careful not to lose the labels that are important to people and that I feel that the characters would use for themselves, like I definitely think that Nicole is a lesbian and would be like “I’m a lesbian”, you know what I mean? I think, I hope,[to Kat] I don’t know if you agree with that.
Kat: I agree 100%.
[Audience laughter]
Emily: [to Kat] Is this a shock to you, what I’m saying?
Kat: What?! No.Absolutely I feel 100%, but it’s always felt like that from the beginning. It was never, I remember sitting, not here, but this weekend last year and somebody asked something about “were you surprised when you didn’t get killed at the end of the season?” or something along those lines and I was like…”no
Emily: “no I’m awesome”
Kat: “no because I didn’t understand why that would have happened at all.” So, even in a year, like look at how crazy far we’ve all come, but no it was never anything but that for me. Nicole was always a lesbian. Yeah.
[Applause]
[Tamara’s mic doesn’t work]
Emily: Here, take mine.
Tam: [unintelligible] 25:21 [laughs] but um, when your character is introduced and you walk into Shorty’s, you’re like all, like you’re so set on what you want.
[Laughter]
Tam: You were so set on what you wanted and it was like that’s you know…
Dom: What did she want? A coffee?
[Laughter]
Tam: [unintelligible] 100% you’re not like, you don’t, that’s who Nicole is. So yeah.
Kat: I can, all I see on this side of the room is a [Dom’s] hat.
[Laughter]
Tam: I haven’t been able to see Bridget this whole time.
Emily: They cut off my mic, they cut off my mic. We gotta share it.
Kat: This gentleman is offering you batteries.
Emily: yeah, exactly
[Laughter]
Emily: hello. Thank you. Hello. Hello.
Tam: Hello.
Emily: Ok!
Tam: switch it out.
Moderator: So can we talk about season three at all or will I just get…
Emily: [on a fully functional microphone] My mic’s not working. [pretends microphone isn’t working, while pretending to talk] There you go.
[Laughter]
[Applause]
Emily: Goodnight!
Moderator: Fine, fine. Ok. Sorry.
Emily: Third Season.
Moderator: Mama Earp, back and Megan Follows.
[Audience applauds and cheers]
Emily: Have you watched Anne of Green Gables?
Moderator: I have seen the Anne of Green Gables light.
Emily: Yeah, yeah, good.
Moderator: What did you guys think when you heard that Megan Follows was cast as Mama Earp?
Kat: Well a…[to Dom] I told this this morning right? Oh oh, you weren’t there, oh it was in the- we had a little meet and greet this morning and um so the first…when I…my first time that…So…
[Laughter]
Kat: So when you’re like going to theater school in Canada, Megan Follows is a really big deal and talked about quite a bit and she does also a lot of theater so she’s kind of revered in the theater community and so the first I ever worked with Megan, I’ve never told her this because I’m way too embarrassed, but um I was on Reign and I played this really this little servant, a very small servant part with a horrible British accent, horrible. Cringe-worthy. But um it was with Megan and it was like 1am in the morning by the time I finally got to set because they were so behind and I had to sit in my trailer for like five hours and had this corset on that I was like overly ambitious I was like “yeah, do it tighter, tighter, it’s good, yeah.” big mistake. If you ever wear a corset breathe like in and expand your ribcage when they do it up, that’s a good tip.
Emily: Yeah, if you wear a corset.
Kat: If you, you never know, for whatever reason. And, um, I remember getting to set and they had just slightly, I was like the “deliverer of news” so they had, you know, when you have a “deliverer of news” character
Tam: “They went that way”
Kat: you know? and you have to get specific facts right because you know it’s important for the story and they just slightly tweaked every single line that I had. So I was already panicking and then Megan’s like “again, let’s go, let’s go, again. again.” and I was like trying to run the lines with her [whimpering] and I was freaking out and I couldn’t breathe and it was the most terrifying experience I have ever had [end whimpering], including my first set experience where I had to be naked. It was scarier than that. yeah. My first experience, but she’s so lovely, it was so fun.
