This was the Taylor and Amalia panel
Question. We know what your character’s last individual words on the show were. Raelle’s was ‘We’re ancient’, Scylla’s were ‘She saw the good in everyone’, about Anacostia. Not great. What would you have liked your character’s last words to have been?
Amalia. ‘Don’t trust Alder’
Taylor. A nod to the future duck farm
Amalia pointed out to Taylor that her last scene was ‘on the chopper’. Taylor was adamant that Raelle’s last words would have been about the duck farm.
Question. Have you ever tried snowboarding?
Amalia. I have tried it for a week. I am good at skiing, but sucked at boarding. So I didn’t carry on.
Taylor. I like sledding. But it is dangerous for me. I went into a burr bush. My agent begged me not to go out without a helmet. I have done some downhill skiing.
Amalia. Talked about that with Taylor’s mom. Taylor was having a facetime with her and I got to be on it. Both our moms came out to visit in S1. Taylor’s mom got blue tooth with screen subtitles
Question. What helps you get into character?
Amalia. Steven Adelson recommended a book – The Power of the Actor [by Ivana Chubbock]. That is what I do, but more organised. It has 12 questions – go to notes – find some objective etc. I tried to do playlists, but it doesn’t work for me.
Taylor. Amalia is a strategist, deduces information, technical. I am more emotional, finding common space for the character. Kept journals. It’s emotional. Try to fill in the empty gaps. What is Raelle’s relationship with Adil? Write about the characters today. Do background research. Scattered notes on scripts, write things down immediately.
Amalia. Scylla had a friend, Cleo. Ep 3 or 4, they met before Beltane, tried to relate to each other. Expected to build a friendship relationship. Never appeared again. Made sense for Cleo to be a fake friend. Not close, Scylla wasn’t there to make friends.
Question. You are both good singers. If you went on the Masked Singer, what would be your costume?
Amalia (to Taylor) You would be so good
Taylor. A small reptile, like a salamander.
Amalia. A cow or a bull.
Taylor. Not from Monsters Inc. Not like Randall.
Question. What scenes did you think were missing?
Amalia. (to Taylor) an entire season for you
Taylor. A lot depends on the editing and exposition. Countless moments come to mind. Editing can take a conversation and move it around. It changes once it is out of our hands. You just have to be true to the process.
Amalia. Don’t be bitter – there are red lines. When you get a first look at what it looks like, it can take a few days to accept the new reality. I edit in my head. Only in some scenes. Make myself accept the new reality. I have to relinquish control. I have to adapt, there are editors and network execs.
Taylor. Sometimes it is not what we thought we were making in the day. It is interesting what you [audience] experience with what we did.
Amalia. I saw that sometimes in the live tweeting. Everyone’s different reactions.
Taylor. Fresh eyes. That was a favourite scene, but now it is so short.
Taylor. Jess worked with a dialogue coach and then they changed the lines. Must adapt. A plot shift. Libba’s death. We lost the location we were supposed to use. There was supposed to be a speaking scene between Abigail and Libba. Big performance point. Sarah Yarkin wanted to see a deeper dialogue. It ended up different form what we prepared.
Question. Raelle and Scylla have no siblings. If they did have, who would they have?
Amalia. Scylla would have a 2 year younger brother to play around with.
Taylor. It would be a nice buffer for Raelle to find a play fellow and crack her shell. Might help find her identity.
Amalia. We [Taylor and her] are both the eldest of four.
Taylor. They’re your best friends, they see you for who you are. Also can get you angry. Raelle found those sibling qualities in Scylla.
Question. You are a mermaid. What colour is your tail and what superpower do you have?
Amalia. Blue. A cold light blue.
Taylor. Sparkly rainbow.
Amalia. I heard Demetria’s answer about blowing bubbles to keep people alive.
Taylor. Grow wings.
Amalia. Drill holes in the bottom of the sea.
Taylor. Sand crabs do that.
Amalia. A sand crab mermaid
Taylor. With a narwhal horn – a siren for Amalia – save people
Amalia. Turbo swimmer
Taylor. Like dolphins – but walk on water.
Amalia asked the questioner for their answer. Light pink. Speaking to sea animals of camouflage.
Question. You are friends with Dom Provost-Chalkley. How did you meet?
Taylor. Dom contacted my agent. We spoke on the phone. I felt safe with Dom. I was jetlagged. They are incredible to build that, taking notes. Don’t know if you have met them. If they are at a con, go and meet them.
