So, after lunch we got to the games session between Alder’s Angels (Olivia, Arlen, Lyne and Amalia) against Team Shiny (Ashley, Taylor, Cat and ‘Jess’). We were not allowed to take photos or videos of this session, much to my disappointment.
In some ways this was the reverse of yesterday. Here there was a single guesser and the rest of the team had to give them clues to Motherland specific words / phrases. But after Lyne got stuck on ‘The Spree’ and Ashley had no clue about ‘Morrigan’s Whisper’, the organisers did point out that the person doing the guessing did not have to be a cast member. Once fans took on that role, things worked much better. The fans clearly have a more detailed knowledge of the show that the cast. In the second round Alder’s Angels took a decisive lead. The organisers did want to give Team Shiny a chance to make up on some of that lead, but some of the Alder’s Angels were getting competitive and so there was discussion and Team Shiny got another go, but still didn’t manage to make up the deficit. Alder’s Angels scored a decisive victory.
After that there was the Amalia / Olivia / Arlen panel. They started with how they were feeling at that point in the con.
Olivia. Hot
Arlen. Very full. She then went on to clarify that she was very full of food.
Amalia was warm from energy brought about by victory – body heat. She was happy and filled with adrenaline.
Question. In Season 3 we see indigenous people. Could you tell us about 2 spirit people.
Olivia explained that not all tribes have that as an identity. A person has the spirit of masculine and feminine in one body. It has become part of the LGBTQ2S. In college she did a seminar on love, sex and [I didn’t catch the third thing]. Before that, she didn’t know about it. Some 2 spirit people won’t be with other 2 spirit people – they consider them like siblings.
Question. What is your favourite food to make and your favourite food to eat?
Amalia. ‘This is such an Arlen question. So, let’s hear it from Arlen.’
Arlen. Making Tiramisu / cakes. I would ask about flavours and textures and then build it. Eating, I love eating pasta.
Amalia. I make Norwegian reindeer stew, with brown cheese and loganberries. It is a fall dish. For eating, when she has nailed the reindeer stew, that is her favourite.
Olivia doesn’t enjoy cooking. She enjoys eating Mediterranean. She likes baking Bannock, extra fluffy and adding blueberries. Water, lard and flour were the only ingredients given to indigenous people and they made it work. At indigenous meetings you eat Bannock.
Question. In S1, the Cession seemed to be like an American state, but in S3 it seemed to be more of a large area of land that was separate. What were you told about what the Cession is and with indigenous people how did it change?
Amalia said that she had been given information, but because she had no context for it, it didn’t make sense. She only saw the size of it when she saw the introduction for the first time. In S3 there was a bunch of information from the writers’ room.
Arlen had had a conversation with Eliot. She understood from him that it was land given back to indigenous people but it was not military control.
Olivia. She understood it like a sovereign country, self governed. There was no idea of battles fought over it.
Arlen had heard that Biddie magic was given to Alder by the Marshall in exchange for the land.
Amalia said that Alder got us this, it was liberated from the US. But that came from a conversation. A lot was not written down.
Olivia. They brought in indigenous writers to the writers’ room. Tom, who is an indigenous writer, wrote Bearkiller. Cherry wrote the Cession characters. They added the cultural specifics.
Arlen. Tony met with a vocal coach and an elder to get the pronunciation correct. At the time information was coming out about residential school children. We were filming on indigenous land.
Olivia worked with a vocal coach to get the Cherokee pronunciation right. She is not Cherokee.
Question. In season 3, all of your characters meet each other. Nicte didn’t meet Thelma. What would they say if they met?
Amalia. We met. With Scylla and Nicte, she felt there were scenes missing.
Arlen. ’imagine the conversations’.
Amalia ‘What have you done and how do you live with it?’
Arlen. ‘When she was about to be executed, she saw what Scylla saw.’
Olivia. ‘You blew up a factory, so they get sent out.’
Arlen. Hiding in the Cession. Scylla and Nicte had a moment in the forest.
Amalia. Olivia, would you have more tension with Abigail?
Scylla is afraid of Thelma Bearkiller. Abigail thinks of something different.
Olivia. ‘I would lock you [Scylla] up.’
Arlen. Meet people through bars. Done that!
Question. Was there any change between the auditions and the start of the show?
Amalia. We had to do a selfie, a screen test and chemistry reads, then when they got to the pilot there was a character description.
Arlen thanked the translators – who did a great job.
She did a self tape, with 2 scenes from Liberia. She had a note from Eliot, that her secret power was that she could make people commit suicide. She was first hired to play ‘young Nicte’ for 2 episodes, showing flashbacks. Then she got the call, that she was going to play all of it. She didn’t know it was connected to the Spree.
Amalia explained that she and Arlen were chatting in the car and she was telling Arlen about it and how to approach it. She was explaining the Spree.
Arlen. Scylla, without demonising her, helped her approach.
Olivia auditioned 3 times. S2 was for a small part. She auditioned for S3 Nicte, then for Thelma. She saw the breakdown and it was a perfect fit, like a dream. Everything was put in – indigenous, her age, military badass. Give it to God. 2 days later she was shortlisted. The day after, she booked it. When she saw the email she was crying. She went on set for a fitting and it took 4 hours.
Amalia said she had 3 days of fittings.
Olivia went to Brian [Stiller] to say thank you for writing her. Sherry wrote her as afro-indigenous as her kids are afro–indigenous.
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