[Laughter]
Emily: she’s great
Kat: No, she’s so lovely. Yeah.
Emily: It’s funny though how she’s
Audience: awwwww [in reaction to Dom hugging Kat]
Emily: She’s so revered and she is so amazing and it was just so hilarious to have her on the show and you’re like “hey, maybe like a demon is chasing you in this scene”. Like this is such a crazy show that, but she really got into the spirit of it, I think ’cause we…
Kat: I think she loved it. I think she loved the craziness of it.
Emily: I hope so. She’s so good on it, you guys…or is she?
[Laughter]
Emily: but her acting is very good.
[Laughter]
Moderator: Can we get any hints as to like how her arrival effects like Waverly specifically?
Emily: It’s a lot right?
Dom: It’s a big deal for Waverly, it’s a huge deal. Waverly was mama’s favorite I think, you know? I think that’s a thing right? Um
Emily: Mel’s not here so…
Dom: Exactly. Um like you know, we’ve honest about how like I had not necessarily the best relationship with my dad and maybe that’s because he wasn’t my dad or whatever. Um, but they had like a special bond so I think it’s like a really really big deal for Waverly and it stirs the pot and um brings out a lot of emotions. What else can I say? I don’t know.
Emily: Kind of it feels like maybe at the end season two Wynonna knows where mom is.
Dom: Exactly.
Emily: but I don’t know if Waverly knows where she is so.
Dom: Yeah
Emily: I mean, I know and you know.
Dom: and I know, but “we” don’t. [weird Dom uncomfortable sound effect]
[Laughter]
Emily: [unintelligible] 30:36
Moderator: So like more Earp sisters angst? More Earp sisters issues?
Dom: Mayyyyyybe. [weird Dom uncomfortable sound effect, but more high pitched this time]
[Laughter]
Kat: It wouldn’t be the Earp sisters if there wasn’t some angst.
Dom: yeah.
Kat: A little angst is good.
Tam: I have three sisters and I hate them all.
Emily: [unintelligible] 31:03
[Laughter]
Tam: I’m just kidding. yeah
Moderator: Will we like see Waverly keep exploring like what she truly is since she learned like she wasn’t an Earp, she wasn’t a revenant. Will we keep…sorry I feel like you’re getting all the hard questions Dom that you can say anything about.
Dom: I’m getting all the hard questions. Yes.
[Laughter]
Emily: How dare you.
Dom: Great answer. Yeah, well yeah can we say that yes, that storyline continues into season three and I’m really glad it did because I really wanted to know what the answers were.
Emily: Were you surprised?
Dom: Uhh, yes.
Emily: Ok
Dom: In the best possible way. So
Moderator: Um did you guys want to do some audience questions maybe?
Kat: Yeah.
Moderator: I think we’re going to…
Emily: We got a mic that doesn’t work up here.
Moderator: can we get a mic over here.
Questioner 1: Hey guys. Well first of all I just want to say thank you to all of you for having such a huge effect on this entire community. So thank you so much.
[Applause]
Questioner 1: and secondly I, in light of my own personal experiences, I started a mental health non-profit that’s aiming on stopping the stigma surrounding it. So I wanted to ask you guys, you are, being who you are you at very high pedestal and I understand that you’re very interactive with fans on social media so how do you balance fans reaching out to you to tell you about their struggles, how do you balance wanting to help them and also knowing that you’re not a professional and that you can’t reach everyone?
Dom: good question.
Kat: great question.
Dom: Amazing question.
[Applause]
Emily: Thank you for starting an initiative. Mental health is so important and we need to remove all the stigmas.
Questioner 1: Thank you.
[Applause]
Tamara: I think you just have to trust that what you do as an artist is enough, because that’s what I know how to do best. So it’s like when someone does reach out, you’re right, I’m not a professional, I wouldn’t know like consoling someone, it’s a fine balance so it’s just knowing that what I do, what I’m good at is enough and hopefully it affects people in … I don’t know, it’s
Kat: That’s a great answer.
