Witchbomb Saturday part 4. Ashley, Taylor and KTY’s costume prank.

The Ashley and Taylor panel

Question. How did you get into acting?

Taylor: Doing music, busking, dad was a good musician. Graduated a year early. Theatre nerd. Friend had an agent, they were looking for young talent, so signed with them. It was a 4 hour drive to Vancouver to audition. It was like Ice Truckers. I would pay people to drive me, drive myself. Got an indie with Anthony Hopkins.

Ashley: As a 5 year old, I decided to be a movie star. Mum was like ‘are you for real?’ Went to acting school. Acting teacher was a Disney coach

Question. Now that you know today is Abigail’s birthday, how are you planning to celebrate?

Ashley: Lots of German Porn shots. She told us that the character is Abigail Petra Bellweather, the middle name

Question. What has playing this character taught you about yourself?

Ashley: acting is like therapy. An emotional scene. Taylor and Amanda Tapping, just let yourself go. Feel the emotions. It is OK not to be OK

Taylor: how to lead. That is not natural for her. Can lead when she has to. Often compromising herself, leaving a feeling of emptiness. Need self care to feel strongest

Question. How would your characters evolve in season 4?

Taylor: cottage commune and lots of ducks. Sapphic privacy. That’s my dream.

Ashley: Abigail would start her own army, for world peace. I would love for her to be evil for a season. With Eliot, that was not happening

Question. If your life was a museum, what would be sold in the gift shop?

Ashley: sparkles. Head bands, Pink. Leo. Tiara. Her family call her Princess. I’m a Disney girl.

Taylor: tons of rubber ducks. Boots. A sushi shop. Coffee, books, records, vinyl, guitar

Question. My favourite scene was your scene together from 1.10 Witchbomb. What more can you tell us about that scene?

Ashley: Have to remind Taylor of that scene

Taylor: no idea

Ashley: we had a good relationship. We had been holding ourselves up all season. Other cast didn’t have the family bonds we had. ‘Love you Shitbird’ was really ‘Love you Taylor’.

Question. Joke. What did the sushi say to the bee? Wasabi?

Question. What music are you listening to?

Taylor: Paul McCartney – she is an album girl. Ran, with Linda McCartney. In all the years they were together, they only spent one night apart. Moved to the countryside. Artistry, had their priorities. Example of love that lasts. I want a love to believe in

Question. Abigail has an evil side. If Abigail and Raelle had a fight, who would win?

Ashley: Abigail, has to win

Taylor: we had a blow up, Raelle had had it. Ended when you strangled me

Ashley: so Abigail wins

Question. About folk music, have you heard of Kate Rusby?

Taylor: no. There is a podcast called Song Exploder, which gives you the history of a song. You can create a list of interviews or create a talk about a song. Has she done something like that?

Question. What is it like to work with Amanda Tapping?

Ashley: amazing. In season 2, she loved on us, she had our backs. Love that woman. The things she did for me. She fought for us. We didn’t have that before

Taylor: wonderful, strong director. She brought everything together, corporate, visuals, feelings. She could communicate. What an icon

Question. What childhood book would you like to make into a movie?

Taylor: The Hungry Caterpillar. The food looks so good

Ashley: Junie B Jones [books by Barbara Park] – she is super cute. I am educated really

Question. If you had to eat one food for a whole month, what would it be?

Taylor: mashed potatoes and cheese. Got everything you need to survive. Fact check it

Ashley: I’m in school. Bacon and ham and apples and peanut butter. But bacon or ham?

[the audience pointed out it was the same animal]

Ashley: I don’t like to think where it comes from

Question. What is the weirdest thing you did last year?

Taylor: Lionsgate Portal

Ashley: thought she had appendicitis, but actually had a cyst outside her ovary. 3 days in hospital to figure it out. Then she found one friend had one that ruptured. Then found two other people she knew had the same thing. What are we eating? We’re being poisoned. What are they doing to us?

