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Wynonna Earp is back! Killing demons and taking names! The original cast returns to reprise their roles in this new audio adventure courtesy of Audible. The cast took some time to speak with our own Off The Cuff Tom and explain what it’s like to come back to the familiar but now different show.
Creator and Showrunner Emily Andras
NI: Did you struggle to convey a badass demon hunter with Wynonna Earp transitioning from the screen to sound?
EA: I am a scriptwriter. I write in a visual medium. I was incredibly intimidated by writing an auditory-only experience. TV is “Show Don’t Tell,” and these audible stories are “Tell Don’t Show.” So it was such a big learning curve about those little crutches we use like the faces of the cast to denote emotion, but also just writing things like (Wynonna nods cheekily.) Well, no, she doesn’t; nobody can hear that. You have to write, and she says “something.” Describing action was challenging, but this is the truth about being a writer. You guys would all know this: If you’re not a little bit scared, you’re not doing it right. You have to care, right? So I think it was a challenge that we relished, and we had the benefit of people already loving these characters, and it’s a pretty friendly crowd. I’m really proud of how it’s worked out.
She’s Back Melanie Scrofanoas Wynonna Earp Herself?
NI: Plain and simple, what’s it like to come back?
MS: Yeah, it was a real gift when it came. We had gone for so long without being together and seeing each other. We did kind of hear rumors, so it did tide us over. Unfortunately, we couldn’t share it with anybody, but for us, it was real like we were, “Okay, something is coming,” and so we didn’t despair as much so it was a nice buoy in the sea of sadness. But and then we got the TV special so it all we like built on each other.
NI: Was it hard getting back into character?
MS: It’s not hard to get back into it. I think it was missing the visuals. I’m such a visual person, not having the gun. Luckily, I had his face (costar Tim Rozon) because we were together, so we had a shorthand, and I just felt that “I know” Wynonna when we looked at each other. When asked to be more threatening, I’m like, “Well, the gun does that like that?! Just carrying a gun makes me threatening. Look at me, you know?!” Those elements being gone definitely made me question how I approach a character internally.
NI: Since you all recorded together, which leads to great acting, did they pump in any soundscape to help you visualize where you were, or again, was it just Tim’s face?
MS: Just look at his face, and trust me, that’s plenty for me. Casey, our director, was so generous about explaining how. I think he wrote a book and it sent to me about what we were doing. He would explain anything to you anytime. He was very generous when talking about how it would be laid together, which I found really helpful, but the most helpful thing I think isn’t what I’m going to hear. The interaction is where the magic is. We could kind of do anything and I think our characters will still pop.
NI: What was it like hearing yourself for the first time?
MS: It was tough because nobody likes to sound of their own voice. Because it’s just acting, you’re very “Can I even act?” Other people would say, “Okay, but try it again more threatening,” I was like, that’s what I thought I did?!”
What’s up Doc Holiday? Tim Rozon as Doc Holiday
NI: Doc Holiday, being immortal, would have gone through so many emotions. What has that been like for you as an actor both on screen but then behind the mic?
TR: It’s the gift of gifts. I mean, this is one of those things I got into this to do that. First of all, I remember the exact moment I’m not super religious, but you know, sometimes I talked to the big man upstairs, and I said, listen, I just I’m at this point I don’t know what’s happening, or what your plan is for me, but if it could involve Comic Con in any way, I’d be the happiest guy in the world. A year later, I was a Comic Con, with Doc Holiday and Wynonna Earp. Whatever happens to me. I can only be happy that I’ve had this experience for the past 8 years. For me personally, it’s the gift of all gifts. What a fun, complex character I get to be angry, sad, dead, a vampire. You name it like I get to go up-and-down and, Let’s say, get guns and shoot demons and kiss girls, and it’s all good like sign me up.
NI: With all that joy in the craft what do you do at the end of the day with a particularly heavy scene?
TR: I let that stuff go pretty good, but I’m also in touch with the pain inside me. I know where it lives physically inside of my body, so I can get to it anytime I need to. I don’t know if that’s healthy, but it’s good for acting. But, I’m lucky, and Wynonna is kind of easy because most of my heavy scenes are with Wynonna and Mel’s great actor, and she brings a lot to the scenes, so most of the time, you just need to react and look at the human. Being in front of you giving way so much, and they’re so raw in their vulnerability that you become that too.
That’s a real testament to the producers too and Emily to let us go that far with some of that stuff. We’re making a Sci-Fi show about demons and stuff. Sometimes, we had so many scenes where we were crying about all kinds of things. I remember we had one scene where it was −30 out on a porch, middle of the night, and Wynonna had to smack Doc, and I remember telling her, just do it. It’s just. “It’s you, if there’s anybody else, I’d say no, but you, it’s okay. Just give it to me, man”. BOOM BOOM BOOM, there were three good whacks, and it was good. I’m telling you the next day in my trailer, a little aloe Vera plant she just said, you’re the best ever! You have to trust who you’re with and all that stuff, but yeah, we get into some stuff, man!
Katherine Barrell as Sheriff Naught
Ni: Starting as Officer and ending as Sheriff Naught. Your character has so much personal growth. What was it like for you to bring that back to the audience but from behind a microphone?
KB: So we got kind of spoiled because we shot the Tubi Vengeance special, and then 6 weeks later, we did the Audible. I’m an outside-in actor. I like the costume. I like the props, it really helps me as an actor to put that stuff on. If I hadn’t just come off of a special, I would have had a lot harder time in audio because I didn’t have any of those tools. I think I would have. I would have had a really, I would have had to. Maybe I have some belts, and maybe I had to wear those. I don’t know. I’d have to put something on, but it was because I had just come off. I felt like she was much fresher, whereas if it had been three years and no special, and then I had done audio, I think I would have struggled.
It’s evident that this cast truly loves working together, and they are a family both on and off-screen and even more-off-screen on Audible.
Big thanks also to Audible for hosting a fantastic party at Porchlight full of “Earp-ers.” they had an amazing bunch of specialty cocktails inspired by the show, and the food was equally amazing.
Emily Andras stopped between the hootenanny playing and thanked everyone for bringing new life into this beloved series.
Make sure you return to Nerd Initiative for all the amazing CONtent from NYCC 2024.