Dom: Yeah, I do find the balance a little tricky. At the beginning like my heart just wants to, you know, comfort and give and that’s like my natural state is just to kind of help people and um. But you’re right, I’m not a professional and all I have is my own life experience to draw from and if that, if something in my own life that I feel confident talking about might help somebody then I think that that’s wonderful, but I make it very clear that I’m only one person and I have my own stuff and hopefully at some point that can help, but it is tricky and thank you for bringing it up ’cause it’s an important one and I always find that when we get letters and people contacting us, I want everybody to know how much like it means to, it means so incredibly much to read these stories and I’m so affected by them but it doesn’t, and just because maybe, you don’t get a response doesn’t mean it hasn’t touched my heart in a very big way, if that makes sense. So…[to Kat] what do you want to add to that?
Kat: I mean I don’t, I don’t think I – you guys said it beautifully. It’s difficult, it’s very difficult to turn-because we’re all so, being actors, you have to be a very naturally emotional person. So you need be s…the type of person who can easily access your emotions. So for us as people in general [unintelligible] 34:52 emotions tend to sit pretty close to the surface, but it’s very hard to live in high emotion all the time. Um so it just becomes, I think Tamara really nice and I’m really gonna take what you said and think about because I think that’s
Tamara: Use it.
Kat: Use it, because I think you know, knowing that what, the work that you’re doing is is helping in a way um…
Tamara: It’s all you can do.
Kat: It’s all…I think it’s all you can do. But it is difficult, it’s difficult to turn it off, like to turn it off that you’re not shutting it down, but you’re not getting so sucked into that you yourself can’t get back out because sometimes I get so sad that I have to pull myself out.
Questioner 1: Thank you so much. And I think, I don’t know if I speak for everyone, but your mental health is your number one priority and we support you for that.
[Applause]
Dom: Hi
Kat: Hi
Questioner 2: My question is for Emily.
Emily: Hanna, how are you? All the way from England.
Dom: Woohoo
Questioner 2 [Hanna]: This is a bit of a random question. In season two, I thought the storyline with Black Badge was like ended like really quickly and like the blood contract was just
Emily: Oh my god I’m getting notes, I’m getting script notes.
Questioner 2 [Hanna]: and like the blood contract being null and void was that just …
Emily: what makes you think it’s null and void?
Questioner 2[Hanna]: [unintelligible] in season three?
Emily: uhh, Black Badge I think are wiley and tricky and always have their eyes on the prize and I would say they do come back in a very unexpected way a way that’s very personal.
Audience: ohhhhh
Tam: ohhhh
Emily: Thank you, Hanna.
Questioner 3: Hi. I am a major Buffy fan and Emily you said that you took some lessons from that. You already mentioned Scooby Gang and like the family that you create, I’m just wondering what’s the biggest…
Emily: Steal from the best. Steal from the best.
[Audience cheers]
Questioner 3: Well done, which is why I love the show so much [unintelligible] 36:55 , “it’s like the next Buffy, watch Wynonna” so. But what is the biggest lesson you’ve learned and if the rest have seen Buffy have you learned any lessons from Buffy yourself? The show, not necessarily the character, by the way.
Emily: from Buffy?
Questioner 3: Yes.
Emily: [singing, kind of] I can’t do a musical episode, it was so good.
[Laughter]
Emily: I just think Buffy for me was such an incredible heroine because I love the idea, she really wrapped up to me like, particularly the way we judge women and how we think they’re going to be because their name is “Buffy” and they’re a cheerleader and they look like Sarah Michelle-Gellar and like had so much inner strength and that’s there’s power in the way people perceive you versus what you really are, if that makes sense. Like she was such unlikely hero, um, the one thing that’s interesting about Buffy I think that is challenging versus Wynonna is so much Buffy’s story worked because she was in High School so she was younger and she kind of like had to go to school every day with the demons and what have you. Where as Wynonna’s a slightly more grown-up show, just given the cast we have and what not. But god Buffy still is so good. It’s just so good, and also like nobody cared if you could see a zipper up the back of the lizard guy’s costume, um because you cared so much about the characters so more than anything I’m like, if you love the characters, hopefully you guys will forgive me when like the prosthetic falls off someone’s face.