Question. If there was a Hungry Caterpillar orchestra, who would be in it from the cast [guests at the convention] and what would they play?

Taylor: Ashley on bongos or lead singer. Jess on the triangle. Needs a cow bell. Amalia on the tambourine and the kazoo. Ess would shred on guitar. Diana sings soul. KTY would be a cool basist. Emilie on the cello

Question. If you could play a character in the last film you watched, who would it be?

Taylor. The Odyssey. Play a Siren

Ashley. Went to see the Odyssey at 6am at the Imax. Had to fight to get a ticket. 3 hours. Had to book. Circe. Who poisons them. I knew everything from Percy Jackson. Circe, that character would turn them into pigs [goddess of bacon]. Spoilers

Question. What is the most ridiculous thing you have done for an audition?

Taylor. For My Little Pony, had to crawl on all fours. Didn’t get the part

Ashley: a soccer movie. Used to play a girl doing soccer drills. Asked the agent, what is this? And Tiernan got a part

Taylor: for Blink had to learn English backwards. Down to the last two, another girl got the part. Seriously backwards! Words flipped

Question. What are you reading at the moment?

Taylor [It sounded like Shadow and Burn, but I can’t find that. It is not Shadow and Bone which is a Young Adult book, possibly Shadow Burn, which is more adult]. Taylor described it as ‘horny’

Ashley: I do have a degree

Taylor: get a refund

Ashley: we were always trouble making on set, we could get into trouble

Icebreaker – hockey [by Hannah Grace]

The first Off Campus book, The Deal [ by Elle Kennedy]

Heated Rivalry [by Rachael Reid]. Just horny. [Or for the British, smutty]

Question. The Odyssey is 3000 years old. If you wrote a bok, what type of book would it be?

Taylor: psychological thriller

Ashley: a dark psychological thriller as well. Write scripts

Taylor: Wrote scripts, both scripts were queer coming of age.

Ashley: smut for 900 pages of foreplay. Like Percy Jackson

Question. What would be the titles?

Ashley: Untitled Ashley Nicole Williams thriller book

Question. If you could choose a fictional universe to go to, which would you choose and why?

Taylor: Hogwarts

Ashley: was scared of Harry Potter as a kid. Couldn’t watch it. Love to be in Game of Thrones. Be on a dragon, long wings. [To Taylor] we need a watch party

Question. Do you know the movie The Lobster?

Taylor: I would pick an animal to be in a relationship with, a dolphin. Those creatures are 5 dimensional beings. We are 3 dimensional;

Ashley: favourite animal, the cheetah

Taylor: favourite animal, the fruit bat

Ashley: want to be a cheetah. Or a unicorn, but they are not real

Taylor: we have chemistry for giggles. Comfortable, don’t feel judged

Ashley: Taylor and I have no boundaries. Everyday on set we would touch tongues. [More on this tomorrow…] Everyone knows this.

Taylor: was very intentional. Makes you feel loved and cared for

Costume party

And so we come to the Saturday evening costume party. These are always very special at Witchbomb. But this year, Kristina’s prank made it especially memorable. As the cast came in, Kristina entered dressed in a magnificent ballgown. Looking like she had just stepped out of a Regency ball from Bridgerton. She walked slowly and regally to the front to show off this dress and then ….

I am very grateful to @dutchstarbuck for allowing me to use her photos for what happened next…..

Taylor literally popped out from underneath Kristina’s skirt. No wonder she had been walking so slowly and carefully, with Taylor hidden in there.

The guests clearly enjoyed the contest and the brilliant costumes.

Contestants and the guests

We had discovered that August 8^th was Abigail Petra Bellweather’s birthday, but it was the birthday of one of the attendees too. Ashley called her over so we could all sing Happy Birthday to her

And two of the guest, Emilie and Sylvia, had birthdays in the week following Witchbomb. So they were presented with cards that people had signed for them.