[Taylor spoke about filming Magic at various times over the weekend. If I recall correctly, it was at one of the fan meets that she spoke about having got back from Europe and was jetlagged. Then she got this through her agent and she had to go back to Europe almost immediately, didn’t get over her jet lag. She only had 6 days to prepare for the part.]
Question. What was your favourite dance last night?
Taylor did the actions because she couldn’t remember the name of the song.
The audience told her it was Tragedy. By the Bee Gees
Amalia. I wasn’t there. I was overwhelmed. I practised the dance, I went to the Green Room and talked to Ess and Krystina.
Taylor. I came back all sweaty and joined in the conversation.
Amalia. I felt I was letting myself down. Learning is hard.
Taylor. Give it a week, if you can’t manage the turns.
Question. If your life was a museum, what items would be on sale in the gift shop?
Amalia [sounded like ‘Skio’ but clearly not an English word.] Norwegian waffles with goats cheese. Brunos. There would be a café in the gift shop. With an old grandmother cooking there. Norwegian waffles are more elastic, Swedish waffles are crunchy. Stock both.
Taylor. Rubber ducks. Taylor Swift CDs. Own brand tarot cards. Crystals, nose flutes and kazoos. Different flutes and kazoos.
Question. Are you thinking of another project together?
Jess is closest to her own production. Wants to use her friends.
Amalia. No power
Taylor. Few opportunities. Making minimum wage. You get told ‘take the wage or don’t work at all.’ You have to fight to honour yourself and the work. Things are going backward.
Amalia. Do you have an idea?
Taylor. A gay Avatar. Or in an alternate world. With Dragons. Fourth Wing, just tweak it a bit.
[Questioner suggested setting up a production company]
Taylor. Working on it
Question. If Raelle and Scylla did a body swop in season 1 , what would be the first thing you would do?
Taylor. This is like an Instagram meme. Take care of the body.
Amalia. I must have seen a different Instagram meme. Saw Raelle naked. Good, you would take care of Scylla. Wonder if the balloon part of Scylla’s work is affected by acupuncture?
Question. At the end of the pilot, did you have any concerns about intimacy?
Amalia. It is awesome that it’s going to be a gay storyline.
Taylor. Intimacy co-ordination was not mandatory.
Amalia. Not offered it.
Taylor. By season 3 we were offered it.
Both. We were co-ordinated.
Amalia. It was blocking. Getting pushed into a wall. Read it, saw the intimacy, wanted a great co-actor to feel safe.
Taylor. We won the lottery with that one.
Amalia. We did
Question. How was this project unique and different from others?
Amalia. I had never worked in North America and never worked on something this size. I was in the lunch queue and was talking to the man in charge of plants.
Taylor. Green team.
Amalia. In Sweden, we scout places and use them as they are.
Taylor. The guys ship in bushes. Tuck them into crosses and make scenery.
Amalia. In 1.05 there was a big flower. They were setting up for a shoot for a long time. They were moving a tree. I said ‘just move us’.
Taylor. We are privileged to spend time to learn lines.
Amalia. You lead at this age
Taylor. I didn’t know what the role meant. Now I have seen more. The first couple of people on the call sheet set the tone. I had to set the tone. We had to set the tone. People are watching what you do – a lot of us learned, how to show up and be there for each other.
Taylor. The entire cast were women. All the leads were women. Used to a man holding that space. So much space allowed for women and non-binary. Used to having to fight for space. How can we show up for black people and people of colour? Built strong machine. Brought so many beautiful people here. It’s a ripple effect.
Amalia. We’re the ones being brought here. There are so many other people. We’re the end of the line. Want to add to the whole production company.
Taylor. See the art, the greenery, the space. Create more
Amalia. Show up, learn your lines. Small task, big sea. Amazed by others.
Taylor. Female empowerment and space, so much more rare. Cherish it all.
Question. If you could be any animal, what would it be?
Amalia. Mind gone blank.
Taylor. Duck as a dog. Have a big yard.
Amalia. Can it fly? What could be mine?
Taylor. Lots of majestic
Amalia. Hare?
Taylor. Phoenix? You would vibe with a turtle. [Note – later Taylor posted a picture of a turtle on Instagram for Amalia]
Amalia. Thank you. Can I have an old one
Taylor. You can have an old one
Amalia. Put it in a back porch
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