[Laughter]
Emily: Thank you.
Questioner 3: Thank you.
Moderator: But have you met Dom, she can sing really good!
Emily: I know. They all can. So can Kat. So can Kat.
Kat: Long time ago.
Emily: oh no.
Tam: I heard you. You can sing.
Emily: Can you sing?
Tamara: umm
Emily: Sing right now.
Tamara:: my sisters, I have two sisters who can so I’ve always felt like I can’t.
Emily: This is the chance to show it off.
[Laughter]
Questioner 4: I gotta question. Um there was big emphasis on twitter if Wayhaught was going to go on a date and after watching the Lost Girl panel, is it brunch?
Emily: Whoa.
[Audience cheers]
Kat: What happened?
[Can’t hear panel talking amongst themselves]
[Laughter]
Emily: I feel like, I feel like Wayhaught has been at the “brunch” stage of their life and needs to like move, just stop brunching for five minutes um…
Questioner 4: keep on brunching, we will be happy.
[Laughter]
Emily: ok. Fine.
[Laughter]
Moderator: but like speaking of Wayhaught brunch, that’s like uh
[Laughter]
Moderator: something that is a problem with queer charac…like queer couples is…
[Laughter]
[Can’t hear Dom and Kat talking to each other]
Moderator: huh?
Emily: No, this end is just like “what the hell is happening?”
Kat: Dom and I don’t know what is going on!
Dom: Is “brunch”…Is “brunch” a term for sex?
[Laughter]
Kat: 40:00 Well alright Clexa Con (80%)
Moderator: yeah, that’s my question is, like on a lot of shows with queer couples there’s a trope that like once they do have the love-making or whatever, it’s not well lit, but you guys…
[Laughter]
Moderator: Wayhaught
Emily: ? Hot lights.
Kat: What do you mean “is not well lit?”
Emily: You’re going to see this whether you want to or not.
Moderator: there’s like this thing when queer characters get together and have a love scene that it’s not well lit or you don’t see it, don’t see much of it and the Wayhaught scene we saw a lot.
[Laughter]
Moderator: So like was that like did you, were you aware of that trope Emily and like was that…
Emily: I…I…I think I am, but I’m aware that also that like to be completely be honest like 10pm cable is just going to be different that 8pm CW or network…
Audience: ohhhhhhhh!!!!
[Applause]
Emily: [To ASL interpretor] Don’t sign that, don’t sign that. No, I’m just saying, it is. Right. [unintelligible] 41:19 where you can do stuff anyway, so. Yes, I think there’s still I think network television is still catching up across the board, all about everything right? So we’re very lucky that we’re on 10pm cable and Syfy honestly.
Tam: ‘Cause you can get naked.
Emily: Cause you can get naked.
Moderator: You can have well lit brunch.
[Laughter]
Emily: Not with me. (60%)
[Laughter]
Questioner 5: Hi there.
Emily: Hi.
Questioner 5: I love the brunch [unintelligible] 41:55
Emily: I’m sorry, it really…
Questioner 5: Firstly, like just thank you so much for making Wynonna it’s like just amazing, so much love for y’all. Um my question is about there’s a lot like, Native American cultures represented in Western genre so I was just wondering if you were gonna, thinking of bringing any First Nations representation to season three or in the future, if that’s important to you?
Emily: Great question. Um there’s obviously a little, I would say, First Nations representation in Westerns has been pretty mixed in the past, but obviously there’s like a huge First Nations history in Alberta, I grew up in Alberta, it’s incredible. We actually have had had some First Nations actors on the show, many of them and we audition people all the time. There’s an incredible First Nations community of actors in Calgary, um like so many things, I would want to be really careful and really talk to people in the community to make sure I was being respectful if we were doing some First Nations storyline or demons, but yeah there’s like and you know the other thing about First Nations history that I’ve kind of figured out is it’s obviously very geographical like, the Windigo might not be part of where we say Purgatory is located. So I just want to be careful about that stuff, but we had some good First Nations actors this year as well on the show,so.
Questioner 5: Thanks
[Applause]
Emily: Thank you.
Questioner 6: Hello, I am a women’s self-defense instructor.
[Audience cheers]
Emily: You wanna fight us all, right now, right here.
[Laughter]
Questioner 6: So every class that we put on we have survivors that’s pretty unavoidable when you live in a society where between 1 in 3 and 1 in 6 women are sexually assaulted throughout their lifetime so you look at the number of women in this room and you look at the women on this panel. I thought first season it was really significant to see Wynonna and some the PTSD like symptoms that had ’cause I know there are so many women every day who struggle with that. And even Tucker in this last season for me was the most frightening thing because he is so real and normalized and common so I was wondering if maybe you could maybe talk on those subjects a little bit and why it was important to include them in the story.
Emily: Amazing question, thank you. Um I also thought Tucker was terrifying I thought he really represented a certain genre of entitlement that we see a lot in society that is kind of excused as boys being boys. I really appreciate you picking up on Wynonna’s PTSD, but the other flip-side for me just personally is like I don’t ever want to do a rape storyline, I’m just not that interested, I’m not.
[Applause]
Emily: Just for me personally I don’t think I need that to motivate my heroines so you’ll never see it from me.
[Applause]
Dom: I just think that Tucker was like the worst on the show you know, no matter all of the other demons and things are terrifying, but like you said it was just so real and I think a lot of people reacted to that definitely. Thank you.
Questioner 7: I wanted to know more about Rosita’s character since where it ended it was like she got shot, the Peacemaker glowed blue, I wanted to know if she’s gonna come back and she’s going to be with child.
Emily: With who?
Questioner 7: With child.
Emily: With child?!
Questioner 7: Is that gonna be…
Dom: [unintelligible]
Emily: Damn.
Dom: I thought you said “with Tucker” and I was like “whoa!”.
[Laughter]
Emily: He dead, he dead. [kind of singing] Does anybody like Dani Fucking Kind?
[Audience Cheers]
Emily: Well too bad she may or may not be on the show next year. Watch Working Moms it’s very good. Um, you’ll have to wait and see.
Moderator: I swear I didn’t plant that question.
Emily: Yeah, ok. I can’t tell you.
Moderator: Do you guys have any news about season two like coming on Netflix or anything like that?
Emily: Ummm. I sort of do, but I don’t know if I should tell. But you guys won’t tell anyone right?
Audience: no
Emily: I think it will be soon, like really soon, like I swear to god soon, like in the spring.
[Audience Cheers]
Emily: I actually, I don’t have a specific date, but I will try to find out. Hopefully soon and hopefully you watch it and tell everyone to watch it. You, ok thank you. Honestly, no I [unintelligible] 46:58 .
Questioner 8: Hi guys. I’m GisElla from Eh Con. My question is, how do you guys feel about that fact that you have such an incredible fandom that it’s making all of these different conventions specifically for this show?
Dom: Amazing.
Questioner 8 [GisElla]: [unintelligible] question, I’m not gonna lie.
Emily: Eh Con Canada.
Questioner 8 [GisElla]: But…see you there…but yeah what are you feelings about it. Like I know how we feel kind of putting it together and watching the outcome 47:27 [unintelligible] but I’d love to hear your thoughts.
Dom: I still can’t get over it to be completely honest with you, like they’re popping up all over the place. And uh, yeah it’s crazy isn’t it?
Kat: Yes it is crazy to think that, I mean we were just here a year ago, it’s so much has happened in a year as far as conventions coming up and this fan base it’s still so young you know? So to see so much movement and dedication, it’s just there’s something so special about this show that, it just makes people want to do these really hard things to celebrate, you know? ‘Cause running a convention is not easy, as you know and it’s a huge undertaking and I just feel so incredibly grateful to be part of, I feel like it’s a once in blue blue moon, but – great phrase huh? A blue blue moon, but it’s very special and just I don’t know, I can’t get over it. I’m grateful Yeah.
Emily: I can’t believe it. I just hope you all don’t get sick of us.
Audience: no
Questioner 8 [GisElla]: I don’t think we could, guys.
Emily: That’s why I try to stay mysterious on twitter. So you guys… but it’s beyond my wildest dreams in a billion trillion years I never, I never ever thought we would have Wynonna Earp Cons, it’s unbelievable. We’ll go anywhere! Just keep, keep t…
Audience member: North Carolina!
Emily: ok North Carolina, when? Come pick us up, we’re, we’ll just be at the airport. No, thank you so much too. I can’t wait to go.
Questioner 8 [GisElla]: Thank you. We look forward to having you guys there.
Emily: Aw, thank you so much. What, that’s Homestead Eh? And when is it?
Questioner 8 [GisElla]: August 10, 11, and 12th.
Emily: August 10, 11, and 12th in Canada.
Dom: [unintelligible]
Questioner 9: I just want to say, Kat and Dom, your thrift store outfits look amazing.
Dom: Thank you!
Questioner 9: This is directed toward Emily. Do you have any plans on writing characters with disabilities?
Emily: I would love to, I would love to write a differently-abled character, um, you know what, I don’t know, yes, I would love to. There’s a million different types of characters-I would love to have a non-binary character, I would love would to have [unintelligible] 49:45 I would love to have a character who’s trans, I’ve talked about that, I’d love to have a differently-abled character but the challenge only for me is that we are kind of an underdog, we have a small cast so when I bring on characters I just have to make sure they can do a lot and a lot of the new characters we introduce every year are villains so I’m still wresting with diversity versus villainy even though the villains are sometimes the most interesting parts. Does that make sense? Yeah, so I’m willing to do it all, I feel like with all those types of characters I listed I would want to get some advice and help from the communities involved and also the other challenge is that we have to cast Canadian, we get to cast Canadian um, but yes of course, if you get me 10 seasons I’ll do it all ok? How about that?
[Audience Cheers]
Emily: Thank you.
Moderator: but like, speaking of that, since season three is going to start soon, what can the fans do to get season four?
Emily: Just everything. Just tweet at Syfy, find people who work at Syfy who are important. Oh [name] where you going? There’s a PR person, she’s leaving. Honestly the hashtag is huge, live tweet with us, everything. The Earper Cons are huge, just visibility on social media is enormous, but like you can’t beat watching the show when it’s on. That’s probably the biggest thing, if you can watch it on Syfy and Space live that’s still the biggest factor for us to be honest so…
Moderator: So if you …
Emily: But we’re here because of you guys, remember that. So we can do it again right?
[Audience Cheers]
Moderator: I think we have one last question.
Questioner 10: I get to be the last one. You mentioned earlier that Nicole would identify as a lesbian and Rosita identified as bisexual, but how would Waverly identify?
Dom: No, yeah, I well it, you know, I said this earlier in my meet and greet which is that, like Emily writes the characters you know? The writers room writes the characters so you come with your take on everything and you make up a bunch of your own backstory and facts and all these kind of fill in the blanks however like, it frustrates me when actors are like “oh I wouldn’t say that” well you’re like “well you would ’cause it’s written on the page ’cause they write the characters right?”. So I um I don’t want to speak out of turn, but I think that I think that in season three Waverly would identify as bisexual.
[Applause]
Dom: But I also think, sorry, but I also think that isn’t really what she’s thinking about right now because she’s like, so in love with Nicole and that’s the priority, but I think she’s open-minded enough as a young female, like actually maybe she wouldn’t even put herself in a category because I think that these categories, these boxes, we don’t all fit into them and I see it very much as a spectrum and she falls somewhere along that spectrum and I don’t know whether she would think about it too much.
Tamara: That’s a great answer. yeah, I think she fell in love with who you are.
Dom: yeah, exactly and who you meet and where it takes you so yeah. But I guess if we have to call you or put it in a box maybe she would be bisexual.
[Applause]
Questioner 10: Thank you.
Moderator: So unfortunately we ran out of time, but um thank you guys all so much for coming. Thank you guys for [unintelligible]
[Audience applauds and cheers]
[End of transcript]
Sorry, it's a lot. 